pedir
to ask for| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pido |
| tú | pides |
| él | pide |
| nosotros | pedimos |
| vosotros | pedís |
| ellos | piden |
Yo pido un café sin azúcar siempre. — I always order a coffee without sugar.
Level 7 of 60 · Tense System · Presente
Present Stem Changes 3
Stem changes: e → i
When to use it
In this lesson, the focus is on the present tense stem-change pattern e → i. These verbs still take the normal present tense endings, but the vowel e in the stem becomes i in certain forms.
Where the change happens
The stem change appears in the boot forms:
- yo
- tú
- él / ella / usted
- ellos / ellas / ustedes
The stem stays unchanged in:
- nosotros / nosotras
- vosotros / vosotras
Important observation
The e → i pattern is especially common in -IR verbs. That is one of the easiest ways to recognize it.
Examples: pedir, servir, seguir, conseguir, elegir, corregir, competir, impedir
This does not mean every -ir verb changes this way — it only means this pattern appears very often in that group.
Compare e → ie and e → i
These two patterns are easy to confuse:
| Pattern | Example | yo form |
|---|---|---|
| e → ie | pensar | pienso |
| e → i | pedir | pido |
The structure is similar, but the actual vowel change is different. pensar inserts "ie", while pedir just changes "e" to "i".
Why these verbs matter
Verbs like pedir, seguir, servir, and competir are extremely common in everyday Spanish. Recognizing the e → i pattern lets you conjugate the whole group correctly.
How to form it
AR
Note on -AR verbs
The e → i stem change pattern does not appear in -AR verbs. This pattern is found almost exclusively in -IR verbs (and a few -ER verbs like elegir/corregir which end in -ir).
For -AR stem changes, see:
- Level 5: e → ie (pensar, empezar, cerrar)
- Level 6: o → ue (contar, probar, recordar)
ER
Pattern: e → i (-ER verbs)
Very few -ER verbs follow this pattern. The e → i change is almost exclusive to -IR verbs.
However, some verbs like elegir and corregir that end in -gir follow the e → i pattern and also have a spelling change in the yo form (g → j before -o).
Example: elegir (to choose) — technically -IR
| Pronoun | Form | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| yo | elijo | e → i + g → j |
| tú | eliges | e → i |
| él / ella / usted | elige | e → i |
| nosotros / nosotras | elegimos | no change |
| vosotros / vosotras | elegís | no change |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | eligen | e → i |
IR
Pattern: e → i (-IR verbs)
Example: pedir → ped- (stem), e changes to i
| Pronoun | Form | Change? |
|---|---|---|
| yo | pido | e → i |
| tú | pides | e → i |
| él / ella / usted | pide | e → i |
| nosotros / nosotras | pedimos | no change |
| vosotros / vosotras | pedís | no change |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | piden | e → i |
Another example: servir (to serve)
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sirvo |
| tú | sirves |
| él / ella / usted | sirve |
| nosotros / nosotras | servimos |
| vosotros / vosotras | servís |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | sirven |
Another example: competir (to compete)
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | compito |
| tú | compites |
| él / ella / usted | compite |
| nosotros / nosotras | competimos |
| vosotros / vosotras | competís |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | compiten |
Another example: impedir (to prevent)
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | impido |
| tú | impides |
| él / ella / usted | impide |
| nosotros / nosotras | impedimos |
| vosotros / vosotras | impedís |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | impiden |
Special case: seguir (to follow)
seguir has e → i plus a spelling adjustment in yo:
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sigo |
| tú | sigues |
| él / ella / usted | sigue |
| nosotros / nosotras | seguimos |
| vosotros / vosotras | seguís |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | siguen |
The expected yo form would be "siguo", but Spanish adjusts the spelling to sigo for pronunciation.
Grammar in detail
Stem-Changing Verbs: e → i
In Stem Changes 3, the main pattern is e → i. The vowel e inside the stem changes to i in the boot forms. This pattern appears mostly in -IR verbs.
Full Conjugation: pedir (to ask for)
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pido |
| tú | pides |
| él / ella / usted | pide |
| nosotros / nosotras | pedimos |
| vosotros / vosotras | pedís |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | piden |
Full Conjugation: servir (to serve)
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sirvo |
| tú | sirves |
| él / ella / usted | sirve |
| nosotros / nosotras | servimos |
| vosotros / vosotras | servís |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | sirven |
Full Conjugation: seguir (to follow)
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sigo |
| tú | sigues |
| él / ella / usted | sigue |
| nosotros / nosotras | seguimos |
| vosotros / vosotras | seguís |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | siguen |
Common e → i verbs
| Verb | Meaning |
|---|---|
| pedir | to ask for |
| servir | to serve |
| seguir | to follow |
| conseguir | to get / to obtain |
| elegir | to choose |
| corregir | to correct |
| competir | to compete |
| impedir | to prevent |
Pattern Recognition — Verb Families
Do not memorize these verbs as random exceptions. Look for repeated endings and families:
- -eguir: seguir, conseguir
- -edir: pedir, impedir
- -etir: competir
- -egir: elegir, corregir
- -ervir: servir
Compare All Three Stem Changes
| Pattern | Example | yo | nosotros |
|---|---|---|---|
| e → ie | pensar | pienso | pensamos |
| o → ue | volver | vuelvo | volvemos |
| e → i | pedir | pido | pedimos |
All three patterns share the same boot-form logic: change in yo, tú, él/ella, ellos/ellas — no change in nosotros, vosotros.
Special Cases
seguir → sigo
The expected form "siguo" becomes sigo for pronunciation reasons.
elegir → elijo, corregir → corrijo
These verbs have e → i AND a spelling change g → j in the yo form.
Quick Rule Summary
e → i: Change the e in the stem to i in:
- yo, tú, él/ella/usted, ellos/ellas/ustedes
Do not change it in:
- nosotros/nosotras, vosotros/vosotras
This pattern is especially common in -IR verbs.
Quick Pattern Check
| Verb | yo | tú | él/ella | nosotros |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| pedir | pido | pides | pide | pedimos |
| servir | sirvo | sirves | sirve | servimos |
| seguir | sigo | sigues | sigue | seguimos |
| competir | compito | compites | compite | competimos |
| impedir | impido | impides | impide | impedimos |
| elegir | elijo | eliges | elige | elegimos |
| corregir | corrijo | corriges | corrige | corregimos |
| conseguir | consigo | consigues | consigue | conseguimos |
The 8 verbs in this level
servir
to serve| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sirvo |
| tú | sirves |
| él | sirve |
| nosotros | servimos |
| vosotros | servís |
| ellos | sirven |
Yo sirvo la cena a las ocho en punto. — I serve dinner at eight o'clock sharp.
seguir
to follow| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sigo |
| tú | sigues |
| él | sigue |
| nosotros | seguimos |
| vosotros | seguís |
| ellos | siguen |
Yo sigo estudiando después de cenar. — I continue studying after dinner.
conseguir
to get / to obtain| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | consigo |
| tú | consigues |
| él | consigue |
| nosotros | conseguimos |
| vosotros | conseguís |
| ellos | consiguen |
Yo consigo buenos resultados con constancia. — I achieve good results with consistency.
elegir
to choose| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | elijo |
| tú | eliges |
| él | elige |
| nosotros | elegimos |
| vosotros | elegís |
| ellos | eligen |
Yo elijo la opción más segura. — I choose the safest option.
corregir
to correct| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | corrijo |
| tú | corriges |
| él | corrige |
| nosotros | corregimos |
| vosotros | corregís |
| ellos | corrigen |
Yo corrijo tus ejercicios por la noche. — I correct your exercises at night.
competir
to compete| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | compito |
| tú | compites |
| él | compite |
| nosotros | competimos |
| vosotros | competís |
| ellos | compiten |
Yo compito contra rivales muy fuertes. — I compete against very strong rivals.
impedir
to prevent| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | impido |
| tú | impides |
| él | impide |
| nosotros | impedimos |
| vosotros | impedís |
| ellos | impiden |
Yo impido que el agua entre. — I prevent the water from getting in.