In some verbs, stressed o changes to ue in present-tense forms.

The idea

Use changed forms such as puedo, puedes, vuelve and duermen. Nosotros and vosotros keep o: podemos and podéis.

Examples

  • Yo puedo esperar aquí.I can wait here.
  • ¿Puedes abrir la puerta?Can you open the door?
  • Podemos caminar hasta allí.We can walk there.
  • El tren vuelve a las seis.The train returns at six.
  • Los niños duermen temprano.The children sleep early.
  • ¿Vuelves mañana?Are you coming back tomorrow?

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Spanish voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

Not all verbs with o change. In many voseo areas, vos podés also keeps o; ustedes uses the third-person plural form.

Try it yourself

  1. Choose the form for yo. Yo ___ esperar aquí. (puedo / podemos)

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    puedo

    Puedo uses the changed stem with yo.

  2. Choose the form for nosotros. Nosotros ___ caminar. (podemos / puedemos)

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    podemos

    Podemos keeps o with nosotros.

  3. Choose the form for the children. Los niños ___ temprano. (duermen / dormen)

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    duermen

    Duermen uses the changed stem with a third-person plural subject.

Use it today

Say what you can do, when someone returns and when children sleep.