LinguaThe boot: which forms change and which do not
A large group of verbs keeps the regular endings but changes the vowel of the stem when that vowel is stressed: e → ie (querer → quiero) and o → ue (poder → puedo). The stress falls on the stem in yo, tú, él and ellos, so those four change. In nosotros and vosotros the stress moves to the ending (que-RE-mos), so the stem stays as in the infinitive. Shade the four changed forms in the table and you get an L, the "boot".
| Person | querer (e → ie) | poder (o → ue) |
|---|---|---|
| yo | quiero | puedo |
| tú | quieres | puedes |
| él, ella, usted | quiere | puede |
| nosotros, nosotras | queremos | podemos |
| vosotros, vosotras | queréis | podéis |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes | quieren | pueden |
More verbs that change: prefiero, empiezo, duermo, vuelvo
| Verb | Change | yo form | nosotros form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| preferir | e → ie | prefiero | preferimos | to prefer |
| empezar | e → ie | empiezo | empezamos | to begin |
| entender | e → ie | entiendo | entendemos | to understand |
| pensar | e → ie | pienso | pensamos | to think |
| dormir | o → ue | duermo | dormimos | to sleep |
| volver | o → ue | vuelvo | volvemos | to come back |
| recordar | o → ue | recuerdo | recordamos | to remember |
| jugar | u → ue | juego | jugamos | to play |
Jugar is the only verb with u → ue: juego, juegas, juega, jugamos, jugáis, juegan. A game or sport takes a: juego al fútbol, jugamos a las cartas. Notice that -ar, -er and -ir verbs all take part: the endings stay those of their family, only the vowel moves.
Querer and poder + infinitive
Querer + infinitive is to want to: quiero comer, ¿quieres venir? Poder + infinitive is can, to be able to: puedo ayudar, no podemos ir. Both take the infinitive directly, with no word in between. Querer also takes a noun: quiero un café. Empezar is the odd one: it needs a before an infinitive (empiezo a trabajar a las nueve).
Quiero ir a la playa, pero no puedo: tengo que trabajar.I want to go to the beach, but I cannot: I have to work.
¿A qué hora empiezas? – Empiezo a las nueve y vuelvo a casa a las seis.What time do you start? – I start at nine and come home at six.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| querer | to want | Quiero un café con leche, por favor. I want a coffee with milk, please. |
| poder | can, to be able to | ¿Puedes abrir la ventana? Can you open the window? |
| preferir | to prefer | Preferimos ir a pie. We prefer to walk. |
| empezar | to begin, to start | La clase empieza a las diez. The class starts at ten. |
| dormir | to sleep | Los niños duermen diez horas. The children sleep ten hours. |
| volver | to come back, to return | Mi padre vuelve tarde del trabajo. My father comes back late from work. |
| entender | to understand | Mi abuelo no entiende el inglés. My grandfather does not understand English. |
| pensar | to think | Pienso mucho en mi familia. I think about my family a lot. |
| recordar | to remember | ¿Recuerdas su nombre? Do you remember his name? |
| jugar | to play | Mis primos juegan al fútbol los domingos. My cousins play football on Sundays. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Which is the yo form of querer?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.