Complete: « Yo _____ la verdad. » (querer)

Question

Accepted Answer

quiero. The correct answer is "quiero" because "querer" is an e→ie stem-changing verb. In the present tense, the stem vowel "e" changes to "ie" in all forms except nosotros and vosotros. For "yo," the form is "quiero."

"Quero" incorrectly applies the conjugation without the stem change  -  the "e" must change to "ie" in stressed syllables. "Quiere" is the third-person singular (él/ella/usted), not the first-person form. "Queremos" is the first-person plural (we want), where the stem does NOT change because the stress falls on the ending, not the stem.

Stem-changing verbs (verbos con cambio de raíz) are a major grammar topic on the CLEP Spanish with Writing Level 1 exam. The three patterns: e→ie (querer, pensar, preferir), o→ue (poder, dormir, volver), and e→i (pedir, servir, repetir  -  only -ir verbs). The "boot pattern" applies: stem changes occur in all forms except nosotros and vosotros, creating a boot-shaped pattern in conjugation charts.

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