AP Spanish Study Sheet: Stem-Changing Verbs

AP Spanish
Study Sheet: Stem-Changing Verbs
Figure It Out!
Page 1 of 4
No me siento muy bien hoy. Me duele el estómago y la cabeza. Me gusta celebrar los
cumpleaños, pero no puedo comer la comida de mi tía. Pienso que algún día su comida va a
matar a alguien. Mientras estos dolores continúen siento que me muero. Por eso, ahora
quiero ir al médico. Cuando estoy en su oficina siempre consigo medicina.
Although not categorized as "irregular," most of the verbs in the previous paragraph
undergo some form of alteration when conjugated. Do you see any pattern in these
"changes"?
Introduction
The majority of the verbs that are used most often in Spanish are either irregular, have an
irregular 1 st person singular (yo) form, are stem-changing, or have spelling changes.
This activity focuses on the last two of these four types of verbs in the present tense.
Present Tense: Stem-Changing Verbs
Stem-changing verbs can appear to be a little intimidating at first glance. But once you
learn the pattern of how they are conjugated, the only thing that you have to worry about is
knowing which verbs require a stem change. To deal with this problem, when you learn a
new verb, make a mental note of whether it is a stem-changing verb. In most textbook
vocabulary lists, the verb is listed in its infinitive form with the stem change in parenthesis;
for example, poder (ue). This means that the –o– changes to –ue– in the stem of the
conjugated verb. However, many new verbs that you will learn will not appear in vocabulary
lists. So you will have to look for stem changes in the root of the conjugated verbs. Once
you have identified a verb as stem-changing, then you just apply the appropriate stemchanging
pattern. Here's some simple advice on how you can give this problem "the boot."
In the chart below, the dark gray areas forming a boot shape require a stem change in the
present tense, while the light gray areas don’t. That is, on these types of verbs, all the verb
forms get a stem change except for nosotros and vosotros. It’s as simple as that!
THE "BOOT"
yo nosotros
tú vosotros
él/ella/usted ellos/ellas/ustedes
The table on the following page shows the three types of stem changes that occur in the
present tense. Look for the "boot." That is, look for the stem changes in the 1 st , 2 nd , and 3 rd
person singular and in the 3 rd person plural forms. Just remember that the 1 st and 2 nd
person plural forms (nosotros/as and vosotros/as) do not have stem changes in the present
tense. Never! At the bottom of the table are some common stem-changing verbs in the
present tense.
© 2008 powerspeaK 12 . All rights reserved. This material is intended for the exclusive use of registered users only.
No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of
powerspeaK 12 .

AP Spanish
Study Sheet: Stem-Changing Verbs
O UE E IE E I
MOSTRAR (to show) PENSAR (to think)
muestro mostramos pienso pensamos
muestras mostráis piensas pensáis
muestra muestran piensa piensan
PODER (to be able) QUERER (to want)
puedo podemos quiero queremos
puedes podéis quieres queréis
puede pueden quiere quieren
Page 2 of 4
DORMIR (to sleep) SENTIR (to feel) PEDIR (to ask for)
duermo dormimos siento sentimos pido pedimos
duermes dormís sientes sentís pides pedís
duerme duermen siente sienten pide piden
OTHER O UE VERBS OTHER E IE VERBS OTHER E I VERBS
acostar
almorzar
aprobar
contar
costar
encontrar
mostrar
probar
recordar
sonar
volar
devolver
doler
llover
poder
resolver
volver
dormir
morir
to wake up
to eat lunch
to pass
to count
to cost
to encounter
to show
to try
to remember
to ring
to fly
to give back
to hurt
to rain
to be able
to resolve
to return
to sleep
to die
acertar
cerrar
comenzar
confesar
empezar
negar
nevar
pensar
recomendar
sentar(se)
atender
defender
encender
entender
perder
querer
advertir
consentir
convertir
divertir
hervir
mentir
preferir
sentir
sugerir
to be right
to close
to begin/start
to confess
to begin/start
to deny
to snow
to think
to
recommend.
to sit
to wait on
to defend
to light
to intend
to lose
to want
to advise
to allow
to convert
to entertain
to boil
to lie
to prefer
to feel
to suggest
competir
despedir
gemir
impedir
medir
pedir
repetir
servir
vestir
to compete
to send away
to groan
to impede
to measure
to ask for
to repeat
to serve
to dress
The words in bold in the table above are those that were conjugated in the upper part of
the table.
© 2008 powerspeaK 12 . All rights reserved. This material is intended for the exclusive use of registered users only.
No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of
powerspeaK 12 .

AP Spanish
Study Sheet: Stem-Changing Verbs
Page 3 of 4
The verbs adquirir, jugar, and oler are unique stem-changing verbs of their kind. The
following table shows their conjugations with the stem-changes in the "boot."
U UE I IE O HUE
JUGAR (to play) ADQUIRIR (to acquire) OLER (to smell)
juego jugamos adquiero adquirimos huelo olemos
juegas jugáis adquieres adquirís hueles olís
juega juegan adquiere adquieren huele huelen
Now that you know the pattern of stem-changing verbs in the present tense, and you have
identified some common stem-changing verbs, practice conjugating them until this becomes
second nature. The exercises at the end of this Activity will help.
Present Tense: Spelling Changes
Sometimes when you conjugate a verb in the present tense, some forms undergo a special
spelling change. Why?
Unlike English, Spanish spelling is highly consistent in matching letters with sounds. That’s
why some verbs require a spelling change to preserve the correct pronunciation of the stem.
The following table highlights the spelling changes that occur in the 1 st person singular (yo)
form of certain verbs. It also shows some common verbs with that particular spelling
change.
Verbs ending in –cer or –cir preceded by a vowel add z before c in the first person singular.
conocer (to know) conozco, conoces, conoce, conocemos, conocéis, conocen
conducir (to drive) conduzco, conduces, conduce, conducimos, conducís, conducen
Other –cer and –cir
verbs:
aparecer
crecer
parecer
to appear
to grow
to seem
introducir
producir
traducir
to introduce
to produce
to translate
Verbs ending in –cer or –cir preceded by a consonant change c to z in the first person
singular.
vencer (to win) venzo, vences, vence, vencemos, vencéis, vencen
esparcir (to scatter) esparzo, esparces, esparce, esparcimos, esparcís, esparcen
Other –cer and –cir
verbs:
convencer to convince ejercer to exercise
Verbs ending in –ger and –gir change g to j in the first person singular.
proteger (to protect) protejo, proteges, protege, protegemos, protegéis, protegen
dirigir (to direct) dirijo, diriges, dirige, dirigimos, dirigís, dirigen
Other –ger and –gir
verbs:
corregir (i)
coger
to correct
to grasp
exigir
recoger
to demand
to collect
© 2008 powerspeaK 12 . All rights reserved. This material is intended for the exclusive use of registered users only.
No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of
powerspeaK 12 .

AP Spanish
Study Sheet: Stem-Changing Verbs
Page 4 of 4
Verbs ending in –guir change gu to g in the first person singular.
extinguir (to extinguish) extingo, extingues, extingue, extinguimos, extinguís, extinguen
Other –guir verbs:
conseguir (i)
distinguir
to obtain
to distinguish
proseguir (i)
seguir (i)
to pursue
to follow
The following table highlights "boot" spelling changes. That is, these spelling changes occur
in the 1 st , 2 nd , and 3 rd person singular and in the 3 rd person plural forms only! It also shows
some common verbs with that particular spelling change.
Verbs ending in –uir change i to y before o and e.
incluir (to include) incluyo, incluyes, incluye, incluimos, incluís, incluyen
Other –uir verbs:
concluir
contribuir
to conclude
to contribute
destruir
influir
to destroy
to influence
Some verbs ending in –iar and –uar change the i to í and the u to ú in all forms except
nosotros and vosotros.
confiar (to trust) confío, confías, confía, confiamos, confiáis, confían
acentuar (to accentuate) acentúo, acentúas, acentúa, acentuamos, acentuáis, acentúan
Other –iar and –uar
verbs of this type:
Regular –iar & –uar
verbs:
ampliar
continuar
enfriar
anunciar
apreciar
averiguar
to enlarge
to continue
to cool
to announce
to value
to find out
graduar(se)
guiar
situar
cambiar
estudiar
limpiar
to graduate
to guide
to place
to change
to study
to clean
Of course, the lists of example verbs in the tables are not exhaustive. That is, these are
only examples. Many more verbs exist for each point explained above.
© 2008 powerspeaK 12 . All rights reserved. This material is intended for the exclusive use of registered users only.
No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of
powerspeaK 12 .