A1 · The present tense
Stem-changing verbs
The vowel changes — everywhere except with we and you plural.
At a glance
- Remember
- The stem changes where it is stressed — not with we and you plural.
- When
- Before the past
- The past
- Past linked to the present
- The present
- The future
- Completed in the future
The present — What holds at the moment, what is under way, or what is always the case.
- Form
- (yo) quieroquerer (e → ie): I want
- Signal words
- querer
- poder
- empezar
- volver
- dormir
- pedir
- entender
- pensar
- Trap
- Wrong:Nosotros puedemos venir el sábado.Right:Nosotros podemos venir el sábado.
Your turn
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The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Spanish. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) stem (irregular) person ending
| querer (e → ie): I want | (yo) quiero |
| you want | (tú) quieres |
| he, she wants; you (formal) want | (él, ella, usted) quiere |
| we want | (nosotros) queremos |
| you (plural) want | (vosotros) queréis |
| they want; you (formal) want | (ellos, ellas, ustedes) quieren |
| poder (o → ue): I can | (yo) puedo |
| you can | (tú) puedes |
| he, she can; you (formal) can | (él, ella, usted) puede |
| we can | (nosotros) podemos |
| you (plural) can | (vosotros) podéis |
| they can; you (formal) can | (ellos, ellas, ustedes) pueden |
| pedir (e → i): I ask for | (yo) pido |
| you ask for | (tú) pides |
| he, she asks for; you (formal) ask for | (él, ella, usted) pide |
| we ask for | (nosotros) pedimos |
| you (plural) ask for | (vosotros) pedís |
| they ask for; you (formal) ask for | (ellos, ellas, ustedes) piden |
| jugar (u → ue): I play | (yo) juego |
| you play | (tú) juegas |
| he, she plays; you (formal) play | (él, ella, usted) juega |
| we play | (nosotros) jugamos |
| you (plural) play | (vosotros) jugáis |
| they play; you (formal) play | (ellos, ellas, ustedes) juegan |
| stay unchanged | nosotros, vosotros |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
The change bites only where the stem is stressed.
Puedo ayudarte, pero no podemos hoy.I can help you, but today we cannot.
The endings stay completely regular.
Empiezas a las ocho.You start at eight.
e → i happens in -ir verbs only.
Repito la pregunta.I am repeating the question.
Membership sits on the word, not in a rule.
Duermo ocho horas.I sleep eight hours.
Example sentences
¿A qué hora empieza la película?What time does the film start?
No entiendo esta palabra.I do not understand this word.
Volvemos el domingo, pero ella vuelve mañana.We are coming back on Sunday, but she is coming back tomorrow.
Los niños duermen en la habitación pequeña.The children sleep in the small room.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
The commonest mistake is to make the change in nosotros and vosotros as well — podemos turns into puedemos, because the pattern has been learnt and is then carried through. It is exactly the other way round: those two forms are the regular ones, and the other four are the departure.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
In a large group of verbs the stressed vowel in the stem changes: e becomes ie, o becomes ue, and in some -ir verbs e becomes i. The endings stay completely regular throughout.
The change bites exactly where the stem is stressed — that is, in four of the six forms. With nosotros and vosotros the stress falls on the ending and the stem stays as it was. That is where these verbs get their nickname: the boot pattern.
Which verbs belong to the group cannot be read off the base form. They are learnt together with the first person: poder – puedo, querer – quiero, pedir – pido.
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The verbs on this page, in every form: poder · empezar · volver · dormir · repetir