changer
English
Etymology
change + -er
Noun
changer (plural changers)
- Someone or something who changes things.
- Someone or something that changes or transforms itself.
- A person employed in changing or discounting money.
Usage notes
- Usually used together with another noun, eg, automatic tool changer, shape changer, mind changer.
Derived terms
- autochanger
- career changer
- CD changer
- channel changer
- gamechanger, game changer
- gender changer
- money changer
- namechanger
- no changer
- shapechanger
- tap changer
- voice changer
French
Etymology
From Old French changier, from Vulgar Latin or Late Latin cambiāre, from change in conjugation of cambīre, present active infinitive of cambiō (“exchange, barter”), from Gaulish cambion, *kambyom (“change”), from Proto-Celtic *kambos (“twisted, crooked”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱambos, *(s)kambos (“crooked”). Cognate with Sicilian cangiari; Old Italian cangiare; Italian cambiare; Occitan cambiar; Catalan canviar; Portuguese and Spanish cambiar; Norman changi; English change; and Walloon candjî.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʃɑ̃.ʒe/
audio (file) - Homophones: changeai, changé, changée, changées, changés, changez
Verb
changer
- (transitive) to exchange (something)
- (transitive) to change (money, a job, one's circumstances etc.)
- (transitive) to change, alter (something en into)
- (transitive) to change (a diaper)
- (intransitive) to change
- (takes a reflexive pronoun) to change (one's clothes), get changed
Conjugation
This is a regular -er verb, but the stem is written change- before endings that begin with -a- or -o- (to indicate that the -g- is a "soft" /ʒ/ and not a "hard" /ɡ/). This spelling-change occurs in all verbs in -ger, such as neiger and manger.
| infinitive | simple | changer | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
| present participle or gerund1 | simple | changeant /ʃɑ̃.ʒɑ̃/ | |||||
| compound | ayant + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | changé /ʃɑ̃.ʒe/ | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | change /ʃɑ̃ʒ/ | changes /ʃɑ̃ʒ/ | change /ʃɑ̃ʒ/ | changeons /ʃɑ̃.ʒɔ̃/ | changez /ʃɑ̃.ʒe/ | changent /ʃɑ̃ʒ/ |
| imperfect | changeais /ʃɑ̃.ʒɛ/ | changeais /ʃɑ̃.ʒɛ/ | changeait /ʃɑ̃.ʒɛ/ | changions /ʃɑ̃.ʒjɔ̃/ | changiez /ʃɑ̃.ʒje/ | changeaient /ʃɑ̃.ʒɛ/ | |
| past historic2 | changeai /ʃɑ̃.ʒe/ | changeas /ʃɑ̃.ʒa/ | changea /ʃɑ̃.ʒa/ | changeâmes /ʃɑ̃.ʒam/ | changeâtes /ʃɑ̃.ʒat/ | changèrent /ʃɑ̃.ʒɛʁ/ | |
| future | changerai /ʃɑ̃ʒ.ʁe/ | changeras /ʃɑ̃ʒ.ʁa/ | changera /ʃɑ̃ʒ.ʁa/ | changerons /ʃɑ̃ʒ.ʁɔ̃/ | changerez /ʃɑ̃ʒ.ʁe/ | changeront /ʃɑ̃ʒ.ʁɔ̃/ | |
| conditional | changerais /ʃɑ̃ʒ.ʁɛ/ | changerais /ʃɑ̃ʒ.ʁɛ/ | changerait /ʃɑ̃ʒ.ʁɛ/ | changerions /ʃɑ̃.ʒə.ʁjɔ̃/ | changeriez /ʃɑ̃.ʒə.ʁje/ | changeraient /ʃɑ̃ʒ.ʁɛ/ | |
| (compound tenses) | present perfect | present indicative of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior2 | past historic of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | future of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | conditional of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ils, qu’elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | change /ʃɑ̃ʒ/ | changes /ʃɑ̃ʒ/ | change /ʃɑ̃ʒ/ | changions /ʃɑ̃.ʒjɔ̃/ | changiez /ʃɑ̃.ʒje/ | changent /ʃɑ̃ʒ/ |
| imperfect2 | changeasse /ʃɑ̃.ʒas/ | changeasses /ʃɑ̃.ʒas/ | changeât /ʃɑ̃.ʒa/ | changeassions /ʃɑ̃.ʒa.sjɔ̃/ | changeassiez /ʃɑ̃.ʒa.sje/ | changeassent /ʃɑ̃.ʒas/ | |
| (compound tenses) | past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | change /ʃɑ̃ʒ/ | — | changeons /ʃɑ̃.ʒɔ̃/ | changez /ʃɑ̃.ʒe/ | — | |
| compound | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | |
| 1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en. | |||||||
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way:
(Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81). | |||||||
Derived terms
- change
- changeable
- changement
- changer d'air
- changer d'avis
- changer d'avis comme de chemise
- changer de bord
- changer de cheval au milieu du gué
- changer de crèmerie
- changer de crémerie
- changer de disque
- changer de mains
- changer de refrain
- changer de registre
- changer la donne
- changer son fusil d'épaule
- changeur
- inchangé
- plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose
- se changer les idées
Related terms
- échange
- échanger
Further reading
- “changer”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Old French
Verb
changer
- Alternative form of changier
Conjugation
This verb conjugates as a first-group verb ending in -er. In the present tense an extra supporting e is needed in the first-person singular indicative and throughout the singular subjunctive, and the third-person singular subjunctive ending -t is lost. In addition, g becomes j before an a or an o to keep the /dʒ/ sound intact. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.
| simple | compound | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | changer | avoir changé | |||||
| gerund | en chanjant | Use the gerund of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| present participle | chanjant | ||||||
| past participle | changé | ||||||
| person | singular | plural | |||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | jo | tu | il | nos | vos | il | |
| simple tenses | present | change | changes | change | chanjons | changez | changent |
| imperfect | chanjoie, changeie, chanjoe, changeve | chanjoies, changeies, chanjoes, changeves | chanjoit, changeit, chanjot, changeve | changiiens, changiens | changiiez, changiez | chanjoient, changeient, chanjoent, changevent | |
| preterite | chanjai | chanjas | chanja | chanjames | chanjastes | changerent | |
| future | changerai | changeras | changera | changerons | changeroiz, changereiz, changerez | changeront | |
| conditional | changeroie, changereie | changeroies, changereies | changeroit, changereit | changeriiens, changeriens | changeriiez, changeriez | changeroient, changereient | |
| compound tenses | present perfect | Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| past anterior | Use the preterite tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que jo | que tu | qu’il | que nos | que vos | qu’il | |
| simple tenses | present | change | changes | change | chanjons | changez | changent |
| imperfect | chanjasse | chanjasses | chanjast | changissons, changissiens | changissoiz, changissez, changissiez | chanjassent | |
| compound tenses | past | Use the present subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | Use the imperfect subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | tu | – | nos | vos | – | |
| — | change | — | chanjons | changez | — | ||