Stem-Changing Verbs in the Present Tense

Spanish grammar is wonderfully logical; even the occasional exception to the rules
follows a general pattern. Case in point: stem-changing (also known as radical-
changing) verbs.

In order to understand this concept, it is first necessary to define “stem.” The stem of
the verb is the root, the part that, unlike the ending, does not change when the verb is
conjugated. It is the part of the infinitive that stays when the –ar, -er or –ir ending is
changed. In the verb hablar (to speak/talk), habl- is the stem:

yo hablo (I speak) nostros hablamos (we speak)

tú hablas (you speak)
él habla (he speaks) ellos hablan (they speak)

Hablar is a regular –ar verb, and so the stem does not change. Watch what happens
to the stem-changing –ar verb jugar (to play (a game, a sport)):

yo juego (I play) nosotros jugamos (we play)

tú juegas (you play)
él juega (he plays) ellos juegan (they play)
Here’s another stem-changing –ar verb, cerrar (to close):

yo cierro (I close) nosotros cerramos (we close)

tú cierras (you close)
él cierra (he closes) ellos cierran (they close)

In the case of jugar, the u in the stem became ue in four of the conjugations (the yo,
tú, él and ellos forms). In the case of cerrar, the e became ie in the same four
conjugations. The third type of stem change is o to ue. I’ll bet you can predict what
happens to the stem-changing verb recordar (to remember/recall, or record):

yo recuerdo (I remember) nosotros recordamos (we remember)

tú recuerdas (you remember)
él recuerda (he remembers) ellos recuerdan (they remember)
The tricky part about stem-changing verbs is that there are two parts of the verb to
conjugate: the ending and the middle, or stem. Fortunately, most stem-changing
verbs are quite predictable; the –ar, -er and –ir endings remain the same as in any
regular verb, and only the stem changes in all but the nosotros and vosotros forms.
(In Latin America, vosotros is not widely used, but you’ll still run into it in written
language, including the Bible.) There are, as we have seen, three main stem changes.
Here are some verbs that follow the patterns we’ve seen so far:
 e to ie stem change
cerrar to close
comenzar to start, begin
despertar to awaken
defender to defend
entender to understand
empezar to start, begin
mentir to lie
negar to deny
pensar to think
perder to lose
preferir to prefer
querer to want
**tener to have
**venir to come

**These two have irregular yo forms: yo tengo, yo vengo. The other forms follow the
rules for the regular e to ie stem change.

o to ue stem change
acordar to remember
almorzar to have lunch
contar to count, to tell
costar to cost
devolver to return, give back
dormir to sleep
encontrar to meet, find
envolver to wrap, envelop
morir to die
mostrar to show
mover to move
poder to be able (to do something)
probar to prove, to try
recordar to remember
volver to return, come back
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb..

1. Yo ______________ hambre. ¿Tú ______________comer? (tener) (querer)

2. Sí. ¿Qué restaurante _____________________ tú? (preferir)

3. Mi hermano ___________________en Pollo Loco muchas veces. (almorzar)

4. Ah, sí, yo ____________________ que le gusta mucho. (recordar)

5. El libro no _______________ mucho. (costar)

6. ¿ __________________ (tú) un libro? (devolver)

7. Sí, nosotros __________________________ a estudiar. (empezar)

Now translate the sentences into English...

1. I am hungry. Do you want to eat?

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Answers:
1) tengo, quieres. I’m hungry. Do you want to eat?
2) prefieres. Yes. What restaurant do you prefer?
3) almuerza. My brother often has lunch at Pollo Loco.
4) recuerdo. Oh yes, I remember that he likes it there. Okay.
5) cuesta. It’s good, and the food doesn’t cost much. But first let’s go to the
library.
6) Devuelves. Are you returning a book?
7) empezamos. Yes, right now. Then we can start to eat.