Transcript “Querer” and Stem-Changing Verbs

“Querer” and Stem-Changing
Verbs
Apuntes de gramática
What does “stem-changing” mean?
 Stem: Part of the verb before the –AR, -ER, or –IR
 Ejemplo: Hablar (stem: habl)
Beber (stem: beb)
Escribir (stem: escrib)
 Some verbs in Spanish have a spelling change in their stems
Stem-Changers are also called “Boot
Verbs”
 Why?
The conjugations
of the verb that
have the spelling
change are
(roughly) in the
shape of a boot!
√
X
√
X
√
√
4 Kinds of Boot Verbs
 There are 4 kinds of boot verbs in Spanish:




e  ie
ei
o  ue
u  ue
Ejemplo: Querer (e  ie): To want
How do we conjugate “querer?”
1. First, we change the “e” to “ie” inside the boot (all forms EXCEPT
“nosotros” and “vosotros”
2. Then, we add the appropriate endings for each subject.
Yo quier o
Tú quier es
Él/Ella/Usted quier e
Nosotros/as quer emos
Vosotros/as quer éis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes
quier en
How do we use “querer?”
 In Spanish, we cannot have two conjugated verbs next to each
other.
 So, when we say what we want to do, “querer” must be
followed by an infinitive (like with “gustar”).
 Ejemplos:
 Yo quiero ir a la playa.
NOT: Yo quiero voy a la playa.
 Sara quiere tocar el piano.
NOT: Sara quiere toca el piano.
 Nosotros queremos comer pizza. NOT: Nosotros queremos
comemos pizza.
Práctica
Instrucciones: Fill in the blanks with the correct form of
“querer.”
1.
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4.
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8.
Yo _____________________ ir al partido de fútbol.
Usted ___________________ navegar por Internet.
Mi amiga ___________________ jugar al volibol.
José y tú __________________ comer hamburguesas.
Marisol e Isabel _________________ platicar con amigos.
Gabriela y yo ________________ dormir.
Tú _________________ leer un libro de poesía.
Ustedes _________________ andar en bicicleta.