This lesson is for verbs tagged as stem-changing. Keep the normal present endings; only the stem changes.
The boot rule
The change appears in yo, tú, él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes, and not in nosotros or vosotros. This shape is called the boot. The endings stay regular; only the stem changes.
- e → ie
- o → ue
- e → i
- u → ue
The e → i pattern occurs with -ir verbs only. jugar is the only u → ue verb.
The vos form keeps the plain stem: vos pensás, vos podés.
A stem-change example
pensar in Presente
Irregular yo forms
Some verbs change the stem and also change the spelling of the yo form. Their other forms still follow the boot.
| Verb | yo | tú | nosotros |
|---|---|---|---|
| seguir | sigo | sigues | seguimos |
| conseguir | consigo | consigues | conseguimos |
| elegir | elijo | eliges | elegimos |
| corregir | corrijo | corriges | corregimos |
The spelling keeps the sound: gu → g and g → j.