STEMCHANGING VERBS IN THE PRESENT TENSE BOOTSHOE VERBS

STEM-CHANGING VERBS IN THE PRESENT TENSE BOOT/SHOE VERBS

Stem-Changing Verbs 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

(‘e ie’ Stem-Changing verbs in the present tense) 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. PENSAR – to think pienso pensamos piensan

PREFERIR – to prefer Yo prefiero Tú prefieres Él prefiere Ella Usted Nosotros preferimos Ellas prefieren Ustedes

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

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

(‘o ue’ Stem-Changing verbs in the present tense) 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. PODER – to be able to puedo podemos pueden

ENCONTRAR – to meet, to find Yo encuentro Nosotros encontramos Tú encuentras Él Ella encuentra Usted Ellos Ellas encuentran Ustedes

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 llover – to rain dormir – to sleep

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

(‘e i’ Stem-Changing verbs in the present tense) 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. PEDIR – to ask for pido pedimos piden

SERVIR – to serve Yo sirvo Tú sirves Él sirve Ella Usted Nosotros servimos Ellas sirven Ustedes

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 AND CONSEGUIR 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 sigo Tú sigues Él Ella Usted sigue Nosotros seguimos Ellas Ustedes siguen CONSEGUIR – to get Yo consigo Tú consigues Él Ella consigue Usted Nosotros conseguimos Ellas consiguen Ustedes