Spanish verbs that change their stems

1. Spanish Stem-
Changing Verbs
e→ie
o→ue
u→ue

2. Los verbos que cambian e→ie
• tener
• querer
• pensar
• empezar
• comenzar
• perder
• to have
• to want
• to think
• to begin (start)
• to begin (start)
• to lose

3. Stem-changing verbs give
their stems the boot!
How do these verbs work?

4. • First, drop the ar, er, orirand
just add the correct endings.
Pronoun -ar -er -ir
o o o
as es es
a e e
amos emos imos
an en en
yo
tú
él,ella, ud
nosotros
ellos, uds.

5. To conjugate the verb querer:
Notice the boot shape!
o emos
es
e en

6. Querer endings
quer quer
quer
quer quer
o emos
e
es
en

7. • Now let’s change the stems.
• Remember, e can change to ie
only within the boot. This
means the nosotros form
never changes!

8. Querer
quier quer
quier
quier quier
o emos
e
es
en

9. • Remember, only the e in the stem
can change. Never the ending!
querer perder
• If there are two e’s in the stem, the
secondone always changes.
preferir empezar

10. The u→ue and o→ue
verbs work the same way.
• poder
• jugar
• dormir
• soñar
• volver
• devolver
• to be able to (can)
• to play
• to sleep
• to dream
• to return (to a place)
• to return (a thing)

11. First, find the o or u in the stem
that is going to change.
• poder
• jugar
• dormir
• soñar
• volver
• devolver

12. Then, decide which verb
endings you will use.
• For jugar:
• o
• as
• a
• amos
• an
• For poder:
• o
• es
• e
• emos
• en

13. Then change it in the boot.
juego jugamos
juegas
juega juegan

14. To count

15. Jugar to play

16. Poder
p__d pod
p__d
p__d p__d
o
es
e
emos
en
ue
ue
ue ue

18. Cerrar – to close

21. juego juegas juega jugamos juegan
quiero
quieres
quiere
queremos quieren
puedo puedes
puede
podemos
pueden
prefiero
prefieres
prefiere
preferimos
prefieren
pienso
piensas
piensa
pensamos
piensan

23. Youtube videos
• Stem changing verbs
• All about that Boot ~ boot verb song