Spelling Changes in the Present Tense

Quick Answer

For pronunciation reasons, there are several Spanish verbs that undergo a spelling change in certain present tense conjugations. We'll look at five groups of these stem-changing verbs in this article.

Group 1: -ger and -gir Verbs

• Rule: In the first person singular, the g changes to a j.

Conjugation Examples

Subject	-ger Conjugation	-gir Conjugation
yo	protejo	finjo
tú	proteges	finges
él, ella, usted	protege	finge
nosotros	protegemos	fingimos
vosotros	protegéis	fingís
ellos, ellas, ustedes	protegen	fingen

Common -ger and -gir Verbs

Spanish	English	Spanish	English
acoger	to greet	escoger	to choose
afligir	to afflict	exigir	to demand
coger	to catch, grab	fingir	to pretend
corregir	to correct	infringir	to infringe
dirigir	to direct	proteger	to protect
emerger	to emerge	recoger	to pick up
encoger	to shrink	restringir	to restrain
resurgir	to reappear	rugir	to roar
sumergir	to submerge	surgir	to emerge
urgir	to urge

Group 2: -guir Verbs

• Rule: In the first person singular, the -gu changes to a g. (You could also rephrase this rule to say that the u is dropped in the first person singular.)

Conjugation Example

Subject	-guir Conjugation
yo	distingo
tú	distingues
él, ella, usted	distingue
nosotros	distinguimos
vosotros	distinguís
ellos, ellas, ustedes	distinguen

Common -guir Verbs

Spanish	English	Spanish	English
distinguir	to distinguish	perseguir	to pursue, to go after
conseguir	to come by, to get	proseguir	to proceed, to continue
erguir	to build	seguir	to follow
extinguir	to extinguish

Group 3: -uir Verbs

• Rule: Between vowels, an unstressed i always changes to a y. In these verbs, the first person singular, second person singular, and third person singular and plural forms are affected.

Conjugation Example

Subject	-uir Conjugation
yo	concluyo
tú	concluyes
él, ella, usted	concluye
nosotros	concluimos
vosotros	concluís
ellos, ellas, ustedes	concluyen

Common -uir Verbs

Spanish	English	Spanish	English
argüir	to argue	destruir	to destroy
influir	to influence	intuir	to intuit
obstruir	to obstruct	recluir	to confine
reconstruir	to reconstruct	sustituir	to substitute
atribuir	to attribute	diluir	to dilute
constituir	to constitute	disminuir	to diminish
construir	to construct	distribuir	to distribute
contribuir	to contribute	huir	to run away
destituir	to dismiss	incluir	to include

Group 4: -cer and -cir Verbs

• Rule One: If the letter that comes before -cer or -cir is a consonant, the c changes to a z in the first person singular.

Conjugation Example

Subject	-cir Conjugation
yo	frunzo
tú	frunces
él, ella, usted	frunce
nosotros	fruncimos
vosotros	fruncís
ellos, ellas, ustedes	fruncen

Common Consonant + -cer and -cir Verbs

Spanish	English	Spanish	English
convencer	to convince	fruncir	to frown
ejercer	to exert	vencer	to vanquish
esparcir	to disperse	zurcir	to darn

• Rule Two: If the letter that comes before -cer or -cir is a vowel, a z is added to the first person singular.

Subject	-cer Conjugation
yo	conozco
tú	conoces
él, ella, usted	conoce
nosotros	conocemos
vosotros	conocéis
ellos, ellas, ustedes	conocen

Common Vowel + -cer and -cir Verbs

Spanish	English	Spanish	English
aborrecer	to detest	deducir	to deduce
producir	to produce	nacer	to be born
agradecer	to thank	desaparecer	to disappear
aparecer	to appear	desconocer	to not know
reaparecer	to reappear	reconocer	to recognize
apetecer	to feel like	establecer	to establish
complacer	to satisfy	inducir	to induce
reducir	to reduce	restablecer	to restore
conducir	to drive	introducir	to introduce
conocer	to know, to meet	merecer	to deserve
rejuvenecer	to rejuvenate	traducir	to translate
crecer	to grow	obedecer	to obey

Group 5: -go Verbs

• Hacer, decir, and satisfacerdo not follow the c --> -zc rule. Instead, the c changes to a g in the first person singular.

Conjugation Examples

Subject	Decir Conjugation	Hacer Conjugation	Satisfacer Conjugation
yo	digo	hago	satisfago
tú	dices	haces	satisfaces
él, ella, usted	dice	hace	satisface
nosotros	decimos	hacemos	satisfacemos
vosotros	decís	hacéis	satisfacéis
ellos, ellas, ustedes	dicen	hacen	satisfacen

Other Verbs that Add G to the First Person in the Present Tense

These verbs are informally called GO verbs.

Infinitive	Yo Form	Infinitive Translation
asir	asgo	to seize
salir	salgo	to leave
oír	oigo	to hear
tener	tengo	to have
poner	pongo	to put
valer	valgo	to cost

Want to learn more about the present tense? Check out these articles!

• Present

• Spanish Irregular Present Tense Verbs

• Present Tense of "Ser," "Estar," and "Tener"

Want to take a look at the full conjugation for some of these verbs? Check out these articles!

• proteger

• dirigir

• distinguir

• concluir

• conocer

• hacer