Lesson 1.2 · Unit 1 · Structures
The verbs that change, and the verbs that are odd in one place
Many of the most useful verbs are not fully regular. Two groups are worth separating: verbs whose stem vowel changes in the present, and verbs whose yo form is unusual. Both are predictable once you know the pattern, and the patterns are small. This lesson restores them, because the preterite and the imperfect later in the year will keep returning to these same verbs.
- Boot verbs change in four places. The vowel in the stem changes in yo, tú, él and ellos, and stays the same in nosotros (and vosotros). Drawn on a page, the changed forms make a boot.
- E to ie. Pensar: pienso, piensas, piensa, pensamos, piensan. Also querer, empezar, preferir, cerrar, entender.
- O to ue. Poder: puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, pueden. Also dormir, volver, almorzar, encontrar, costar. Jugar changes u to ue: juego, jugamos.
- E to i. Only some -ir verbs: pedir: pido, pides, pide, pedimos, piden. Also servir, repetir, seguir.
- The go verbs. Hacer: hago. Poner: pongo. Salir: salgo. Traer: traigo. Venir: vengo. Tener: tengo. Decir: digo. The other forms follow the normal pattern, and tener, venir, decir also change their stem.
- Other odd yo forms. Ver: veo. Dar: doy. Saber: sé. Conocer: conozco. Traducir: traduzco. They are odd in yo only.
- Both groups can combine. Tener: tengo, tienes, tiene, tenemos, tienen. Decir: digo, dices, dice, decimos, dicen. The yo is odd and the boot appears in the others.
- Learn the odd form with the infinitive. Say it aloud as a pair: hacer, hago. When an answer asks for a yo form, check whether the verb is on these lists before you add -o.
Where students lose marks: Writing poder as podo (regular) or puedemos (the boot does not reach nosotros), writing pedimos as pidimos, and writing yo hacé or yo salo for hago, salgo. Ask two questions: is this verb on the boot list, and does the form belong inside the boot?
The problem. Write six sentences: (1) I want to eat. (2) We can't sleep. (3) They ask for water. (4) I make dinner and put the plates on the table. (5) She says that she knows the answer. (6) I know Marta and I see her every day.
Step one: sentence 1. Querer is e to ie, and yo is inside the boot. The second verb stays an infinitive: Quiero comer.
Step two: sentence 2. Poder is o to ue, but nosotros is outside the boot, so the stem stays: No podemos dormir. Dormir stays an infinitive after poder.
Step three: sentence 3. Pedir is e to i. Ellos is inside the boot: Piden agua.
Step four: sentence 4. Both verbs are go verbs with yo: hago and pongo. Hago la cena y pongo los platos en la mesa.
Step five: sentence 5. Decir is irregular in the stem for ella, dice. Saber in yo is sé, but here the subject is ella, so it is sabe: Ella dice que sabe la respuesta.
Step six: sentence 6. Conocer is odd in yo, conozco, and is used for a person. Ver is veo, and "her" is a direct object pronoun placed before the verb: Conozco a Marta y la veo todos los días.
Step seven: the patterns. Check each verb for its pattern: quiero (boot), podemos (outside the boot), piden (e to i), hago, pongo (go), dice, sabe (boot and regular), conozco, veo (odd yo).
Step eight: check. Every verb is a form, not an infinitive, except the ones that properly follow querer and poder.
Problems 1 to 5 are routine. Problems 6 to 10 are multi-step or ask for reasoning.
- Write the yo form of hacer, salir, traer and poner.
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All four are go verbs. hago, salgo, traigo, pongo
- Write the nosotros form of poder, pensar and dormir.
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Nosotros is outside the boot, so the stem does not change. podemos, pensamos, dormimos
- Complete: Marta ___ (querer) un helado y yo ___ (preferir) un jugo.
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Both verbs are e to ie and both subjects are inside the boot. quiere; prefiero
- Write the ellos form of volver, servir and jugar.
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Volver is o to ue, servir is e to i, and jugar is u to ue. vuelven, sirven, juegan
- Write the yo form of saber, conocer, ver and dar.
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Each is irregular in yo only. sé, conozco, veo, doy
- Say "I can't come today, but I want to see you tomorrow."
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Poder is boot, venir stays an infinitive after it, querer is boot, and ver stays an infinitive. "You" as an object is te, placed before the conjugated verb. No puedo venir hoy, pero quiero verte mañana. The pronoun may also go before quiero: Te quiero ver mañana.
- Find the error: Nosotros podemos y mis amigos podan, pero yo no puedo salir porque hacé la tarea.
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Podan needs the boot: pueden. And yo hacé is wrong for hago. Nosotros podemos y mis amigos pueden, pero yo no puedo salir porque hago la tarea.
- Say "You say that you are not sleeping. We sleep eight hours."
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Decir with tú is dices, and dormir with tú is inside the boot, duermes. With nosotros the stem stays: dormimos. Dices que no duermes. Dormimos ocho horas.
- Write five sentences about your day with five different verbs from this lesson.
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One correct answer: Empiezo la tarea a las cuatro. Prefiero estudiar en mi cuarto. Hago la tarea. Pongo mis libros en la mochila. Salgo de casa a las siete. Every verb is in the yo form, with the boot or the odd form where needed. Empiezo la tarea a las cuatro. Prefiero estudiar en mi cuarto. Hago la tarea. Pongo mis libros en la mochila. Salgo de casa a las siete.
- Explain in one sentence why tengo and tienes both look different from the infinitive tener.
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Tener is a boot verb (tienes, tiene, tienen) and also has an irregular yo (tengo); tenemos alone keeps the regular stem. Tener changes its stem inside the boot and has an odd yo form, tengo.