EI Verbs in Spanish List | Pattern Rules With Clear Examples

E→I stem-changing verbs swap e for i in the boot forms (yo, tú, él/ella, ellos) while nosotros/vosotros keep e.

You’re here for one thing: a clean list of Spanish verbs that flip e to i, plus a way to use them without second-guessing every sentence. You’ll get both. You’ll also get the “why” behind the change, the few spots where it surprises people, and quick drills you can do in two minutes when you’re waiting in line.

One heads-up: people often call these “EI verbs,” “e→i verbs,” or “e-to-i stem changers.” They’re the same idea. The vowel in the stem changes when that syllable gets the stress. When it doesn’t get the stress, the verb stays calm and keeps the e.

How E To I Stem Changes Work In Real Sentences

The basic rule is simple. In the present tense, you change e to i in the stressed forms: yo, tú, él/ella/usted, ellos/ellas/ustedes. People call these “boot forms” since they wrap around the chart like a boot.

Then you leave nosotros and vosotros alone. Those forms usually push the stress away from the stem and onto the ending, so the stem keeps e. If you want a formal description of vowel alternations in Spanish verbs, the RAE’s usage guidance has a clear overview in its section on Verbos con alternancia vocálica.

What “Stress” Means Without The Grammar Fog

Say the verb out loud. The syllable you punch a little harder is the stressed one. If that stress lands on the stem, the stem change tends to show up. If the stress lands on the ending, the stem change tends to disappear.

Try it with pedir (to ask for). Listen to the beat:

• pido (PEE-do) → stress hits the stem → e turns into i
• pedimos (pe-DEE-mos) → stress shifts to the ending → stem stays e

The Boot Shortcut You’ll Actually Use

When you’re writing fast, don’t redraw a full conjugation chart in your head. Just ask yourself two questions:

1. Am I in a tense that uses present-type stems? (Present, present subjunctive, imperative often do.)
2. Am I in a boot form? (Yo/tú/él-ella/ellos = yes. Nosotros/vosotros = no.)

If both answers are “yes,” lean into the i.

EI Verbs In Spanish List With Conjugation Patterns

This is the list section people bookmark. It’s not every single e→i verb that has ever existed in Spanish, since Spanish keeps growing. It is a practical set you’ll see in daily reading, class material, and exams.

Before you drill the list, anchor one verb as your reference model. Pedir is the classic. The RAE dictionary entry for pedir includes its accepted forms and is a solid place to confirm a conjugation when you’re unsure.

Core Verbs You’ll Meet Early

These show up everywhere, so they’re worth learning first: pedir (ask for), servir (serve), repetir (repeat), seguir (follow/continue), decir (say/tell), venir (come), preferir (prefer), sentir (feel), mentir (lie), vestir (dress).

Some of these also have extra irregular pieces in other tenses. That’s normal. You’ll still treat them as e→i verbs in the present “boot” pattern.

One Fast Memory Trick That Sticks

Group them by endings and “families”:

• -edir: pedir, medir (also affects related forms like “to measure” verbs)
• -entir / -estir / -ertir: sentir, mentir, vestir, divertir
• -eguir: seguir (and compounds like conseguir, perseguir)

Compounds often behave like their base verb. If you know seguir → sigo, then conseguir → consigo won’t feel random.

Present Tense Forms You Must Nail First

If you only have time to learn one slice, learn the present tense. It’s the tense you use most, and it trains your ear for the e→i shift.

A Mini Chart With One Verb

Use pedir as your template:

• yo pido
• tú pides
• él/ella pide
• nosotros pedimos
• vosotros pedís
• ellos piden

Notice the “calm zone”: pedimos, pedís. That’s where your spelling stays close to the infinitive.

If you want a second authoritative check for a high-frequency verb, the RAE entry for servir is also handy, since servir shows up in restaurants, daily routines, and polite expressions.

High Frequency E To I Verbs At A Glance

This table gives you a fast “look-and-write” reference. Use the yo form as your cue. If you can produce the yo form cleanly, the rest of the boot usually follows with less effort.

Infinitive	Common Meaning	Present Yo Form
pedir	to ask for, to request	pido
servir	to serve	sirvo
repetir	to repeat	repito
seguir	to follow, to continue	sigo
conseguir	to get, to obtain	consigo
decir	to say, to tell	digo
venir	to come	vengo
preferir	to prefer	prefiero
sentir	to feel, to regret	siento
mentir	to lie	miento
vestir	to dress	visto
divertir	to amuse	divierto

Hidden Spots Where The Pattern Shows Up Again

Once the present tense is steady, the next wins come fast. Many “present-like” forms reuse the same stressed-stem logic.

Present Subjunctive

If the present yo is irregular, the subjunctive often borrows that stem. That’s why seguir becomes siga, not sega. You get the i, plus the spelling change that keeps the sound.

You don’t need to memorize this as a new rule set. Build it from what you already know:

1. Start from the present yo: sigo, pido, sirvo.
2. Drop the -o.
3. Add subjunctive endings: -a, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an for -er/-ir verbs.

Imperatives

Commands also lean on present-type forms. That’s why you get things like pide (tú command) and sirva (usted command). If you can build the present and the subjunctive, commands feel less like a separate topic.

Compounds That Follow The Same Behavior

A quick way to grow your list is to learn a base verb and then add prefixes:

• venir: venir, intervenir, prevenir
• decir: decir, bendecir, predecir
• seguir: seguir, conseguir, perseguir

These can stack irregularities. That’s not a reason to avoid them. It’s a reason to learn them as “families” so your brain stores one pattern, not ten separate surprises.

Past Tenses That Trip People Up

Here’s the part that causes the most mix-ups: e→i in the present is one pattern. Some e→i verbs also flip again in the preterite third-person forms. It’s a different change, and it only hits certain forms.

Take pedir in the preterite:

• él pidió
• ellos pidieron

Now compare nosotros and vosotros in the same tense:

• nosotros pedimos
• vosotros pedisteis

So you can end up with pido (present yo), pidió (preterite él), and pedimos (both present nosotros and preterite nosotros). Weird at first. Then it becomes a neat anchor: when Spanish shoves stress onto the stem in certain past forms, the stem reacts again.

When To Double Check A Conjugation Fast

If you’re writing an essay or sending a message and you’re stuck, check a trusted conjugator backed by credible linguistic work. The Instituto Cervantes project page for a Conjugador verbal describes a tool built to consult recognized verb forms and even accept new infinitives.

Use checks like this as a spot-check, not a crutch. The goal is to confirm one form, then rebuild the pattern from it.

Where The E To I Change Appears Across Tenses

This table gives you a quick “map” so you stop guessing which tense uses which stem behavior. The sample verb is pedir.

Tense Or Mood	Where The Change Shows	Sample Forms With Pedir
Present Indicative	Boot forms	pido, pides, pide, piden
Present Indicative	No change	pedimos, pedís
Present Subjunctive	Most forms use i-stem	pida, pidas, pidan
Present Subjunctive	Nosotros/vosotros endings	pidamos, pidáis
Imperative	Built from present/subjunctive logic	pide, pida, pidan
Preterite	Third-person stem shift	pidió, pidieron
Preterite	No shift in other persons	pedí, pediste, pedimos
Imperfect	No stem change	pedía, pedías, pedíamos

Practice Drills That Build Speed Without Burnout

You don’t need hour-long sessions. You need clean reps. Here are drills that fit into a short break and still move the needle.

Drill One: The Yo Trigger

Write the yo forms for ten verbs from the table above. Say each one out loud. Then circle the ones with extra spelling changes (like sigo, digo, vengo). Those three often act as “stem leaders” in other forms.

Drill Two: Boot Snap

Pick one verb and write only the boot forms, not the full chart:

• yo
• tú
• él/ella
• ellos/ellas

Then add nosotros and vosotros at the end as a quick check. If you accidentally wrote an i in those two, you’ll catch it fast.

Drill Three: Sentence Swap

Write two short sentences with the same verb, one in a boot form and one in nosotros:

• Yo pido café.
• Nosotros pedimos café.

Do that with servir, repetir, and seguir. This drill trains the “stress switch” without talking about stress at all.

Common Mistakes And Clean Fixes

Mixing Up E To I With E To IE

Some learners see prefiero and assume it’s an e→i verb. It’s not. It’s an e→ie stem changer. Your fix: always anchor the verb with the yo form and one more boot form. If you hear ie in the stem, it’s not part of the e→i set.

Forgetting That Nosotros And Vosotros Stay Plain In The Present

This is the classic slip: pidimos. It should be pedimos. The fix is simple: treat nosotros and vosotros as “reset buttons” in the present tense. If you’re not sure, revert to the infinitive stem vowel.

Overusing Checks And Never Building The Pattern

Checking one form is smart. Checking every form slows you down. Use a check to confirm the yo form, then build the rest from the rule. You’ll get faster in a week of short reps.

A Quick Wrap-Up You Can Keep On One Sticky Note

Here’s the whole thing in plain language: if an -ir verb belongs to the e→i group, its present tense “boot” forms usually take i, and its present nosotros/vosotros forms usually keep e. Some of those verbs also shift in the preterite third-person forms, so learn those two shapes too.

If you learn the high-frequency list, anchor each verb with its yo form, and run short drills that force a boot vs. nosotros contrast, you’ll stop hesitating and start writing these forms cleanly.