stem to find the stem, you drop the last two letters of the infinitive (unconjugated verb). any...

Stem

To find the stem, you drop the last two letters of the infinitive (unconjugated verb). Any remaining letters are the stem.

Stem-changing verb

a verb that experiences a CHANGE in the STEM during conjugation. The verb will have regular verb endings, but will experience a change in the stem.

4 categories

There are 4 categories of stem-changing verbs:

e --> ie

o --> ue

u --> ue (jugar)

e --> i

e -> ie stem-changer

The “e” in the stem will turn into “ie” during conjugation except for the NOSOTROS form.

Important!

Stem-changing verbs will NEVER have a stem-change in the NOSOTROS form!

e --> ie stem-changers

cerrar (to close) empezar (to start)

perder (to lose) sentarse (to sit down)

comenzar (to start) pensar (to think)

preferir (to prefer) querer (to want)

sentir (to feel)

Empezar (to start)

yo empiezo nosotros empezamos

tú empiezas

él/ella/Usted empieza ellos/ellas/Uds.

empiezan

Cerrar (to close)yo cierro nosotros cerramos

tú cierras

él/ella/Usted cierra ellos/ellas/Uds.

cierran

perder (to lose)

yo pierdo nosotros perdemos

tú pierdes

él/ella/Usted pierde ellos/ellas/Uds.

pierden

sentar (to sit)yo siento nosotros sentamos

tú sientas

él/ella/Usted sienta ellos/ellas/Uds.

sientan

comenzar (to start)

yo comienzo nosotros comenzamos

tú comienzas

él/ella/Ud. comienza ellos/ellas/Uds.

comienzan

pensar (to think)

yo pienso nosotros pensamos

tú piensas

él/ella/Usted piensa ellos/ellas/Uds.

piensan

preferir (to prefer)

yo prefiero nosotros preferimos

tú prefieres

él/ella/Usted prefiere ellos/ellas/Uds.

prefieren

querer (to want)yo quiero nosotros queremos

tú quieres

él/ella/Usted quiere ellos/ellas/Uds.

quieren

sentir (to feel)yo siento nosotros sentimos

tú sientes

él/ella/Usted siente ellos/ellas/Uds.

sienten

Checking for Understanding

What is a stem-changing verb?

Verb that has a change in the stem during conjugation

What is an e -> ie stem-changer?

The “e” in the stem turns into “ie” during conjugation

In what form is there never a stem-change?

Nosotros

Fill in the blank with the correct conjugation

La profesora ______________ el libro. (cerrar)

cierra

Fill in the blank with the correct conjugation

Yo ___________ mucho. (pensar)pienso

Fill in the blank with the correct conjugation

Mi equipo __________ . (perder)pierde

Fill in the blank with the correct conjugation

La clase _____________ tarde. (comenzar)

comienza

Fill in the blank with the correct conjugation

Mis abuelos _____________ los carros nuevos. (preferir)

prefieren

Fill in the blank with the correct conjugation

Yo ____________ mucho dinero. (querer)

quiero

Fill in the blank with the correct conjugation

Nosotros _________ bien hoy. (sentir)

sentimos

el fin

gracias

Hola,

I hope you and your students find this slideshow to be helpful. If you have any questions about the material, please don’t hesitate to contact me at amandadavis@bellsouth.net.

Gracias,

Maestra en Mississippi