Spanish Stem-Changing Verbs
In Spanish, there are two types of verbs that undergo spelling changes during conjugation. The first, spelling change verbs, undergo consonant changes in certain conjugations. The second, stem-changing verbs, are characterized by changes in vowels.
Stem-changing verbs have a vowel spelling change in the stem of all forms except nosotros and vosotros. The endings themselves are the same as for regular –AR, -ER, and –IR verbs. Spanish has three stem-changing patterns in the present tense: E to IE, O to UE, and E to I.
E changes to IE
Example: cerrar – to close
Pronoun | Regular –AR Ending | Conjugation /w E:IE Stem-Change |
yo – I
|
o | cierro |
tú – you (familiar)
|
as | cierras |
él, ella – he, she
usted – you (formal) |
a | cierra |
nosotros, nosotras – we
|
amos | cerramos* |
vosotros, vosotras – you (plural familiar) | áis | cerráis* |
ellos, ellas – they
ustedes – you (plural formal) |
an | cierran |
* Note the lack of a stem-change in the nosotros and vosotros forms.
O changes to UE
Example: PODER – can, to be able to
Pronoun | Regular –ER Ending | Conjugation /w O:UE Stem-Change |
yo – I
|
o | puedo |
tú – you (familiar)
|
es | puedes |
él, ella – he, she
usted – you (formal) |
e | puede |
nosotros, nosotras – we
|
emos | podemos |
vosotros, vosotras – you (plural familiar) | éis | podéis |
ellos, ellas – they
ustedes – you (plural formal) |
en | pueden |
E Changes to I
Example: REPETIR – to repeat
Pronoun | Regular –IR Ending | Conjugation /w E:IE Stem-Change |
yo – I
|
o | repito |
tú – you (familiar)
|
es | repites |
él, ella – he, she
usted – you (formal) |
e | repite |
nosotros, nosotras – we
|
imos | repetimos |
vosotros, vosotras – you (plural familiar) | ís | repetís |
ellos, ellas – they
ustedes – you (plural formal) |
en | repiten |