Stem Changers Present Indicative
What is the stem of a verb? All verbs in Spanish end with either –ar, -er –ir When a verb has the –ar, -er, -ir still on the end, that entire verb is said to be in its INFINITIVE form Ex:hablar comer vivir
If you were to drop the –ar, -er, -ir ending on the verb, what you are left with is called the STEM of the verb Ex: habl com viv ar er ir
Some verbs have a change in the stem normally: querer quer pedir ped jugar jug volar vol With stem change: e > ie quererquier e > I pedirpid u > ue jugarjueg o > ue volarvuel
Not so fast………. There is a catch Not all the forms get the stem change Present tense stem changers are often called “boot” verbs
Why? Because only the forms inside the boot get the stem change yo tú Él Ella usted nosotros vosotros Ellos Ellas ustedes quiero quieres quiere queremos queréis quieren
examples Yo quiero $100. Nosotros queremos $100 Tú siempre pides papas fritas Nosotros nunca pedimos verduras Ella juega al baloncesto. Nosotros no jugamos ajedrez