Spelling-change verbs
Type the missing word in each sentence. You hear each sentence read by a native voice.
(comprobar) a todo el mundo.
Check everyone.
The rule
English does this too. “Picnic” becomes “picnicking”: the “k” is added so the “c” keeps its hard sound before “-ing”. Spanish does the same: when an ending would change the sound of a verb's stem, the spelling changes so the sound stays.
“Busco” means “I look for”. “Busqué” means “I looked for”. The part before the ending, the stem, finishes with the same sound in both, a “k”, but it is written “c” in the first and “qu” in the second.
Some verbs also change a vowel inside the stem, and there the sound does change. On the page both look like a changed stem, and they are different things, so this lesson takes them one at a time.
A letter that keeps the sound before “e”
Take “buscar”, “to look for”. Remove “-ar” and the stem is “busc-”. For “I” in the present, add “-o”: “busco”. The “c” sits before “o”, so it says “k”.
For “I” in the past, “-ar” verbs end in “-é”: “hablé” is “I spoke”. The next lesson teaches that tense in full. “Busc-” plus “é” would give “buscé”, but “ce” says “s” (“th” in much of Spain), not “k”. So the “c” becomes “qu”, which says “k” before “e”: “busqué”.
Two more verbs change the same way. “llegar”, “to arrive”: “llego” is “I arrive”, “llegué” is “I arrived”. “ge” would sound like a rough English “h”, so the “g” gets a “u” to stay hard. “cruzar”, “to cross”: “cruzo” is “I cross”, “crucé” is “I crossed”. Spanish does not write “z” before “e”, so it becomes “c”. “Empezar”, “to begin”, does the same in the past: “empecé”.
| Dictionary form | I, present | I, past | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|
| “buscar” | “busco” | “busqué” | “c” becomes “qu” |
| “llegar” | “llego” | “llegué” | “g” becomes “gu” |
| “cruzar” | “cruzo” | “crucé” | “z” becomes “c” |
The same change happens whenever an “e” ending follows, in later lessons too.
The reverse before “o”
Now start from a verb whose dictionary form ends in “-ger” or “-gir”. In “recoger”, “to pick up”, the “g” sits before “e” and says the rough “h” sound. Add the “-o” of “I” and “go” would say a hard “g”. To keep the rough sound, the “g” becomes “j”: “recojo”, “I pick up”. The same happens with “dirigir”, “to run, to direct”: “dirijo”, “I run”.
In the present only “I” ends in “-o”, so only “I” changes: “recojo, recoges, recoge, recogemos, recogéis, recogen”.
Verbs ending in “-guir” go the other way: a letter drops. The “u” in “seguir”, “to follow”, is there only to keep the “g” hard before “e” or “i”. Before “o” it is not needed: “sigo”, “I follow”. It returns where it is needed: “sigues”. (“Seguir” also changes its vowel from “e” to “i”. That is a different kind of change, and it comes next.)
A change that alters the sound
Compare two forms of “pensar”, “to think”. “Pienso” means “I think”; “pensamos” means “we think”. The stem is “piens-” in the first and “pens-” in the second. The “e” has become “ie”, and you can hear it. That is a stem change.
It follows the stress, the syllable you say louder. In “pienso” the stress falls on “pien”, inside the stem, and the vowel changes. In “pensamos” the stress moves to “sa”, in the ending, and the stem keeps its plain vowel. So in the present the stem changes in “yo”, “tú”, “él”, “ella”, “usted”, “ellos”, “ellas” and “ustedes”, and stays plain in “nosotros” and “vosotros”.
| Who | “pensar” |
|---|---|
| yo | “pienso” |
| tú | “piensas” |
| él, ella, usted | “piensa” |
| nosotros | “pensamos” |
| vosotros | “pensáis” |
| ellos, ustedes | “piensan” |
A verb carries its own change, and the dictionary form does not show which. Four changes cover the common verbs.
| Change | Verb | “I” | “we” |
|---|---|---|---|
| “e” becomes “ie” | “pensar”, to think | “pienso” | “pensamos” |
| “e” becomes “ie” | “empezar”, to begin | “empiezo” | “empezamos” |
| “o” becomes “ue” | “poder”, to be able | “puedo” | “podemos” |
| “o” becomes “ue” | “volver”, to come back | “vuelvo” | “volvemos” |
| “o” becomes “ue” | “dormir”, to sleep | “duermo” | “dormimos” |
| “e” becomes “i” | “pedir”, to ask for | “pido” | “pedimos” |
| “e” becomes “i” | “servir”, to serve | “sirvo” | “servimos” |
| “u” becomes “ue” | “jugar”, to play | “juego” | “jugamos” |
Both at once
A verb can have both kinds of change, in different forms. “Empezar” changes its vowel in the present, “empiezo”, and its spelling in the past, “empecé”. “Jugar” gives “juego” and “jugué”: “juego” is the stem change, and “jugué” is the “g” taking a “u” before “é”.
Examples
- Busqué mis llaves.I looked for my keys.
- Llegué tarde.I arrived late.
- Crucé la calle.I crossed the street.
- Empecé ayer.I began yesterday.
- Recojo a mi hijo a las tres.I pick up my son at three.
- Dirijo un equipo pequeño.I run a small team.
- Sigo este camino.I follow this road.
- Pienso en ti.I am thinking about you.
- Pensamos en ti.We are thinking about you.
- Puedo ir hoy.I can go today.
- Volvemos a las seis.We come back at six.
- Duermo ocho horas.I sleep eight hours.
- Pido la cuenta.I ask for the bill.
- Juego con mi hermano.I play with my brother.
- Jugué con mi hermano.I played with my brother.
Watch out
- Buscé mis llaves. Busqué mis llaves.“ce” would say “s”, so the “c” becomes “qu” to keep the “k”.
- Llegé tarde. Llegué tarde.“ge” would say a rough “h”, so the “g” takes a “u”.
- Cruzé la calle. Crucé la calle.Spanish does not write “z” before “e”.
- Empezé ayer. Empecé ayer.The “z” becomes “c” before “é”.
- Dirigo un equipo. Dirijo un equipo.“go” would say a hard “g”, so the “g” becomes “j”.
- Penso en ti. Pienso en ti.When the stem is stressed, “e” becomes “ie”.
- Piensamos en ti. Pensamos en ti.The stress moves to the ending, so the stem keeps its plain vowel.
- Yo podo ir hoy. Yo puedo ir hoy.“Poder” changes “o” to “ue” in “yo”.
- Dormo ocho horas. Duermo ocho horas.“Dormir” changes “o” to “ue” when the stem is stressed.
What to take into practice
Spelling: before “e”, “z” becomes “c”, “c” becomes “qu” and “g” becomes “gu”; before “o”, “g” becomes “j” and “gu” becomes “g”. Sound: the stem vowel changes in every present form except “nosotros” and “vosotros”.
The practice uses the present and the “I” form of the past, with verbs from this lesson.