Spelling Changes | Spanish (Latin America) Grammar

Some verbs need a small spelling change in the present subjunctive. The reason is purely orthographic: when the ending vowel changes from -a- to -e- (or vice versa), the final consonant of the stem would otherwise be pronounced differently. The spelling is adjusted so that the original sound is preserved.

These changes are not irregularities in the grammatical sense. They are predictable, and they affect all five forms of the subjunctive uniformly.

-car → -qu-

Verbs ending in -car change c → qu so the hard /k/ sound is preserved before -e.

buscar → busque, busques, busque, busquemos, busquen
sacar → saque, saques, saque, saquemos, saquen
tocar → toque, toques, toque, toquemos, toquen

Quiero que busques las llaves antes de salir.

I want you to look for the keys before leaving.

-gar → -gu-

Verbs ending in -gar add a silent u after the g so that the hard /g/ sound remains intact.

llegar → llegue, llegues, llegue, lleguemos, lleguen
pagar → pague, pagues, pague, paguemos, paguen
jugar → juegue, juegues, juegue, juguemos, jueguen (also a stem changer)

Es necesario que llegues temprano a la reunión.

It's necessary that you arrive early to the meeting.

Ojalá que paguen el préstamo a tiempo.

I hope they pay the loan on time.

-zar → -c-

Spanish does not normally write z before e or i, so -zar verbs swap z → c.

empezar → empiece, empieces, empiece, empecemos, empiecen (also stem changing)
comenzar → comience, comiences, comience, comencemos, comiencen
almorzar → almuerce, almuerces, almuerce, almorcemos, almuercen

Es importante que empieces con un buen desayuno.

It's important that you start with a good breakfast.

-cer / -cir (after a consonant) → -z-

When -cer or -cir follows a consonant, the c changes to z to keep the soft /s/ sound (in Latin American Spanish).

vencer → venza, venzas, venza, venzamos, venzan
convencer → convenza, convenzas, convenza, convenzamos, convenzan
esparcir → esparza, esparzas, esparza, esparzamos, esparzan

Dudo que nos venzan en el partido de mañana.

I doubt they'll beat us in tomorrow's game.

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Note that -cer/-cir verbs preceded by a vowel (like conocer, parecer, traducir) follow a completely different pattern: they add a z before the c, giving forms like conozca, parezca, traduzca. Those come from the yo form conozco, parezco, traduzco, so they're "yo-stem" irregulars rather than spelling changes.

-ger / -gir → -j-

Verbs ending in -ger or -gir change g → j to keep the soft /h/ sound before -a.

coger → coja, cojas, coja, cojamos, cojan
recoger → recoja, recojas, recoja, recojamos, recojan
dirigir → dirija, dirijas, dirija, dirijamos, dirijan
escoger → escoja, escojas, escoja, escojamos, escojan

Quiero que recojas tus juguetes ahora.

I want you to pick up your toys now.

Espero que dirijan bien la empresa.

I hope they run the company well.

-guir → -g-

Verbs ending in -guir drop the silent u, because gu before -a would be pronounced /gw/ rather than /g/.

seguir → siga, sigas, siga, sigamos, sigan (also e → i)
conseguir → consiga, consigas, consiga, consigamos, consigan
distinguir → distinga, distingas, distinga, distingamos, distingan

Ojalá que siga lloviendo toda la tarde.

I hope it keeps raining all afternoon.

Summary Table

Infinitive Ending	Spelling Change	Example (yo)
-car	c → qu	busque
-gar	g → gu	llegue
-zar	z → c	empiece
-cer / -cir (consonant)	c → z	venza
-ger / -gir	g → j	coja / dirija
-guir	gu → g	siga

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These spelling changes are the same ones you already see in the first-person preterite of -ar verbs (busqué, llegué, empecé). If you've studied those, the subjunctive is essentially the same trick applied to all five forms.

Now that you've covered regular patterns and spelling shifts, continue with the truly irregular verbs, starting with ser.