Topic Summaries

Spelling changes in verb stems

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GCSE > Spanish > CCEA > GCSE Spanish Topic Summaries > Grammar IV: Prepositions and other grammar functions > Spelling changes in verb stems
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DIALOGUE EXAMPLES: The wider world

  • Some Spanish verbs change their spelling in certain forms to keep the original sound consistent with pronunciation rules. These spelling changes usually occur in the first person singular (yo) or the third person singular/plural in the preterite tense, present, or other forms where the spelling affects pronunciation.
  • Examples:
    • escoger → yo escojo
    • buscar → yo busqué
    • empezar → yo empecé
    • llegar → yo llegué
    • leer → él leyó, ellos leyeron
  • Some Spanish -ir verbs (like dormir, pedir, preferir) change a little bit in the past tense (preterite), but only in the third person (he/she/ they). These small changes happen in the middle of the word (the stem) – it’s like a vowel swap where ‘o’ becomes ‘u’ and ‘e’ becomes ‘i’. For example:
    • Dormir (to sleep) → change ‘o’ to ‘u’
      • Yo dormí (I slept)
      • Tú dormiste (You slept)
      • El/ella/usted durmió (He/she/you (formal) slept)
      • Ellos durmieron (They slept)
    • Pedir (to ask for) → change ‘e’ to ‘i’
      • Yo pedí (I asked.)
      • Tú pediste. (You asked)
      • El/ella/usted pidió (He/she/you (formal) asked)
      • Ellos pidieron (They asked)
    • Preferir (to prefer) → change ‘e’ to ‘i’
      • Yo preferí (I preferred)
      • Tú preferiste (You preferred)
      • El/ella/usted prefirió (He/she/you (formal) preferred)
      • Ellos prefirieron (They preferred)

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