This verb follows the so-called regular -er verb pattern, the pattern
followed by vast majority of verbs of the language, and by practically all new verbs entering the language.
The regular -er pattern has the following defining features:
- No characteristic consonant (contrast, for example,
with verbs following the finir or dormir patterns,
which have a characteristic -ss- and -m- in all forms but the present tense singular);
- No vowel change in the stem, other than where necessary to respect general patterns of French
phonology (e.g. see préférer)2;
- Past participle in -é1.
1. Outside the regular -er paradigm, only aller,
être and naître have past participles ending in -é.
2. Many other verb patterns, except verbs of the finir type plus a few other patterns,
have an irregular vowel change, e.g. boire > je bois vs nous buvons.
See the grammar section on irregular verb patterns in French
for a list of the different vowel changes.
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