There are many common, everyday verbs that fall into the category of stem-changing verbs in Spanish. That'due south why it'south important to understand what they are and how they work.

We've talked a lot about the different irregular verb conjugations in Castilian on this web log, as well as the regular verb conjugations. But in that location is a sure type of verb that we oasis't really addressed, and it's somewhere between regular and irregular verbs. Stalk-irresolute verbs in Castilian are conjugated differently from regular verbs, only unlike irregular verbs, they all follow the same pattern.

Please note: if you practice non know the conjugations for regular verbs, this post will be disruptive for you. First bank check out our guide to conjugations in Spanish, and so come back to keep.

So, what is a stem and how exactly practise these verbs change?

A stem is the part of the verb that comes earlier the ending (which, in infinitive verbs, is always either ar, er, or ir). In regular conjugations, the stem doesn't change, where in irregular conjugations, it tin can exist completely different. In stem-changing verbs, the change is in the last vowel of the stem.

Stalk-changing verbs in Spanish tin can besides be thought of as 1, two, 3, 6 verbs. This is because in the traditional conjugation tables, the conjugations that modify are the first, 2nd, 3rd and sixth.

Permit's come across that visualized.

Stem-changing verbs in Spanish: affected conjugations

1 yo I
2 tú you
3 usted, él, ella y'all (formal), he, she
four nosotros we
v vosotros plural you (informal)
vi ustedes, ellos, ellas plural you lot (formal), they

In other words, the affected conjugations are in atypical, the showtime person (yo), the 2nd person (tú) and second person formal (usted), the third person (él, ella), and in plural, the 2d person formal (ustedes), and the third person (ellos, ellas).

It might be easier to think of it as the ones that are not affected as there are fewer: only nosotros and vosotros. In case yous were wondering almost vos, information technology is besides unaffected. These are conjugated but equally they are when it's a regular verb.

There are a few different ways that stem-changing verbs in Spanish can change. The fundamental is in the vowels in the verb. Let's run into the different possibilities:

  • e -> ie (e.g: pensar)
  • due east -> i (eg: conseguir)
  • o -> ue (eg: encontrar)
  • others (i -> ie, u -> ue)

Stem-changing verbs where the eastward in the stem changes to ie

In the Spanish stalk-changing verbs where e conjugates into ie, the last east of the stem turns into ie in the present tense conjugations ane, ii, 3, and 6.

Examples:

1. Pensar | to think

Breakup:

Pens – ar

Stem: pens

Stem change: e -> ie – pens -> piens

Pensar conjugation

ane yo pienso
2 tú piensas
iii usted, él, ella piensa
4 nosotros pensamos
5 vosotros pensáis
6 ustedes, ellos, ellas piensan

2. Preferir | to prefer

Stalk modify: prefer -> prefier

Annotation that the stalk changes in the aforementioned manner no thing whether the verb ends in ar, er, or ir.

Preferir conjugation

1 yo prefiero
2 tú prefieres
three usted, él, ella prefiere
4 nosotros preferimos
five vosotros preferís
6 ustedes, ellos, ellas prefieren

3. Entender | to understand

Stem change: entend -> entiend

Entender conjugation

i yo entiendo
2 tú entiendes
3 usted, él, ella entiende
iv nosotros entendemos
5 vosotros entendéis
half-dozen ustedes, ellos, ellas entienden

4. Empezar | to start

Stem change: empez -> empiez

Annotation that the alter is e'er on the final syllable of the stalk, no matter how many other vowels in that location are in the verb.

Empezar conjugation

1 yo empiezo
2 tú empiezas
three usted, él, ella empieza
4 nosotros empezamos
5 vosotros empezáis
six ustedes, ellos, ellas empiezan

Stem-irresolute verbs where the e in the stem changes to i

These are similar to the verbs to a higher place, except instead of ie, the vowel in the last syllable of the stem merely changes to i in the first, second, tertiary and sixth. This type of stalk-irresolute verb tends to be ir-catastrophe verbs only.

Examples:

1. Conseguir | to obtain

Breakdown:

Conseg – (u)ir

Note: the u before the i is there to show that the m in the word is pronounced as a hard g. And so this is not considered function of the stem. Some would say that this makes conseguir irregular in the nowadays first person, just since it is caused by a straightforward spelling rule, I wouldn't consider it as such.

Stalk: conseg

Stem change: e -> i – conseg -> consig

Conseguir conjugation

ane yo consigo
ii tú consigues
three usted, él, ella consigue
4 we conseguimos
5 vosotros coneguís
6 ustedes, ellos, ellas consiguen

2. Servir | to serve

Stalk change: serv -> sirv

Servir conjugation

1 yo sirvo
ii tú sirves
three usted, él, ella sirve
four we servimos
5 vosotros servís
half dozen ustedes, ellos, ellas sirven

Stem-irresolute verbs where the o in the stem changes to ue

Once more, in one case you empathize the rules, this is a pretty straightforward vowel modify.

Examples:

one. Almorzar | to have dejeuner

Breakdown:

Almorz – ar

Stem: almorz

Stem change: o -> ue – almorz -> almuerz

Almorzar conjugation

i yo almuerzo
2 tú almuerzas
iii usted, él, ella almuerza
4 nosotros almorzamos
5 vosotros almorzáis
vi ustedes, ellos, ellas almuerzan

two. Encontrar | to discover

Stem change: econtr -> encuentr

Encontrar conjugation

1 yo encuentro
two tú encuentras
iii usted, él, ella encuentra
4 nosotros encontramos
5 vosotros encontráis
6 ustedes, ellos, ellas encuentran

three. Mover | to move

Stem change: mov -> muev

Mover conjugation

1 yo muevo
ii tú muevas
3 usted, él, ella mueva
four nosotros movemos
5 vosotros movéis
half dozen ustedes, ellos, ellas mueven

four. Dormir | to sleep

Stem change: dorm -> duerm

Dormir conjugation

1 yo duermo
2 tú duermes
three usted, él, ella duerme
4 we dormimos
five vosotros dormís
6 ustedes, ellos, ellas duermen

Other possible stalk-changing verbs in Castilian

The above mentioned three types of stalk-irresolute verbs in Castilian are, without a dubiety, the primary stem-changing verbs. However, at that place are 2 other types which nosotros also see, albeit there are much fewer of those. They are and so uncommon, in fact, that it is easier to retrieve the one common verb that follows each conjugation than it is to remember the conjugation itself.

Example 1: jugar | to play (u->ue)

Breakdown:

Jug – ar

Stem: jug

Stem change: u -> ue – jug -> jueg

Jugar conjugation

ane yo juego
2 tú juegas
iii usted, él, ella juega
4 nosotros jugamos
5 vosotros jugáis
6 ustedes, ellos, ellas juegan

Example 2: adquirir | to acquire (i->ie)

Breakdown:

Adquir – ir

Stem: adquir

Stalk change: i -> ie – adquir -> adquier

Adquirir conjugation

ane yo adquiero
ii tú adquieres
iii usted, él, ella adquiere
4 nosotros adquirimos
five vosotros adquirís
6 ustedes, ellos, ellas adquieren

How tin you tell if a Spanish verb is a stem-changing verb?

Unfortunately, there is no real way to know only by looking at a verb whether it is regular, stem-irresolute, or even irregular. This is i of those things that you just have to memorize. It might sound bad, but really this is something you will frequently simply pick up in normal speech. For instance, if yous have heard of the verb pedir and you hear people saying pido and pides etc. all the time, you can confidently assume that pedir is an east->i stalk-changing verb. Equally a Spanish learner, I can't tell you the last time I had to recollect nigh whether a verb was stalk-changing or irregular every bit all the differences have been caused into my speech for a long time. So don't remember it'due south not possible!

If, notwithstanding, y'all desire to find all the stem-changing verbs there are and attempt to memorize them, there is zero wrong with that. However, in that location actually are many stalk-changing verbs in Spanish, so a complete list is difficult to come by. The all-time I accept found is hither (you have to click into each category of cambio de raíz).

If yous are learning by doing a course or using a textbook, whenever a new word is introduced, you should exist told if it is stem-irresolute. The way this is communicated volition vary from textbook to textbook, but in my text books they would just write the stem modify next to the new infinitive verb. For example:

  • Arrepentirse (ie)
  • Recordar (ue)
  • Elegir (i)

Some other mode you tin can become to know the stem-changing verbs in Castilian faster is by looking at the root verb. Many Spanish verbs are prefixed forms of simpler verbs. For example, we've talked about pedir and now know information technology as a stem-irresolute verb. And then seeing despedir, we tin can safely assume it is likewise a stem-irresolute verb of the same category. In this case, the two verbs have unrelated meanings, but that doesn't matter.

Do Spanish stalk-changing verbs change in other tenses and conjugations?

In this post, we have talked about how the stalk-changing verbs in Castilian change in the present tense. Stem-changing verbs generally only change their stems in the present tense (including nowadays indicative, present subjunctive, and nowadays imperative, i.e. commands). Nevertheless, that doesn't make the other conjugations necessarily regular. Some skillful examples of verbs that are stalk-changing in the nowadays tense, while irregular in other tenses, are querer (ie), poder (ue), and tener (ie).

The but exception to the rule that stalk-changing verbs alter only in the nowadays tense are the e -> i category of stalk-changing verbs. In this case, the stem likewise changes:

  • in the gerund (due east.1000 sirviendo)
  • in the past preterite tertiary person – only singular and plural (e.yard sirvió, sirvieron)
  • in the imperfect preterite – all 6 conjugations (east.g: sirviera, sirvieses). This conjugation and how it'due south formed is explained in our mail about all the Spanish tenses

And then, you should now understand what stem-changing verbs in Castilian are. Practice using them in context with Clozemaster!

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