tremendous problem about stem changes!

Question

I do wonder why some verbs have changes but some don't have? i.e. poder >> we can conjugate it into puerdo,puerdes, puerde, puerden (like common rule o changes into ue) BUT THE PROBLEM IS!!!! some verbs don't change the stems i.e. poner >> will be conjugated into pongo, pones, pone, ponen why it doesn't change in to puengo, puenes, puene, puenen Has everyone good technics or the way to notice the verbs that don't have stem changes? Do I have to remember them all? it's been my big problem. thank you.

Answer 1

I do wonder why some verbs have changes but some don't

Historical reasons. With the rise to power of the Kingdom of Castile, certain variants of the Latin tongue spoken in and around this area began to become more prominent. These variations would form the criteria by which a new language, Castilian, would be recognized. One of these dialectic variations involved the diphthongization (the forming of diphthongs) of the Latin short vowel sound /o/. This diphthongization is evident in words such as puente (Latin: pontis), fuente (Latin: fontis), muerte (Latin: mortis), puerta (Latin: portis).

When we compare the words from which poder and poner arose, we might realize that the word "poder" is rooted in a word with a short vocalic sound (potentis); whereas, the verb "poner" stems from a word containing a long vocalic (p?nere). It is this very same difference that gave rise to these variations in form that are found in modern Spanish.

Do I have to remember them all?

Well, I wouldn't say that you have to remember each and every irregular verb; however, you will need to learn the various patterns and train yourself to recognize verbs that follow these patterns. Remembering that many of these patterns are based on an oral use of the language, a use based on ease of pronunciation, might make this task a bit easier to grasp.

Interestingly, modern spoken Spanish has seen some instances where, due to a certain laxness in pronunciaiton, some of these original changes have been reversed. For example, it is not uncommon to observe the word "pues" (from the Latin root "post") - Observer, Jul 20, 2014

....written or pronounced as "pos." - Observer, Jul 20, 2014

Spoken, yes, but the only time I have ever seen "pues" written as "pos" is when the writer quotes someones lazy speech - 005faa61, Jul 20, 2014

Depends on what register you are talking about. In formal writing, I would agree; however, I have observed it enough in more informal texts to say that it is not altogether uncommon. - Observer, Jul 20, 2014