Stem-changing verbs in Spanish: Get to know them and master them once and for all!

May 19, 2021

What are stem-changing Verbs?

As you will certainly know, in Spanish, all verbs consist of a stem (root) and an ending. The stem is the first part of the verb, whereas in the infinitive, the endings are: -ar, -er, -ir. In other words, stem-changing verbs in the present tense, when conjugated, use the same endings as regular -ar, -er, and -ir verbs, but in the last syllable of the stem, they undergo a vowel change.

Regular verbs alter their ending without affecting the first part of the verb, following simple rules. However, when they are conjugated in the present, there is a group of verbs that behave in a similar way to regular verbs but change both their stem and ending. In everyday situations, some of these verbs with stem changes in Spanish are very common and useful. Bear in mind that all regular verbs keep the stem (it is always the same stem) but irregular verbs don’t.

Let’s take a look at the regular verb amar (to love). It consists of the stem am- and the ending -ar. To conjugate amar in the present tense, simply take the stem and add the correct ending (o, a, as, amos, áis, an). In the following examples, the stem is underlined and the ending is in bold.

Present simple (Presente de indicativo)

(yo) amo

(tú) amas

(él) ama

(ns) amamos

(vs) amáis

(ellos) aman

You can apply the same rule for all regular verbs, ending in -ar (1st conjugation), -er (2nd conjugation), -ir (3rd conjugation). Remember: the stem does not change for regular verbs, however it does change for irregular verbs.

There are three basic types of stem-changing verbs (see below: 1,2 and 3) and another two that are restricted to some verbs (4 and 5).Now, we’ll take a look at the following present tense stem changes for irregular verbs:

e > ie changes
o > ue changes
e > i changes
i > ie changes
u > ue changes

Stem-changing verbs:

1. e changes to ie

The largest number of verbs are affected by this type of stem change. For verbs in this group, the e changes to ie in the last syllable of the stem. An example of this can be found in the conjugation table for the verb querer (to want).

Present simple (Presente de indicativo) – querer

(yo) quiero

(tú) quieres

(él) quiere

(nosotros) queremos*

(vosotros) queréis* (formal: ustedes quieren)

(ellos) quieren

*With the second group of stem-changing verbs, the letter e in the stem changes to ie in all forms except the nosotros and vosotros.

Another example:

Present simple (Presente de indicativo) – tener (to have)

(yo) tengo

(tú) tienes

(él) tiene

(nosotros) tenemos*

(vosotros) tenéis* (formal: ustedes tienen)

(ellos) tienen

*The patterns for stem‐changing verbs are very consistent. The affected conjugations are in singular, the first person (yo), the second person (tú) and second person formal (usted), the third person (él, ella), and in plural, the second person formal (ustedes), and the third person (ellos, ellas). In the present simple, the stem change applies to all forms of the verb except for the nosotros and vosotros forms. For nosotros and vosotros, keep the stem the same and treat it as you would any regular verb.

Memory trick:

Have a close look at this trick to memorize changes more easily: prefixes. About the aforementioned example, if you learn the stem change for tener (to have), you will also have learned the stem shifts for the associated verbs: obtener (to obtain), contener (to contain), mantener (to maintain) and entretener (to entertain).

Let’s have a look at some common verbs:

*SPANISH*	ENGLISH	*SPANISH*	ENGLISH
empezar	to begin	entender	to understand
mentir	to lie	pensar	to think
perder	to lose	negar	to deny
sentar(se)	to sit down	preferir	to prefer
cerrar	to close	comenzar	to begin
sugerir	to suggest	sentir	to feel
venir	to come	tener	to have
atravesar	to cross	calentar	to warm up
despertarse	to wake up	divertirse	to have fun
recomendar	to recommend	defender	to defend

Watch out for venir and tener. The personal pronoun yo form is completely different and does not follow any of the rules aforementioned.

venir: (yo) vengo /(tú) vienes /(él) viene /(nosotros)venimos /(vosotros)venís /(ellos) vienen

tener: (yo) tengo /(tú) tienes /(él) tiene /(nosotros) tenemos /(vosotros) tenéis /(ellos) tienen

2. o changes to ue

For verbs in this group, the o in the last syllable of the stem changes to ue. Check out an example of this in the conjugation table for the verb aprobar (to approve).

Present simple (Presente de indicativo) – aprobar (to approve)

(yo) apruebo

(tú) apruebas

(él) aprueba

(nosotros) aprobamos

(vosotros) aprobáis

(ellos) aprueban

Have a look at some examples

*SPANISH*	ENGLISH	*SPANISH*	ENGLISH
revolver	to mix/shake	rogar	to beg
soler	to be accustomed to	sonar	to sound
soñar	to dream	torcer	to twist
demostrar	to demonstrate/prove	devolver	to return
disolver	to dissolve	doler	to hurt
almorzar	to have lunch	aprobar	to approve
colgar	to hang (up)	mover	to move
contar	to count	demoler	to demolish
costar	to cost	encontrar	to find
dormir	to sleep	llover	to rain
envolver	to wrap	mostrar	to show
morder	to bite	promover	to promote
probar	to taste, to prove	remover	to remove
recordar	to remember	volar	to fly
morir	to die	poder	to be able to
resolver	to resolve	retorcer	to twist
cocer	to boil/bake	conmover	to move

3. e changes to i

This time the e changes to i in the last syllable of the stem. An example of this can be found in the conjugation table for the verb corregir (to correct).

Present simple (Presente de indicativo) – corregir (to correct)

(yo) corrijo

(tú) corriges

(él) corrige

(nosotros) corregimos

(vosotros) corregís

(ellos) corrigen

Watch out for the personal pronoun yo form. For verbs such us conseguir, seguir, reir, elegir o decir, the change is very different:

Decir: (yo) digo

Elegir: (yo) elijo

Conseguir: (yo) consigo

Seguir: (yo) sigo

Reír: Me río (don’t say yo río) (yes! Like river in Spanish, but nothing to do with the verb reír (to laugh). If you still don’t understand the verb reír, check out the conjugation table for the verb below?

Present simple (Presente de indicativo) – reír (to laugh)

(yo) río

(tú) ríes

(él) ríe

(nosotros) reímos

(vosotros) reís

(ellos) ríen

Common verbs where e changes to i:

*SPANISH*	ENGLISH	*SPANISH*	ENGLISH
reírse	to laugh	servir	to serve
perseguir	to follow	corregir	to correct
conseguir	to get	decir	to say/tell
sonreírse	to smile	medir	to measure
seguir	to follow	repetir	to repeat

And now, this is for Spanish super-star learners! Practice makes perfect, so keep up with the good work:

4. i changes to ie

In this group, there are only two most common verbs: inquirir (to inquire) adquirir (to acquire). For these two verbs below, check out the conjugation table.

Present simple (Presente de indicativo) – adquirir (to acquire)

(yo) adquiero

(tú) adquieres

(él) adquiere

(nosotros) adquirimos

(vosotros) adquirís

(ellos) adquieren

Present simple (Presente de indicativo) – inquirir (to inquire)

(yo) inquiero

(tú) inquieres

(él) inquiere

(nosotros) inquirimos

(vosotros) inquirís

(ellos) inquieren

Inquirir is a very formal verb in Spanish, similar to preguntar (to ask for). Inquirir means in Spanish: indagar, averiguar o examinar cuidadosamente algo (inquire, find out, or carefully examine something).