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Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-04-16 08:40:05 -05:00

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22. Stem-Changing Verbs

Source: video

Stem-changing verbs modify their internal vowel in conjugation to "sound better." Spanish has four categories: e→ie, e→i, o→ue, and u→ue. The change occurs in all forms EXCEPT nosotros and vosotros (the "boot" pattern).

Key Rules

  • The stem change applies to yo, tú, él/ella/usted, ellos/ellas/ustedes — NOT nosotros / vosotros.
  • Four categories: e → ie, e → i, o → ue, u → ue (only jugar).
  • Endings stay regular; only the stem vowel changes.
  • If you see a verb conjugated with ie, i, or ue in the stem, it's likely a stem-changer.

Conjugation / Pattern Tables

empezar (e → ie) — to start

Pronoun Form
yo empiezo
empiezas
él/ella empieza
nosotros empezamos
vosotros empezáis
ellos empiezan

decir (e → i) — to say (also irregular yo: digo)

Pronoun Form
yo digo
dices
él/ella dice
nosotros decimos
vosotros decís
ellos dicen

recordar (o → ue) — to remember

Pronoun Form
yo recuerdo
recuerdas
él/ella recuerda
nosotros recordamos
vosotros recordáis
ellos recuerdan

jugar (u → ue) — to play

Pronoun Form
yo juego
juegas
él/ella juega
nosotros jugamos
vosotros jugáis
ellos juegan

Examples

Spanish English
Yo empiezo el trabajo a las ocho. I start work at eight.
Tú dices la verdad. You tell the truth.
Él recuerda mi nombre. He remembers my name.
Nosotros jugamos al fútbol. We play soccer.
Ellos pueden venir mañana. They can come tomorrow.

Notes & Gotchas

  • jugo on its own = "juice"; the verb stem-changes to juego to avoid confusion. videojuego = video game.
  • tener and poder are stem-changers you've already met (tengo/tienes…, puedo/puedes…).
  • Nosotros/vosotros stay regular — that's the "boot" shape on a conjugation chart.