Spanish conjugation explanation
Spanish dieresis (ü)

<p>In Spanish, the letter combination <strong>gu</strong> has different pronunciations depending on the vowel that follows it:</p>

<ul>

<li>Before <strong>a</strong> or <strong>o</strong>, the <strong>u</strong> is pronounced: <span style="font-style: italic">agua</span> (/a-gwa/).</li>

<li>Before <strong>e</strong> or <strong>i</strong>, the <strong>u</strong> is normally <strong>silent</strong> and only serves to indicate a "hard G" sound: <span style="font-style: italic">guerra</span> (/ge-rra/).</li>

</ul>

<p>However, sometimes we need to pronounce the <strong>u</strong> even when it appears before <strong>e</strong> or <strong>i</strong> (creating a /gwe/ or /gwi/ sound). To indicate that the <strong>u</strong> is pronounced in this position, we must place a <strong>dieresis</strong> (two dots) over it: <strong>ü</strong>.</p>

<p>There are two main cases where the ü appears in conjugated verb forms:</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">1. Verbs ending in -guar</div>

<p>Verbs like

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/averiguar/" title="Click to see conjugations for averiguar" target="_blank">averiguar</a>

(<span style="font-style: italic">to find out</span>) or <span style="font-style: italic">amortiguar</span> (<span style="font-style: italic">to cushion</span>) have a /gw/ sound in the infinitive (pronounced /a-ve-ri-gwar/). To preserve this sound when the conjugation requires an <strong>e</strong>, the spelling changes from <span style="font-style: italic">gu</span> to <span class="green_emphasis">gü</span>. This is a specific type of

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/conjugationExplanation/spanish_orthograpic_change_guar_gü/" target="_blank">spelling change</a>

.</p>

<p>This change occurs in the

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/18/" target="_blank">Preterite</a>

(first person singular) and throughout the

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/19/" target="_blank">Present Subjunctive</a>

(which also affects the Imperative):</p>

<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/18/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Pretérito perfecto simple</a>

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">averigüé<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

tú

</span>averiguaste

</span>

</div>

él

</span>averiguó

</span>

</div>

nosotros

</span>averiguamos

</span>

</div>

vosotros

</span>averiguasteis

</span>

</div>

ellos

</span>averiguaron

</span>

</div>

<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/19/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Presente subjuntivo</a>

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">averigüe<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

tú

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">averigües<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

él

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">averigüe<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

nosotros

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">averigüemos<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

vosotros

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">averigüéis<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

ellos

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">averigüen<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/22/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Imperativo afirmativo</a>

</div>

(tú)

</span>averigua

</span>

</div>

(usted)

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">averigüe<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

(nosotros)

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">averigüemos<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

(vosotros)

</span>averiguad

</span>

</div>

(ustedes)

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">averigüen<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">2. Stem-changing verbs</div>

<p>Some verbs, like

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/avergonzar/" title="Click to see conjugations for avergonzar" target="_blank">avergonzar</a>

(<span style="font-style: italic">to embarrass</span>), typically undergo a stem change where the <strong>o</strong> becomes <strong>ue</strong> (

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/conjugationExplanation/spanish_diphthongization/" target="_blank">diphthongization</a>

).</p>

<p>When this change occurs after a G, the resulting sound is /gwe/. Since the spelling <span style="font-style: italic">gue</span> would be pronounced /ge/ (silent u), we must use the dieresis (<span class="green_emphasis">güe</span>) to ensure the diphthong is pronounced correctly.</p>

<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/14/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Presente</a>

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">avergüenzo<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

tú

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">avergüenzas<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

él

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">avergüenza<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

nosotros

</span>avergonzamos

</span>

</div>

vosotros

</span>avergonzáis

</span>

</div>

ellos

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">avergüenzan<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/19/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Presente subjuntivo</a>

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">avergüence<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

tú

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">avergüences<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

él

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">avergüence<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

nosotros

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">avergoncemos<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

vosotros

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">avergoncéis<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

ellos

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">avergüencen<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/22/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Imperativo afirmativo</a>

</div>

(tú)

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">avergüenza<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

(usted)

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">avergüence<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

(nosotros)

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">avergoncemos<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

(vosotros)

</span>avergonzad

</span>

</div>

(ustedes)

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">avergüencen<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>

</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Standard G-verbs (No dieresis)</div>

<p><strong>PAY ATTENTION:</strong> The letter ü is NOT used if the <strong>u</strong> is already silent in the infinitive. For verbs ending in <strong style="font-style: italic">-guir</strong>, like

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/seguir/" title="Click to see conjugations for seguir" target="_blank">seguir</a>

(<span style="font-style: italic">to follow</span>) or

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/conseguir/" title="Click to see conjugations for conseguir" target="_blank">conseguir</a>

(<span style="font-style: italic">to get</span>), the <strong>u</strong> is merely a marker for the hard G sound.</p>

<p>In these cases, we do NOT use a dieresis because the <strong>u</strong> is not meant to be pronounced:</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Yo <span class="green_emphasis">sigo</span> las instrucciones. (<span style="font-style: italic">I follow the instructions.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Tú <span class="green_emphasis">sigues</span> al líder. (<span style="font-style: italic">You follow the leader.</span>) ← <span style="font-style: italic">Silent U, no dieresis.</span></div>

<p><strong>Note:</strong> The verb <span style="font-style: italic">argüir</span> (<span style="font-style: italic">to argue</span>) is one of the very few verbs with an ü in its infinitive. It keeps the dieresis before <strong>e</strong> or <strong>i</strong>, but loses it when the <strong>ü</strong> transforms into a <strong>yu</strong> sound due to other spelling rules (e.g., <span style="font-style: italic">arguyó</span>).</p>

Spanish conjugation explanation Spanish dieresis (ü)

Spanish conjugation explanation
Spanish dieresis (ü)