Some Spanish verbs ending in -zar undergo two stem changes at the same time in El Presente de Subjuntivo:
- They replace the -z with a -c in all forms. This is because after z you can only have the vowels a, o and u.
- And they have a stem change e > ie in all forms except for nosotros and vosotros.
There are two common verbs affected by this double stem change:
- Empezar (to start)
- Comenzar (to commence)
Conjugation of "empezar" in El Presente de Subjuntivo
| yo | empiece |
| tú | empieces |
| él / ella / Ud. | empiece |
| nosotros | empecemos |
| vosotros | empecéis |
| ellos / ellas / Uds. | empiecen |
Conjugation of "comenzar" in El Presente de Subjuntivo
| yo | comience |
| tú | comiences |
| él / ella / Ud. | comience |
| nosotros | comencemos |
| vosotros | comencéis |
| ellos / ellas / Uds. | comiencen |
Here are some examples to look at and listen to:
En cuanto empiece secundaria tendré un móvil.As soon as I start secondary school I will have a mobile phone.
See: List of Spanish -zar verbs that change in all forms in the present of subjunctive
and A1 Spanish verb list: Stem-changing (e > ie) verbs in the present tense
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