Irregular Verbs

Irregular Verbs

Page 3 – Para EmpezarRealidades 3

Verbos Irregulares

Remember that some verbs in Spanish are irregular in the first person singular of the present tense.

Look at the following examples…

Verbos Irregulares Conocer Dar Hacer Poner Saber Salir Traer Ver Caer Give the “yo” form…

Conozco Doy Hago Pongo Sé Salgo Traigo Veo Caigo

Verbos Irregulares

Also, there are some verbs in Spanish that are irregular in all the persons of the present tense:

SERsoy

eres

es

somos

sois

son

IRvoy

vas

va

vamos

vais

van

DECIRdigo

dices

dice

decimos

decís

dicen

ESTARestoy

estás

está

estamos

estáis

están

OÍRoigo

oyes

oye

oímos

oís

oyen

TENERtengo

tienes

tiene

tenemos

tenéis

tienen

Conjugate stem changers in the present tenseGrammar essential #37

Stem changing infinitives

Stem changing infinitives are named for what they do– change in the stem.

You are going to make some alteration of the stem before adding the verb endings.

You will use the endings you already know.The hardest part of stem changers is

knowing which ones change and which ones don’t.

Stem changers

There are 4 different ways a stem changing infinitive can change (4 categories).

The first is uue.It is the smallest category with only one

infinitive jugar = to play (sports)

Jugar = to play (sports)

Separate the stem and the infintive ending.Jug- is the stemMake the stem change uueThe new stem is jueg-Put it in the conjugation box EXCEPT

nosotros and vosotros. Nosotros and Vosotros do not make the stem

change.

Jugar = to play sports

YoJueg-

Nosotros/asJug-

TúJueg-

Vosotros/asJug-

ÉlElla jueg-Ud.

EllosEllas jueg-Uds.

Now just add the regular –ar endings.

Jugar = to play sports

YoJuego

Nosotros/asJugamos

TúJuegas

Vosotros/asJugáis

ÉlElla juegaUd.

EllosEllas jueganUds.

Stem changersThe second category is one of the largest.It is oue.Encontrar = to find is a stem changer.It is the same steps as jugar.Other examples include: acostar (to lie

down), almorzar (to eat lunch), contar (to count), costar (to cost), devolver (to return something), dormir (to sleep), poder (can/to be able to), volver (to return)

Encontrar = to find

First separate the stem from the infinitive ending.

Encontr- is the stem.Make the stem change oueNew stem encuentr-Put into box– remember it will look like a

boot… they are called boot verbs as well.

Encontrar = to find

encuentro encontramos

encuentras encontráis

encuentra encuentran

Stem changers

The third category is again large.It is eie.preferir = to prefer is a stem changer.It is the same steps as jugar.*When there is more than one vowel that

could possible make the change, choose the vowel closest to the verb ending.

Other e ie verbsCerrar (to close), Comenzar (to begin), Despertar (to wake up), Divertir (to entertain/ amuse), Empezar (to begin), Entender (to understand), Pensar (to think), Perder (to lose), Querer (to want), Recomendar (to recommend)

Preferir = to prefer

First separate the stem from the infinitive ending.

prefer- is the stem.Make the stem change eieNew stem prefier-Put into box– remember it will look like a

boot… they are called boot verbs as well.

preferir = to prefer

prefiero preferimos

prefieres preferís

prefiere prefieren

Stem changers

The last category is a smaller one.It is ei.servir = to serve is a stem changer.It is the same steps as jugar.

servir = to serve

First separate the stem from the infinitive ending.

serv- is the stem.Make the stem change eiNew stem sirv-Put into box– remember it will look like a

boot… they are called boot verbs as well.

servir = to serve

sirvo servimos

sirves servís

sirve sirven

ei

There are some rules that can help you distinguish between e i and e ie.

In order to be e i, the infinitive must end in –ir. Now, that could be other categories as well, but –ar and –er cannot be e i .

MR C VeSPeRS is also a way to help if you are needing a pneumonic device.

MR. C VeSPeRS

M- medir (to measure)R – reír (to laugh)C – conseguir (To get/ to obtain)V – vestir(se) (to dress)S- servir (to serve)P – pedir (to ask for)R- repetir ( to repeat)S- seguir (to follow/ to continue)

E I Verbs

MR. C VeSPeRS does not include all the stem changers in this category. Another infinitive is Sonreír (to smile)

Stem Changers

I cannot give you a rule as to which verbs stem change and which ones don’t. These are just something that you have to learn as you continue to use Spanish.Don’t forget-you have already learned all of the u ue stem-changers.