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¡Hola! Welcome! Today we will discover how some Spanish verbs change their spelling to keep their strong, clear sound.
In Spanish, some verbs are called 'stem-changers' or 'boot verbs'. When we conjugate them, the vowel in the middle of the verb changes its spelling in all forms except for 'nosotros' (we) and 'vosotros' (you all). This change helps us pronounce the words easily.
Let us look at the 'e to ie' change. For example, the verb 'querer' (to want) changes its 'e' to 'ie' to become 'quiero' (I want). Notice how the single vowel splits into two vowels to make a stronger sound.
Now let us look at the 'o to ue' change. The verb 'poder' (to be able to) changes its 'o' to 'ue' to become 'puedo' (I can). We analyze this by checking if the subject is inside the 'boot' shapes of our conjugation chart.
Conjugate the stem-changing verb 'preferir' (to prefer) for the subject 'ellos' (they). Explain your reasoning step-by-step.
- Identify the infinitive verb, which is 'preferir' (to prefer — preh-feh-REER).
- Determine the stem of the verb by removing the ending '-ir'. The stem is 'prefer-'.
- Identify the subject 'ellos' (they) and check if it is inside the 'boot'. Yes, 'ellos' is in the third-person plural, which gets a stem change.
- Apply the 'e to ie' stem change to the second 'e' in the stem. 'Prefer-' becomes 'prefier-'.
- Add the correct ending for '-ir' verbs matching 'ellos', which is '-en'.
- Combine the changed stem and the ending to get the final correct form: 'prefieren' (they prefer — preh-fee-EHR-ehn).
