Present Tense Conjugation of E-I Stem‐Changing Verbs
Some verbs in Spanish do not follow the regular verb patterns of conjugation, changing a vowel in the stem. Such verbs are called stem-changing verbs. These verbs have all the regular endings but have a change occur in the stem of the verb in certain forms. Stem-changing verbs could be –ar, –er, or –ir verbs.
The third type of stem change that occurs in Spanish verbs is e to i. For verbs in this group, the letter e in the stem of the infinitive will change to i in all forms except nosotros/nosotras and vosotros/vosotras.
Look at how the e-i verb pedir ("to ask for") changes forms:
| Subject | Verb | Meaning |
| yo | pido | I ask |
| tú | pides | you ask |
| él ella usted |
pide | he asks she asks you (formal) ask |
| nosotros nosotras |
pedimos | we ask we ask |
| vosotros vosotras |
pedís | you (plural) ask you (plural) ask |
| ellos ellas ustedes |
piden | they ask they ask you (formal, plural) ask |
Here are some other e-i stem-changing verbs:
elegir - to elect
freír - to fry
reír - to laugh
repetir - to repeat
seguir - to follow
servir - to serve
sonreír - to smile
vestir - to dress
Now that you know the pattern of a e-i stem-changing verb, you could form the present tense of any other e-i verb:
Yo pido agua. - I ask for water.
Tú sirves la naranja. - You serve the orange.
Usted repite el error. - You (formal) repeat the mistake.
Nosotros seguimos las instrucciones. - We follow the instructions.
Vosotros elegís el pastel. - You (plural) choose the cake.
Ellos ríen en el cine. - They laugh in the movie theater.
