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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
7 questions

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:
  1. Conjugate sentir in the present tense in Spanish (El Presente)
  2. Conjugate preferir in the present tense in Spanish (El Presente)

For more verbs that follow this pattern, see:
  1. B1 Spanish verb list: Stem-changing (e > ie) verbs in the present tense
  2. A1 Spanish verb list: Stem-changing (e > ie) verbs in the present tense

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Examples and resources

¿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.
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.
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.
Nosotros nunca mentimos.We never lie.
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