Identifying stem change verbs Concept: The stem is the part of the verb that remains once you drop the AR, ER or IR, for example HABL BEB and VIV. You've already learned that you drop the ending and add the appropriate personal endings directly on to the stem. Stem change verbs are not irregular. They are STEM-CHANGE, which means that 1) you still drop the AR ER or IR, 2) you still add the same endings as before, and 3) this time, there's an adaptation in the stem. There are three types of traditional stem change verbs in Spanish: 0-UE; E-IE and E-I. When you search these verbs in a dictionary, frequently you will see (ue), (ie) or (I) signaling to you that this is a stem change verb. You should begin to memorize the verbs that are stem changing as well as which classification. In the exercise that follows, select which kind of stem change each verb is.