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Spanish (Latin America)

### The "o to ue" Change

Just like verbs that change from **e** to **ie**, another common group of Spanish verbs has a stem change in the present tense. For these verbs, the vowel **o** changes to **ue**.

Let's look at the verb **dormir** (to sleep). Instead of saying "yo dormo", the **o** changes to **ue**: **yo duermo**.

This change happens for all subjects except **nosotros** (we), which keeps the original **o**.

| Subject | Dormir (to sleep) |
|---|---|
| yo | d**ue**rmo |
| tú | d**ue**rmes |
| él, ella, usted | d**ue**rme |
| nosotros | dormimos |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes | d**ue**rmen |

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### Talking About Abilities with "Poder"

The verb **poder** means "to be able to" or "can." It is one of the most useful **o** to **ue** stem-changing verbs. To talk about what someone can do, just use a conjugated form of **poder** followed by an unconjugated verb (an infinitive).

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### More Stem-Changing Verbs

Several other everyday verbs follow this exact same **o** to **ue** pattern. Some common ones include **volver** (to return), **encontrar** (to find), **recordar** (to remember), and **soñar** (to dream).

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Stem-changing verbs (o to ue)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

expression

interjection

noun

numeral

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Subject pronouns and the verb to be (yo soy)

Noun gender and definite articles (el, la)

Basic sentences and negation (no)

Indefinite articles (un, una)

Formal and informal you (tú vs. usted)

Plural pronouns and the verb to be (somos, son)

Making nouns plural (-s, -es)

Plural articles (los, las, unos, unas)

Noun gender exceptions

Adjective agreement

Invariable adjectives

State and location (estar)

Ser vs. estar

There is / there are (hay)

Hay vs. estar

To have (tener)

Possession (de)

Possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su)

Regular -ar verbs

Yes/No questions

What and who (qué, quién)

Regular -er verbs

Regular -ir verbs

Asking where (dónde, adónde)

How, when, and why (cómo, cuándo, por qué)

How much and how many (cuánto)

Days of the week

Going to a place (ir a)

Preposition contractions (al, del)

In and by (en)

With me and with you (conmigo, contigo)

Prepositional pronouns (mí, ti)

Conjunctions (y, o, pero)

Giving reasons (porque)

Stem-changing verbs (e to ie)

Stem-changing verbs (e to i)

Irregular yo forms (hago, salgo)

To know (saber vs. conocer)

Weather expressions (hace, está)

Desires and plans (querer)

Ability and requests (poder)

Obligations (tener que)

Expressing likes (me gusta)

Plural likes (me gustan)

Verbs like gustar (encantar, doler)

Very vs. a lot (muy, mucho)

Numbers 0 to 15 (cero, uno, dos…)

Numbers 16 to 31 (dieciséis, veinte…)

Numbers 30 to 1000 (treinta, cien, mil)

Months of the year (enero, febrero, marzo)

Seasons and dates (el dos de mayo)

Telling time (es la..., son las...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero, segundo, tercero)

Reflexive pronouns and verbs (me, te, se, nos)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

The present continuous (estar + -ando, -iendo)

Near demonstrative adjectives (este, esta, estos, estas)

Medium demonstrative adjectives (ese, esa, esos, esas)

Comparatives of inequality (más / menos ... que)

Comparatives of equality (tan ... como)

Indefinite and negative pronouns (algo, nada, alguien, nadie)

Affirmative commands

Far demonstratives (aquel, aquella)

Possessive pronouns (el mío, el tuyo)

Shortened indefinite adjectives (algún, ningún)

Adverbs of quantity (demasiado, bastante)

Adverbs of frequency (a menudo, a veces)

Adverb formation (-mente)

Exclamations (¡Qué...!)

Irregular comparatives (mejor, peor, mayor, menor)

Relative superlatives (el más... de)

Adjective intensification (-ísimo)

Indirect object pronouns

Pronoun placement with infinitives

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

The 'se lo' rule (se lo, se la)

Impersonal statements (se)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Personal obligation (deber)

Starting actions (empezar a)

Finishing and quitting actions (terminar de, dejar de)

Repeating actions (volver a)

Continuing actions (seguir + gerundio)

Complex prepositions of place (encima de, debajo de...)

Question	Answer
to be able to / can	poder
to sleep	dormir
the noise	el ruido
I cannot sleep because there is a lot of noise.	No puedo dormir porque hay mucho ruido.
quiet / calm	tranquilo
You sleep in a quiet hotel.	Ustedes duermen en un hotel tranquilo.
strong / loudly	fuerte
The man is strong and can work a lot.	El hombre es fuerte y puede trabajar mucho.
to remember	recordar
Do you remember our plan?	¿Tú recuerdas nuestro plan?
to return	volver
We return to sleep in the hotel.	Nosotros volvemos a dormir en el hotel.
to find	encontrar
Where do you find a quiet park?	¿Dónde encuentras un parque tranquilo?
Why can't they return to the hotel?	¿Por qué no pueden volver al hotel?
to dream	soñar
My dog sleeps and dreams a lot.	Mi perro duerme y sueña mucho.
They find an open restaurant in the city.	Ellos encuentran un restaurante abierto en la ciudad.
Can you sleep in the bus?	¿Tú puedes dormir en el autobús?
They remember the grandfather's car.	Ellas recuerdan el carro del abuelo.
My sister returns to her quiet room.	Mi hermana vuelve a su cuarto tranquilo.
We cannot find our blue suitcases.	No podemos encontrar nuestras maletas azules.
the night	la noche
I cannot sleep at night. The noise is very loud.	No puedo dormir en la noche. El ruido es muy fuerte.
He dreams a lot at night.	Él sueña mucho en la noche.
to move (an object, a body part)	mover
I move the table and the chairs.	Muevo la mesa y las sillas.
The boy moves the chair in the living room.	El niño mueve la silla en la sala.
to have lunch (o→ue)	almorzar
I have lunch at the restaurant.	Almuerzo en el restaurante.
She has lunch with the family.	Ella almuerza con la familia.