Spanish stem-changing verbs
- How it works
- E changes to IE
- O changes to UE
- Stem-changing verbs in the preterite (pretérito perfecto)
How it works
In the present tense, some verbs have a stem change: a letter in its root changes in some grammatical persons. There are two types of stem changes:
E changes to IE
Here is pensar (to think), in the present tense:
yo pienso
tú piensas
él / ella / usted piensa
nosotros / nosotras pensamos
(vosotros / vosotras pensáis)
ellos / ellas / ustedes piensan
This happens in many verbs; it doesn't matter if they are -ar, -er or -ir. Note that the E changes to IE in every person except nosotros and vosotros.
Here are some common “E to IE” verbs:
cerrar - to close
divertirse - to have fun
empezar* - to start / to begin
entender* - to understand
mentir - to lie
pensar - to think
perder - to lose
preferir* - to prefer
querer - to want / to love
recomendar - to recommend
sentarse - to sit down
sentirse - to feel
*The stem change always happens in the strong syllable: empiezo, entiendo, prefiero.
O changes to UE
Here is soñar (to dream), in the present tense:
yo sueño
tú sueñas
él / ella / usted sueña
nosotros / nosotras soñamos
(vosotros / vosotras soñáis)
ellos / ellas / ustedes sueñan
Again, the O changes to UE in every person except nosotros and vosotros.
Here are some common “O to UE” verbs:
acostarse - to go to bed / to lie down
almorzar - to have lunch
contar - to tell / to count
costar - to cost
devolver - to return (an item)
dormir - to sleep
dormirse - to fall asleep
encontrar - to find
mover - to move (an item)
morir - to die
poder - to be able to
recordar - to remember
sonar - to sound
soñar - to dream
volar - to fly
volver - to return
Stem-changing verbs in the preterite (pretérito perfecto)
Stem-changing verbs do not change their stem in the pretérito perfecto.
Here is pensar (to think), in the pretérito perfecto tense. As you can see, it is 100% regular.
yo pensé
tú pensaste
él / ella / usted pensó
nosotros / nosotras pensamos
(vosotros / vosotras pensasteis)
ellos / ellas / ustedes pensaron
Here is soñar (to dream), in the pretérito perfecto tense. Again, 100% regular.
yo soñé
tú soñaste
él / ella / usted soñó
nosotros / nosotras soñamos
(vosotros / vosotras soñasteis)
ellos / ellas / ustedes soñaron
Verbs divertirse, mentir, morir, preferir, querer, sentirse, dormir and poder are irregular in the pretérito perfecto tense. Try to look up their conjugations and memorize them.
