Many irregular verbs have the irregularity in the endings of the conjugated verb form. However, there is a different kind of predictable verb conjugation where the stem of the verb changes. These verbs have all the regular endings (even the yo form!) but have a change occur in their stem of the verb in certain forms. The
stem of the verb is what remains when you remove the -
ar, -
er, or -
ir ending from the infinitive form of the verb.
Because it is the stem of the verb that changes, these verbs are called
stem-changing verbs or
stem-changers. It is impossible to identify that a verb is a stem-changer simply by looking at the infinitive unless you have previously learned this particular verb and remember that it is a stem-changer.
Stem-changing verbs could be -
ar, -
er, or -
ir verbs. You can, at least count on the stressed syllable being the one that changes. Stem-changing verbs are so common that most dictionaries inform you of the stem change in the entry even before the verb's translation.
The hardest part about stem-changers is that you have to memorize the verbs that have stem-changes. Once you memorize the type of stem change a verb has, the actual patterns of the stem-changing verbs are quite simple, and all the endings are regular, so conjugating these verbs is easy.
There are basically three different ways that the stem of a verb can change in the present tense. The verbs listed in this section are grouped according to the type of stem change they have. While you learn the meanings of the verbs, learn what kind of stem change it has as well.
E to
ie
The most common stem change is
e to
ie (represented by e>ie) . That means the stressed letter
e in the stem of the verb will change to
ie in certain conjugated forms of the verb. These stem changing verbs will be listed with the stem change in parentheses after the infinitive. You should remember the verbs with the
e>ie as a part of the infinitive in Spanish so that you'll be able to conjugate these verbs correctly. If a verb has two
e's in the stem, it will always be the second
e that is stem-changed. In the tables in this section, the
e that changes to
ie is underlined.
The patterns for stem changing verbs are very consistent. All forms of the verb will stem change except for
nosotros/nosotras and
vosotros/vosotras. The best way to see the patterns is to consider a few examples.
The verb
pensar (to think) is typical of an -
ar verb with an
e>ie stem change. Where the stem change occurs the
ie is underlined in Table
1 . Notice that
pensamos and
pensáis do not have a stem change.
|
TABLE 1
|
Conjugation Chart for the Verb
P
ensar
|
|
yo p
ienso
(I think)
|
Nosotros/nosotras pensamos (we think)
|
|
tú p
iensas
(you [informal] think)
|
vosotros/vosotras pensáis (you [informal, plural] think)
|
|
él p
iensa
(he thinks)
|
ellos p
iensan
(they think)
|
|
ella p
iensa
(she thinks)
|
ellas p
iensan
(they [feminine] think)
|
|
usted (Ud.) p
iensa
(you [formal] think)
|
ustedes (Uds.) p
iensan
(you [formal, plural] think)
|
|
The following list contains commonly used -
ar verbs that stem change
e>ie exactly like pensar:
|
cerrar
|
to close
|
|
comenzar
|
to begin (interchangeable with
empezar)
|
|
confesar
|
to confess
|
|
despertar
|
to wake up
|
|
empezar
|
to begin (interchangeable with
comenzar)
|
|
gobernar
|
to govern
|
|
negar
|
to deny
|
|
recomendar
|
to recommend
|
|
The verb
perder (to lose) is a typical -
er verb with an
e>ie stem change. The forms of this verb presented in Table
2 serves as an example for the list of common -
er verbs that follow the table.
|
TABLE 2
|
Conjugation Chart for the Verb
Perder
|
|
yo p
ierdo
(I lose)
|
nosotros/nosotras perdemos (we lose)
|
|
tú p
ierdes
(you [informal] lose)
|
vosotros/vosotras perdéis (you [informal, plural] lose)
|
|
él p
ierde
(he loses)
|
ellos p
ierden
(they lose)
|
|
ella p
ierde
(she loses)
|
ellas p
ierden
(they [feminine] lose)
|
|
usted (Ud.) p
ierde
(you [formal] lose)
|
ustedes (Uds.) p
ierden
(you [formal, plural] lose)
|
|
The following list are common -
er verbs that stem change
e>ie:
|
ascender
|
to ascend (to go up)
|
|
descender
|
to descend (to go down)
|
|
defender
|
to defend
|
|
encender
|
to light
|
|
entender
|
to understand
|
|
querer
|
to want
|
|
Notice that in the list of -
er verbs, the -
er ending is not part of the stem, so
perder and
querer only have one
e in the stem. When verbs like
defender and
entender have two
e's in the stem, the second one will stem change. See Table
3 for an example.
|
TABLE 3
|
Conjugation Chart for the Verb
Def
ender
|
|
yo def
iendo
(I defend)
|
nosotros/nosotras defendemos (we defend)
|
|
tú def
iendes
(you [informal] defend)
|
vosotros/vosotras defendéis (you [informal, plural] defend)
|
|
él def
iende
(he defends)
|
ellos def
ienden
(they defend)
|
|
ella def
iende
(she defends)
|
ellas def
ienden
(they [feminine] defend)
|
|
usted (Ud.) def
iende
(you [formal] defend)
|
ustedes (Uds.) def
ienden
(you [formal, plural] defend)
|
|
-
ir verbs that stem change
e>ie will all follow the same patterns as the verb
mentir (to lie [to tell an untruth]). See Table
4 for the forms of the verb.
|
TABLE 4
|
Conjugation Chart for the Verb
M
entir
|
|
yo m
iento
(I lie)
|
nosotros/nosotras mentimos (we lie)
|
|
tú m
ientes
(you [informal] lie)
|
vosotros/vosotras mentís (you [informal, plural] lie)
|
|
él m
iente
(he lies)
|
ellos m
ienten
(they lie)
|
|
ella m
iente
(she lies)
|
ellas m
ienten
(they [feminine] lie)
|
|
usted (Ud.) m
iente
(you [formal] lie)
|
ustedes (Uds.) m
ienten
(you [formal, plural] lie)
|
|
The following are some of the most common -
ir verbs that have an
e>ie stem change:
|
preferir
|
to prefer
|
|
sentir
|
to feel, to regret
|
|
sugerir
|
to suggest
|
|
Notice that the verb
preferir has two
e's in the stem. Whenever there are two
e's in the stem of a verb, it is the second one that stem changes.
Preferir's conjugated forms are somewhat difficult to picture—Table
5 shows how the verb forms should look. When pronouncing these verb forms, remember to say every vowel.
|
TABLE 5
|
Conjugation Chart for the Verb
Pref
erir
|
|
yo pref
iero
(I prefer)
|
nosotros/nosotras preferimos (we prefer)
|
|
tú pref
ieres
(you [informal] prefer)
|
vosotros/vosotras preferís (you [informal, plural] prefer)
|
|
él pref
iere
(he prefers)
|
ellos pref
ieren
(they prefer)
|
|
ella pref
iere
(she prefers)
|
ellas pref
ieren
(they [feminine] prefer)
|
|
usted (Ud.) pref
iere
(you [formal] prefer)
|
ustedes (Uds.) pref
ieren
(you [formal, plural] prefer)
|
|
Tener (to have) and
venir (to come) are
e>ie stem changers but also have an irregular
yo form. These two verbs are listed with the “-
go verbs” under the “Verbs irregular in the
yo form.” That is because the
yo form of each of these verbs ends in -
go, even though the rest of the forms follow the
e>ie stem changing patterns. These verbs are very common, so be sure to learn the conjugation charts in Tables
6 and
7 .
|
TABLE 6
|
Conjugation Chart for the Verb
Tener
|
|
yo tengo (I have)
|
nosotros/nosotras tenemos (we have)
|
|
tú t
ienes
(you [informal] have)
|
vosotros/vosotras tenéis (you [informal, plural] have)
|
|
él t
iene
(he has)
|
ellos t
ienen
(they have)
|
|
ella t
iene
(she has)
|
ellas t
ienen
(they [feminine] have)
|
|
usted (Ud.) t
iene
(you [formal] have)
|
ustedes (Uds.) t
ienen
(you [formal, plural] have)
|
|
|
TABLE 7
|
Conjugation Chart for the Verb
Venir
|
|
yo vengo (I come)
|
nosotros/nosotras venimos (we come)
|
|
tú vienes (you [informal] come)
|
vosotros/vosotras venís (you [informal, plural] come)
|
|
él viene (he comes)
|
ellos vienen (they come)
|
|
ella viene (she comes)
|
ellas vienen (they [feminine] come)
|
|
usted (Ud.) viene (you [formal] come)
|
ustedes (Uds.) vienen (you [formal, plural] come)
|
|
You probably noticed how similar the forms are for both verbs. Be careful to also notice, however, that the
nosotros/nosotras and
vosotros/vosotras endings are different for
venir because it's an -
ir verb and
tener is an -
er verb.
O to ue
The second most common type of stem change that occurs in Spanish verbs is
o to
ue
(o>ue).
Here are some common -
ar verbs that stem change
o>ue:
|
acordarse
|
to remember
|
|
acostarse
|
to go to bed
|
|
almorzar
|
to eat lunch
|
|
contar
|
to count, to tell a story
|
|
costar
|
to cost
|
|
demostrar
|
to show (interchangeable with
mostrar)
|
|
encontrar
|
to find, to meet
|
|
jugar
|
to play
|
|
mostrar
|
to show (interchangeable with
demostrar)
|
|
probar
|
to prove, to test
|
|
recordar
|
to remember, to recall, to remind
|
|
volar
|
to fly
|
|
Common -
er verbs that stem change
o>ue:
|
devolver
|
to return an object, to give something back
|
|
envolver
|
to wrap up
|
|
mover
|
to move
|
|
poder
|
to be able
|
|
resolver
|
to resolve
|
|
soler
|
to be accustomed to
|
|
volver
|
to return
|
|
Common -
ir verbs that stem change
o>ue:
|
dormir
|
to sleep
|
|
morir
|
to die
|
|
Table
8 shows the conjugation forms for the verb
mover (to move). The verb forms in Table
8 can be followed for the other common stem-changing -
er verbs as well.
|
TABLE 8
|
Conjugation Chart for the Verb
Mover
|
|
yo m
uevo
(I move)
|
nosotros/nosotras movemos (we move)
|
|
tú m
ueves
(you [informal] move)
|
vosotros/vosotras movéis (you [informal, plural] move)
|
|
él m
ueve
(he moves)
|
ellos m
ueven
(they move)
|
|
ella m
ueve
(she moves)
|
ellas m
ueven
(they [feminine] move)
|
|
usted (Ud.) m
ueve
(you [formal] move)
|
ustedes (Uds.) m
ueven
(you [formal, plural] move)
|
|
The verb
jugar is usually listed with the
o>ue stem changing verbs because it follows the same pattern. However, you may notice there is no
o to change to
ue in the verb
jugar. It is the only
u>ue stem changer in the language.
Jugar means “to play a sport” so of course, it's a popular word in both Spanish and English speaking cultures. Look at Table
9 for the unusual verb forms of
jugar.
|
TABLE 9
|
Conjugation Chart for the Verb
Jugar
|
|
yo j
uego
(I play)
|
nosotros/nosotras jugamos (we play)
|
|
tú j
uegas
(you [informal] play)
|
vosotros/vosotras jugáis (you [informal, plural] play)
|
|
él j
uega
(he plays)
|
ellos j
uegan
(they play)
|
|
ella j
uega
(she plays)
|
ellas j
uegan
(they [feminine] play)
|
|
usted (Ud.) j
uega
(you [formal] play)
|
ustedes (Uds.) j
uegan
(you [formal, plural] play)
|
|
E to i
Contemplate this rule: All
e>i stem changing verbs are
ir verbs, but not all -
ir verbs are
e>i stem changers. Consider the list of
e>ie stem changers, some of them are -
ir verbs.
This means that when you learn an -
ir verb that stem changes, you have to be careful to remember whether it stem changes
e>ie or
e>i. Fortunately, the list of
e>i stem changing verbs is short, and it is true that only -
ir verbs can stem change
e>i.
Common
e>i stem changing verbs:
|
despedirse
|
to say goodbye
|
|
impedir
|
to impede, prevent
|
|
medir
|
to measure
|
|
reír
|
to laugh
|
|
repetir
|
to repeat
|
|
seguir
|
to follow
|
|
servir
|
to serve
|
|
sonreír
|
to smile
|
|
vestir
|
to dress
|
|
Table
10 shows the conjugation forms of the verb
servir (to serve). These forms can serve as representatives of what all -
ir verbs that are
e>i stem-changes should look like when conjugated.
|
TABLE 10
|
Conjugation Chart of the Verb
S
ervir
|
|
yo sirvo (I serve)
|
nosotros/nosotras servimos (we serve)
|
|
tú sirves (you [informal] serve)
|
vosotros/vosotras servís (you [informal, plural] serve)
|
|
él sirve (he serves)
|
ellos sirven (they serve)
|
|
ella sirve (she serves)
|
ellas sirven (they [feminine] serve)
|
|
usted (Ud.) sirve (you [formal] serve)
|
ustedes (Uds.) sirven (you [formal, plural] serve)
|
|
Thematic Vocabulary
Irregular Verbs in the Present Tense
