Stemchanging verbs are different from regular verbs because

Stem-changing verbs are different from regular verbs because when you conjugate these verbs, not only do you change the endings but you also change the stem (except for the nosotros form). Quick Review: A verb has two parts - the stem and the ending. For example: perder (to lose) Perd + er Stem Ending

In verbs that have an e to ie change, when you conjugate the verb, you change the ‘e’ in the stem to ‘ie’ in all forms except the nosotros form.

Examples of e ie Stem-Changing verbs in the present tense: cerrar – to close entender – to comenzar – to understand begin perder – to lose empezar – to querer – to want begin pensar – to think preferir – to preferir – to refer sentir – to feel, to regret

Tener (to have) and Venir (to come) are also e-ie stem-changing verbs but these verbs have an irregular ‘yo’ form. Yo TENER – to have tengo Nosotros tenemos Yo VENIR – to come vengo Nosotros venimos Tú tienes Tú vienes Él Ella Usted tiene Ellos Ellas Ustedes tienen Él Ella Usted viene Ellos Ellas Ustedes vienen

In verbs that have an o to ue change, when you conjugate the verb, you change the ‘o’ in the stem to ‘ue’ in all forms except the nosotros form.

Examples of o ue Stem-Changing verbs in the present tense: almorzar – to eat lunch contar– to count colgar – to hang costar – to cost encontrar – to meet, to find mostrar – to show recordar – to remember poder – to be able to volver – to return (a person returns) devolver – to return something dormir sleep llover ––totorain

In the verb, Jugar (to play) the stem-change is u - ue. Yo Jugar – to play juego Nosotros jugamos Tú juegas Él Ella Usted juega Ellos Ellas Ustedes juegan

In verbs that have an e to i change, when you conjugate the verb, you change the ‘e’ in the stem to ‘i’ in all forms except the nosotros form.

Examples of e i Stem-Changing verbs in the present tense: pedir – to ask for, to order repetir – to repeat servir – to serve seguir – to follow, to continue conseguir – to get

The verbs Seguir (to follow, to continue) and Conseguir (to get) are e-i stem-changing verbs but these verbs have an irregular ‘yo’ form. You drop the letter ‘u’ in the Yo form. SEGUIR – to follow, to continue Yo Tú Él Ella Usted sigo CONSEGUIR – to get Yo consigo Tú consigues Nosotros seguimos Nosotros conseguimos sigue Ellos Ellas Ustedes siguen Él Ella consigue Usted Ellos Ellas consiguen Ustedes