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Spanish grammar lessons › Level A1 › The Spanish present tense and stem-changing verbs

Stem-changing verbs e → i (pedir, repetir)

Pido, repites, sirve: some -ir verbs change e to i in the boot forms.

Part of the free A1 Spanish course. Press the speaker next to an example to hear it.

The third boot pattern

You've seen e → ie (Stem-changing verbs e → ie (querer, empezar)) and o → ue (Stem-changing verbs o → ue, u → ue (poder, jugar)). A smaller group changes e → i. It works in the same four forms and only happens in -ir verbs.

Personpedir (to ask for, to order)repetir (to repeat)
yopidorepito
túpidesrepites
él / ella / ustedpiderepite
nosotros / nosotraspedimosrepetimos
vosotros / vosotraspedísrepetís
ellos / ellas / ustedespidenrepiten

In repetir only the second e changes (the one in the stressed syllable): repito, not ripito.

Other common verbs: servir (to serve; to be useful), seguir (to follow; to carry on), elegir (to choose), medir (to measure; to be … tall), corregir (to correct), vestirse (to get dressed, see Reflexive verbs for the daily routine (levantarse)).

  • Siempre pido pescado.I always order fish.
  • ¿Repites la pregunta, por favor?Can you repeat the question, please?
  • El camarero sirve las bebidas.The waiter serves the drinks.
  • Mis hijos siempre piden helado.My children always ask for ice cream.
  • Pedimos la cuenta.We ask for the bill.
  • ¿Qué pedís vosotros?What are you having?
  • La profesora repite las palabras nuevas.The teacher repeats the new words.
  • ¿Para qué sirve esto?What is this for?
  • ¿Cuánto mides?How tall are you?

Spelling changes in the yo form

Spanish spelling keeps the sound of a consonant the same. That causes two small changes in yo:

  • seguir → sigo. In seguir, the u is only there to make g hard before i/e. Before o, g is already hard, so the u goes: sigo, sigues, sigue…
  • elegir, corregir → elijo, corrijo. Here g sounds like the Spanish j before e/i. Before o, g would sound hard, so it is written j: elijo, eliges, elige…
  • Sigo las instrucciones.I follow the instructions.
  • Elijo el vestido azul.I choose the blue dress.

Pedir or preguntar?

Pedir = to ask for something (an object, a favour, food). Preguntar = to ask a question. More in pedir or preguntar; other tricky pairs (llevar/traer).

Latin America

The forms are the same. A waiter is mesero in Mexico and Central America, mozo in Argentina; camarero is Spain. Plural "you" is ustedes piden.

Common mistakes

  • Pidimos → Pedimos. Nosotros is outside the boot.
  • Yo pedo → Yo pido. Be careful: pedo is a rude word (a fart).
  • Siguo → Sigo. Elego → Elijo.
  • Pido una pregunta → Hago una pregunta. To ask a question is preguntar or hacer una pregunta.

Practice

  1. Mi padre siempre _____ (pedir) vino tinto.
    My father always orders red wine.
    Show the answer

    pide

  2. Nosotros _____ (pedir) un taxi por teléfono.
    We order a taxi by phone.
    Show the answer

    pedimos — Nosotros is outside the boot: no change.

  3. ¿Vosotros _____ el ejercicio otra vez?
    Are you repeating the exercise again?
    Options: repetís · repitís · repetéis · repiten
    Show the answer

    repetís

  4. _____ (seguir) a mi equipo en la tele.
    I follow my team on TV.
    Show the answer

    sigo — Before o, g already sounds hard, so seguir loses its u: sigo.

In the app, this lesson is taught one idea at a time with the examples read aloud, followed by questions that explain the rule when you get one wrong. It then comes back for review on later days, until you've answered it correctly on three separate days.
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