Spanish Irregular Verbs
Lesson Activity 201a
 
Here you will discuss changes in the stems that make verbs irregular. As you know the Spanish verb is formed by the stem and the ending

For example:       cerr-ar      quer-er       prefer-ir 

Stem Changes

The stem changes can be in the present indicative, or any tense, depending on the verb.

1.   Changing of Stem in the Present Tense

a) The stem can change from e to ie in the following examples, in each conjugation:
 

Verb   Stem Verbal Form
cerrar 
querer
preferir		 cerr
quer 
prefer		 cierro
quiero
prefiero

The changes are shown in blue.

Presente


 Cerrar
to close		 Querer
to want		 Preferir 
to prefer
cierro
cierras
cierra
cerramos
cerráis
cierran		 quiero
quieres
quiere
queremos
queréis
quieren		 prefiero
prefieres
prefiere
preferimos
preferís
prefieren

As you can observe changes occur in most of the grammatical persons with the exception of nosotros and vosotros, which do not require stem changes. Endings are kept as in the regular conjugation.
 

Tú cierras la puerta principal. 
¿Quiere Ud. viajar temprano?
Ella quiere mucho a sus amigas.
Nosotros queremos un auto nuevo.
¿Quieren Uds. salir temprano hoy?
Sí. Yo prefiero irme a casa.		 You close the main door.
¿Do you want to travel early?
She loves her friends very much.
We want a new car.
Do you want to leave early today?
Yes. I prefer to go home.

Can you see where the changes occurs?

Muy bién!
  Copyright © 2001, Ramona del Carmen Castillo
Last Updated: October 20, 2001