why is e silent in verbs like jouer or crier but not the rest?

Question

HI,I am confused with how this is laid out. Are all ER verbs have a silent e in them/? due to the non pronounced e shcwa? What makes jouer and crier different from your other examples like manger and parler? In very formal spoken french would you be required to speak these e's - for example in poetry?

Cécile Janty-Davies · Accepted Answer

Hi Clara, 
What it means is that in the case of jouer and crier 
you say 
je cri- rai ( 2 syllables)
and not
je cri -e- rai ( 3 syllables)
and the same for jouer 
je jou-rai
and not
je jou-e-rai 
Whereas in the case of parler or manger 
You have 
je man-ge-rai ( 3 syllables) 
je par-le-rai     (      "         )
The difference is that the -e of these verbs makes a new syllable in the future tense 
This is not the case in the present tense -
je joue ( -e is silent)
Je mange (    "     )
 I hope I have understood your confusion and explained the differences.