The "e to ie" Change
In Spanish, some verbs have a little twist when you conjugate them in the present tense: the vowel e in the stem changes to ie.
For example, take the verb empezar (to start). Instead of saying "yo empezo", you change the e to an ie:
| I start the new project today. | Yo empiezo el nuevo proyecto hoy. |
This vowel change happens for almost all subjects (I, you, he, she, they), but it skips nosotros (we).
| Subject | Empezar (to start) |
|---|---|
| yo | empiezo |
| tú | empiezas |
| él, ella, usted | empieza |
| nosotros | empezamos |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes | empiezan |
| Does he start the business with you? | ¿Él empieza el negocio contigo? |
More Stem-Changing Verbs
Several other common verbs follow this exact same pattern, such as comenzar (to begin), preferir (to prefer), and entender (to understand).
| They begin the new business. | Ellas comienzan el nuevo negocio. |
| I prefer the new idea. | Yo prefiero la idea nueva. |
| The intelligent student understands the plan. | El estudiante inteligente entiende el plan. |
Planning Projects
The verb pensar means "to think," but it is also used to talk about your plans and intentions. Just use a conjugated form of pensar followed by a second verb in its original, unconjugated form.
| I plan to start the business. | Yo pienso empezar el negocio. |
| He plans to start an excellent project. | Él piensa empezar un proyecto excelente. |
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