Remember stem-changing verbs in the simple present? They are those verbs whose root changes a little bit when we conjugate them. You have three categories:
Well, I have good news! In the imperative, with usted, ustedes and nosotros/as they keep the same irregularity! And, in fact, they work very similar to regular verbs. I’ll show you:
Usted
Verbs Ending in “Ar”
1. Go to usted in the simple present (indicative):
usted piensa
2. Drop the subject pronoun and the ending:
piens
3. Add an e:
¡Piense! (Think!)
Verbs Ending in “Er” and “Ir”
1. Go to usted in the simple present (indicative):
usted entiende
2. Drop the subject pronoun and the ending:
entiend
3. Add an a:
¡Entienda! (Understand!)
Nosotros/Nosotras
Verbs Ending in “Ar”
1. Go to nosotros/nosotras in the simple present (indicative):
nosotros pensamos
2. Drop the subject pronoun and the ending:
pens
3. Add emos:
¡Pensemos! (Let’s think!)
Verbs Ending in “Er”
1. Go to nosotros in the simple present (indicative):
usted entiende
2. Drop the subject pronoun and the ending:
entiend
3. Add and a:
¡Entienda! (Understand!)
Verbs Ending in “Ir”
Stem-changing verbs ending in ir have a special irregularity with nosotros and nosotras. Let’s see it in a snap!
A. E-IE and E-I Verbs
Verbs like sentir (e-ie) and pedir (e-i) work in the folowing way:
1. Go to nosotros/nosotras in the simple present (indicative):
nosotros sentimos
nosotros pedimos
2. Drop the subject pronoun and the ending, and change the e for the i:
sent = sint
ped = pid
3. Add amos:
¡Sintamos! (Let’s think!)
¡Pidamos! (Let’s ask!)
B. O-UE Verbs
Verbs like dormir (o-ue) work in the folowing way:
1. Go to nosotros/nosotras in the simple present (indicative):
nosotros dormimos
2. Drop the subject pronoun and the ending, and change the o for the u:
dorm = durm
3. Add amos:
¡Durmamos! (Let’s sleep!)
