Conjugate stem-changing -ir verbs in the present tense in Spanish (e > ie) (El Presente)

Written by qualified Spanish expert Ana Matilla MA, BA

Last updated: 2023-08-29

Some common Spanish verbs hervir, mentir, sugerir (and more below) ending in -ir are stem-changing semi-regular in El Presente in Spanish. Some of their stems change.

Conjugate hervir, mentir and sugerir in El Presente in Spanish

	HERVIR to boil	MENTIR to lie	SUGERIR to suggest
yo	hiervo	miento	sugiero
tú	hierves	mientes	sugieres
él / ella / usted	hierve	miente	sugiere
nosotros / nosotras	hervimos	mentimos	sugerimos
vosotros / vosotras	hervís	mentís	sugerís
ellos / ellas / ustedes	hierven	mienten	sugieren

Notice how the vowel -e- in the stem that is closer to the end of the word becomes-ie- except for the nosotros and vosotros forms.

Look at and listen to these examples:

Hiervo los huevos durante 10 minutos y los añado a la ensalada.I boil the eggs for 10 minutes and I add them to the salad.

¿Por qué mientes?Why do you lie?

Ella nos sugiere que cojamos un taxi en vez del autobús.She suggests that we take a cab instead of the bus.

Nosotros nunca mentimos.We never lie.

Os hierve la sangre del estrés en el trabajo.Your blood boils because of the stress at work.

Ellos sugieren un cambio de estrategia.They suggest a change of strategy.

The essential verbs sentir (to feel) and preferir (to prefer) also follow this pattern and you can practise those on their own here:

For more verbs that follow this pattern, see:

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