Change into Stem

A while ago, I covered regular -ar, -er, and -ir verbs in the present tense. Today, I would like to cover what we call, irregular verbs -- specifically the "stem-changing" verbs in Spanish. Please refer back to my post on regular verbs in the present tense before continuing on with this post. It will be a good refresher for you. You can find that post here.

There are three types of stem changing verbs in Spanish:

• E to IE
• E to I
• O to UE 

The term, stem-changing, comes from the flower analogy. The entire infinitive form of the verb (for example: hablar) is considered the root. All plants must have roots in which they grow and establish a beautiful flower. The stem on the flower supports the plant above ground. The stem of a verb does the same thing for the verb which usually does not change: habl- in the case of hablar. Consider the –ar part of the verb to be the buds or the actual flowers each very distinct from one another and yet all part of the same plant. Each of the various forms is different from another which are all part of the same verb.

Now in stem-changing verbs, the stem of the verb has a change that takes place when you conjugate it to the various forms. For all stem-changing verbs, the following forms will change: Yo (I), Tú (You (familiar)), Vd. (El, Ella) (You (He, She)), Vds. (they, you all). The two forms that do not change the stem are the Nosotros (We) and Vosotros (You all (familiar)). Below I will take you through the various stem-changing verbs with examples. The examples have the location of the change (or no change) in bold and underlined. Remember that each vowel is pronounced!

1.       Here’s an example for E to IE verbs:

-ar	-er	-ir
Pensar (to think)	Querer (to want, love)	Mentir (to lie)
Pienso Piensas Piensa	Quiero Quieres Quiere	Miento Mientes Miente
Pensamos Pensáis	Queremos Queréis	Mentimos Mentís
Piensan	Quieren	Mienten

Other verbs that work like this are: cerrar, comensar, empezar, negar, perder, defender, encender, entender, sentir, preferir. (In the previous list, I put the letter that changes in bold if there is more than one E in the stem part of the verb.)

2.       Moving on, you will see an example of an E to I changing verb:

-ir

Pedir (to ask for)

Pido Pides Pide

Pedimos Pedís

Piden

Other verbs that change like this are: conseguir, impedir, seguir, elegir, repetir, servir. If you noticed, these are all –ir type verbs. (In the previous list, I put the letter that changes in bold if there is more than one E in the stem part of the verb.)

3.       Finally, here are the O to UE changing verbs:

-ar	-er	-ir
Costar (to cost)	Poder (to be able)	Dormer (to sleep)
Cuesto Cuestas Cuesta	Puedo Puedes Puede	Duermo Duermes Duerme
Costamos Costáis	Podemos Podéis	Dormimos Dormís
Cuestan	Pueden	Duermen

Other verbs that function like this are: contar, encontrar, mostrar, probar, recorder, volver, devolver, llover, mover, morir.

Finally, there are a couple other verbs that have slight changes to their stem:

-er	-ar
Oler (to smell)	Jugar (to play (as in a game))
Huelo Hueles Huele	Juego Juegas Juega
Olemos Oléis	Jugamos Jugáis
Huelen	Juegan

There is usually not a trick to keep these verbs sorted out in your head except for simple memorization and practice. Drill yourself often. Practice using them with friends, family, and pets. Try using flashcards. There are various flashcard apps for smartphones and tablets you can purchase or download for free to help you create your own.

Happy learning!

¡Hasta luego!

~Keith

I'm BACK!!!!!!!

Welcome back everyone!

My apologies for being away for over a year since my last post on this blog. I was in the writing and publishing process of my first book. I would love to introduce to you: So You Want to Learn Spanish?

This book encapsulates all of my tips, tricks, methods, advice, guidance and much more in helping people learn Spanish (or any other language for that matter). Typically you will find books out there that will try and teach you Spanish. I have yet to find a book that will discuss all the methods you can try to learn this beautiful language. It is a "beginners book for beginning Spanish" so to speak.

It covers everything I used and so much more! Tired of Spanish classes that only focus on other people learning the language other than you? Why not try private tutoring lessons? Or an immersion language program? Or maybe a Spanish conversation group? Better yet, do you know the techniques that you respond to best when learning? Find out all of this and so much more by reading my book. You can get it through Amazon.com today.

Please visit my publishing website that talks more about my book including how to obtain your own copy:

http://tbdpub.wix.com/tbdp

Don't worry, eReaders! At the above link, you may purchase my book via Amazon Kindle format for half the price as the paperback copy. If you wish to buy multiple copies for a class or formal instructional group, I can offer you a discount if you use the contact form at the above website. Explain what you wish to use the multiple copies for, how many copies you need, and I can will respond with a quote on a discounted rate. You will need to purchase it through me to receive the discounted rate and it is only for educational instruction purposes. Also, if you would like me to come speak to your group, please use the contact form to request a booking.

I have it nominally priced so it won't break the bank. If you like my book's Facebook back through the above website, you will see periodic posts there with additional resources I find from time to time. The learning keeps on coming!

Be sure to tell your friends, family and everyone about my book if they are interested in learning any foreign language. The tips I provide can be applied to learn any language as they are general enough and practical.

I will try my hardest to post back on this blog from time to time. I do have other projects that will be taking some of my time, but I would like to continue adding to the well-being of others to learn Spanish. Thank you for your patience! Thank you for your time! And thank you for checking this out! I am humbly appreciative of your time and interest and it is my sincere hope that my blog and this book help you on your journey of learning another language.

¡Hasta luego!
~Keith