The present tense and stem-changing verbs

Stem-changing usually take the same endings as regular verbs but have a spelling change in their . The spelling change always affects a vowel, but only applies to the following parts of the verb:

I
you (singular)
he/she/you (polite)
they/you (polite plural)

There are four groups of stem-changing verbs.

	e → ie	e → i	o → ue	u → ue
	querer: (to want)	pedir: (to ask for)	poder: (to be able/can)	jugar: (to play)
(yo)	quiero	pido	puedo	juego
(tu)	quieres	pides	puedes	juegas
(él/ella/usted)	quiere	pide	puede	juega
(nosotros/as)	queremos	pedimos	podemos	jugamos
(vosotros/as)	queréis	pedís	podéis	jugáis
(ellos/ellas/ustedes)	quieren	piden	pueden	juegan


e → ie	querer: (to want)
e → i	pedir: (to ask for)
o → ue	poder: (to be able/can)
u → ue	jugar: (to play)

	(yo)
e → ie	quiero
e → i	pido
o → ue	puedo
u → ue	juego

	(tu)
e → ie	quieres
e → i	pides
o → ue	puedes
u → ue	juegas

	(él/ella/usted)
e → ie	quiere
e → i	pide
o → ue	puede
u → ue	juega

	(nosotros/as)
e → ie	queremos
e → i	pedimos
o → ue	podemos
u → ue	jugamos

	(vosotros/as)
e → ie	queréis
e → i	pedís
o → ue	podéis
u → ue	jugáis

	(ellos/ellas/ustedes)
e → ie	quieren
e → i	piden
o → ue	pueden
u → ue	juegan

Other e → ie stem-changing verbs include:

despertarse (to wake up) → me despierto (I wake up)
divertirse (to enjoy yourself) → me divierto (I enjoy myself)
empezar (to start) → empiezo (I start)
preferir (to prefer) → prefiero (I prefer)
nevar (to snow) → nieva (it snows)

Other e → i stem-changing verbs include:

repetir (to repeat) → repito (I repeat)
servir (to serve) → sirvo (I serve)
vestirse (to get dressed) → me visto (I get dressed)

Other o → ue stem-changing verbs include:

acostarse (to go to bed) → me acuesto (I go to bed)
dormir (to sleep) → duermo (I sleep)
encontrar (to find) → encuentro (I find)
volver (to return) → vuelvo (I return)
costar (to cost) → cuesta (it costs)
llover (to rain) → llueve (it rains)

Revising Spanish grammar - present tense - EdexcelThe present tense and stem-changing verbs

The present tense and stem-changing verbs

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