Español 1 Avancemos Lección 4.1 Stem-changing Verbs Español 1 Avancemos Lección 4.1

Stem-Changing Verbs What is a stem changing verb? Remember that a verb has two parts: 1) the stem 2) the “ar”/”er”/”ir” ending. Example: Escribir – to write (cross out the ending “er” and what is left is the stem. escribir Stem = escrib ir = ending In a stem changing verb, the stem changes though the endings follow the regular “ar”/”er”/or “ir” pattern.

Stem-Changing Verbs There are 4 different types of stem changing verbs: e-ie stem changers e – i stem changers o-ue stem changers u – ue stem changers Let’s take a look at e-ie stem changers and how to conjugate them: Querer = to want. It is an e-ie stem changing verb. It also has the endings for “er” verbs.

Querer (e-ie) – to want How to conjugate: Cross of the “er” ending and you are left with the stem “quer”. Because querer is an e-ie stem changer, we have to change the “e” in the stem to “ie” before we add our endings. IMPORTANT NOTE: Stem changing verbs NEVER EVER change their stem in the NOSOTROS/VOSOTROS forms of the verb. Yo quiero = I want Tú quieres = you want él/ella/usted quiere = he/she/you want nosotros/as QUERemos = we want Ellos/ellas/ustedes quieren= They/you guys want

Let’s Practice conjugating an “e-ie” verb cerrar – to close Yo Tú él/ella/usted Nosotros/as Ellos/ellas/ustedes cierro = I close cierras = you (fr) close cierra = he/she closes/you (fml) close. cerramos = we close cierran = they/you all close

pensar – to think (e – ie stem change) singular plural Yo pienso nosotros/as PENSamos Tú piensas vosotros/as PENsaís él/ella usted piensa ellos/ellas ustedes piensan

Entender – to understand(e-ie stem changing verb) singular plural Yo entiendo nosotros entendemos tú entiendes vosotros entendéis él/ella/usted entiende Ellos/ellas/ustedes entienden

¿Tú quieres mirar la television o leer un libro? IMPORTANT Note: When one verb follows another, the FIRST VERB is conjugated and the second verb is in the INFINITIVE form. EXAMPLES: ¿Tú quieres mirar la television o leer un libro? Do you want to watch TV or to read a book? Paula prefiere llevar el vestido azul. Paula prefers to wear the blue dress. Ella empieza estudiar sus apuntes. She begins to study her notes.

e  ie o  ue e  i As stated earlier: There are 4 types of stem-changing verbs: e-ie/e-i/o-ue. Here are 3 types of them…. e  ie pensar = to think querer = to want cerrar = to close entender = to understand preferir = to prefer empezar = to start o  ue almorzar = to eat lunch poder = to be able/can encontrar = to find dormir = to sleep volver = to return e  i servir = to serve pedir = to order seguir = to follow competir = to compete

There is only ONE “u-ue” verb. It is the verb jugar – to play. Yo juego nosotros JUGamos Tú juegas él/ella/usted juega ellos/ellas/ustedes juegan