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Stem-Changing Verbs: e:ie

Remember, there are three types of infinitives: -ar, -er, -ir. Infinitives are made up of two parts: the ending and the stem. In the following examples, the stem is underlined and the ending is in bold.

hablar
comer
vivir

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With regular verbs, the stem stays the same, and the ending changes as they are conjugated.

hablo	como	vivo
hablas	comes	vives
habla	come	vive
hablamos	comemos	vivimos
habláis	coméis	vivís
hablan	comen	viven

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With some verbs, the stem also changes when you conjugate them. In the present tense, there are three groups of stem-changing verbs:

o:ue
e:ie
e:i

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With the second group of stem-changing verbs, the letter e in the stem changes to ie in all forms except the nosotros and vosotros.

cerrar

cierro
cierras
cierra

cerramos
cerráis

cierran

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Here's another e:ie stem changing verb. Compare it to the regular verb comer. Notice that the endings are the same for regular verbs and stem-changing verbs.

entender (e:ie)
comer (regular -er verb)


entiendo
como

entiendes
comes

entiende
come

entendemos
comemos

entendéis
coméis

entienden
comen

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Here's another e:ie stem-changing verb. Notice how the stem doesn't change in the nosotros and vosotros forms.

mentir (e:ie)

miento
mientes
miente

mentimos
mentís

mienten

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Here is a list of common e:ie stem-changing verbs.

acertar to guess, get right	encender to light, kindle
advertir to advise, warn	entender to understand
cerrar to close, shut	fregar to scrub, wash dishes
comenzar to begin	hervir to boil
confesar to confess	mentir to lie
consentir to consent	negar to deny
convertir to convert	pensar (en) to think about
defender to defend	perder to lose
empezar to begin	preferir to prefer

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Let's add a flashcard for e:ie stem-changers:

Verb Flashcards

13. e:ie stem-changers (cerrar)
    
    cierro
    cierras
    cierra
    cerramos
    cerráis
    cierran
    
    (comenzar, empezar, entender, pensar, perder, preferir)

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