Present Tense Stem Changing Verbs in Spanish for healthcare context

This free Medical Spanish lesson focuses on Present Tense Stem Changing Verbs in Spanish for healthcare context. It’s great that verbs follow a predictable pattern for conjugations in Spanish, but there is a type of verb called a stem-changing verb in Spanish. In this lesson I teach how stem changing verbs work in Spanish.

Here is the medical Spanish stem changing verbs lesson I taught to the Facebook group:

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Let’s start with some examples of stem changing verbs in Spanish

1. El paciente tiene dolor en la rodilla. Tener (e>ie) = The patient has pain in the knee
2. Él no puede mover la rodilla. Poder (o>ue) = He can’t move his knee
3. Cuando mueve la rodilla, tiene mucho dolor. Mover (o>ue)  = When he moves the knee, he has a lot of pain.
4. La mamá no duerme bien. Dormir (o>ue) = Mom does not sleep well
5. Ella se despierta muchas veces en la noche. Despertarse (e>ie) = She wakes up many times in the night.
6. Ella dice “Solamente quiero dormir”. Decir (e>i) = She says “I just want to sleep”
7. Ella vuelve a la cama e intenta otra vez. Volver (o>ue)  = She goes back to bed and tries again

There are 4 common stem changes, and they all follow the same pattern:

Examples of stem changing verbs in Spanish:

Cerrar (e>ie) = To close

Singular	Plural
Yo… cierro = I close	Nosotros… cerramos = we close
Tú… cierras = you close	Vosotros… cerráis = You all close
Él, ella, usted… cierra = He/She/You close	Ellos, ellas, ustedes… cierran = They/you all close

Pedir (e>i) = To ask for

Singular	Plural
Yo… pido.  = I ask for	Nosotros… pedimos = we ask for
Tú… pides = you ask for	Vosotros… pedís = you all ask for
Él,  ella, usted… pide = He/She/You ask for	Ellos, ellas, ustedes… piden = They/You all ask for

Volver (o>ue) = To return

Now for some practice…

1. La doctora _______ [volver (o>ue)] pronto. The doctor returns soon. (vuelve)
2. Nosotros _______ [volver (o>ue)] al hospital. We return to the hospital (volvemos)
3. Tu _______ [preferir (e>ie)] yoga para ejercicio.  You prefer yoga for exercise (prefieres)
4. ¿Qué _______ [preferir (e>ie)] ella? What does she prefer? (prefiere)
5. Yo no _______ [poder (o>ue)] respirar bien.  I can’t breathe well (puedo)
6. Nosotros _______ [poder (o>ue)] ayudar. We can help (podemos)
7. Las enfermeras _______ [medir (e>i)] al bebé. The nurses measure the baby. (miden)
8. La mamá _______ [pensar (e>ie)] en el futuro. Mom thinks about the future. (piensa)

I packaged all of this into easily downloadable .pdf notes– Get your copy for free today!

Keep up the good work speaking responsible Spanish to your patients! Check out our other books, classes & products to help you learn medical Spanish!

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