VERB FOCUS: QUERER & TENER
In Spanish there are two important verbs: QUERER (to want) and TENER (to have). These two verbs are irregular because their roots (QUER and TEN) change according to the conjugation.
There are more verbs with irregular vowels in the root forms: pensar (to think), entender (to understand), sentir (to feel) , preferir (to prefer)…
QUERER
With the verb QUERER the vowel E in the root changes to IE:
querer (to want) > quiero (I want)
| Yo Tú Él, ella, usted Nosotras, nosotros Vosotras, vosotros Ellas, ellos, ustedes | quier-o quier-es quier-e quer-emos quer-éis quier-en |
The first and second person plural forms are regular and the root of QUERER does not change.
TENER
The verb TENER is very similar, but the first person singular is different:
tener (to have) > yo tengo (I have)
Observe the conjugation:
| Yo Tú Él, ella, usted Nosotras, nosotros Vosotras, vosotros Ellas, ellos, ustedes | ten-go tien-es tien-e ten-emos ten-éis tien-en |