Stem-changing verbs (also called "boot verbs" because of their shape in conjugation tables) are Spanish verbs that change their stem vowel in certain conjugations. This is a uniquely Spanish concept that doesn't exist in English!
🤔 Why Spanish Has Stem Changes (And English Doesn't)
English verbs stay the same in their stem: "I want, you want, he wants" - the "want" part never changes. Spanish developed differently, creating internal vowel changes for emphasis and clarity.
🎯 The Boot Pattern:
The change happens in yo, tú, él, ellos but NOT in nosotros, vosotros. When you draw a line around the changing forms in a conjugation table, it looks like a boot! 👢
There are three main types of stem changes in present tense: e→ie (like querer), o→ue (like poder), and e→i (like pedir). These patterns help you predict how hundreds of Spanish verbs behave.