Verbs with a broken stem: llueve, muerde, florezco
A Spanish verb changes not only at the end. In a good hundred verbs, when the stress lands on the stem, the vowel in it splits in two — and the infinitive gives no hint of it: llover gives llueve, morder — muerde, nevar — nieva. These are not one-off exceptions but three regular rows, and half of this wave's weather and nature words sit in them. For example: “Está lloviendo y en el norte hasta nieva” — It's raining…
How it works
A Spanish verb changes not only at the end. In a good hundred verbs, when the stress lands on the stem, the vowel in it splits in two — and the infinitive gives no hint of it: llover gives llueve, morder — muerde, nevar — nieva. These are not one-off exceptions but three regular rows, and half of this wave's weather and nature words sit in them.
Row one, o → ue: poder → puedo, volver → vuelvo, morder → muerdo, llover → llueve, acordarse → me acuerdo, esforzarse → me esfuerzo. Row two, e → ie: querer → quiero, nevar → nieva, preferir → prefiero, empezar → empiezo, pensar → pienso. Row three, e → i, only in -ir verbs: pedir → pido, medir → mido, repetir → repito, seguir → sigo.
The stem breaks not everywhere, but exactly where the stress falls on it: in the 'we' and 'you plural' forms the stress moves to the ending and the stem returns whole. Puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, podéis, pueden — four forms with 'ue' and two without. English has nothing like it — its vowels change unpredictably (sing, sang, sung) — while the Spanish pattern is regular: the four outer forms change, the middle two stay as in the infinitive. Learners call it the boot rule.
A separate troop: verbs in -cer and -cir grow a 'z' in the 'I' form. Conocer → conozco, florecer → florezco, nacer → nazco, conducir → conduzco, traducir → traduzco. Nothing happens in the other persons.
And the smallest troop — the impersonal weather verbs. Llover, nevar, granizar, tronar, amanecer, anochecer have only a third person singular: llueve, nieva, graniza, amanece. Yo lluevo is impossible even as a joke — these verbs have no subject at all. They do take estar willingly, though: está lloviendo, está granizando.
Table
| row | infinitive | yo | nosotros | what to remember |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| o → ue | morder | muerdo | mordemos | the middle does not change |
| o → ue | llover | llueve | — | third person only |
| e → ie | nevar | nieva | — | no subject exists |
| e → ie | empezar | empiezo | empezamos | the stress decides |
| e → i (-ir) | medir | mido | medimos | -ir verbs only |
| -cer / -cir | florecer | florezco | florecemos | z only in the yo form |
| -cir | conducir | conduzco | conducimos | same as nacer, conocer |
By example
- Está lloviendo y en el norte hasta nievaIt's raining, and in the north it's even snowing
- Los almendros florecen pronto, pero yo no florezco hasta mayoAlmond trees blossom early, but I do not blossom until May
- Cuidado con el perro, que muerde; nosotros no mordemosCareful with the dog, it bites; we do not bite
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Verbs with a broken stem: how does it work in Spanish?
A Spanish verb changes not only at the end. In a good hundred verbs, when the stress lands on the stem, the vowel in it splits in two — and the infinitive gives no hint of it: llover gives llueve, morder — muerde, nevar — nieva. These are not one-off exceptions but three regular rows, and half of…
What does it look like in an example sentence Spanish?
“Está lloviendo y en el norte hasta nieva” — It's raining, and in the north it's even snowing. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.