Spanish conjugation explanation
Spelling change: -gar → -gu-
<p>In Spanish, the spelling of some verb forms changes in order <strong>to preserve the pronunciation</strong> of the infinitive stem. This specifically affects verbs ending in <strong style="font-style: italic;">-gar</strong>.</p>
<p>The letter <strong>g</strong> has two different sounds in Spanish:</p>
<ul>
<li>A <strong>hard G</strong> sound (like in <span style="font-style: italic;">go</span>) when followed by <strong>a</strong>, <strong>o</strong>, or <strong>u</strong> (e.g., <span style="font-style: italic;">gato</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">gusto</span>).</li>
<li>A <strong>soft G</strong> sound (like the Spanish <span style="font-style: italic;">j</span> or English <span style="font-style: italic;">h</span>) when followed by <strong>e</strong> or <strong>i</strong> (e.g., <span style="font-style: italic;">gente</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">gigante</span>).</li>
</ul>
<p>Verbs ending in <span style="font-style: italic;">-gar</span> have a hard G sound in the infinitive (e.g., <span style="font-style: italic;">lle<strong>g</strong>ar</span>). To maintain this sound when the verb ending starts with <strong>e</strong>, we must replace <strong>g</strong> with <strong>gu</strong>. If we simply kept the <span style="font-style: italic;">g</span>, the pronunciation would change to a soft sound.</p>
<div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold; margin: 15px 0;">g → gu (before <span style="font-style: italic;">e</span>)</div>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Affected Tenses</div>
<p>This spelling change occurs in the following tenses when the ending starts with <strong>e</strong>:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/18/" target="_blank">Preterite</a>
: First person singular (<span style="font-style: italic;">yo</span>) only.</li><li>
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/19/" target="_blank">Present Subjunctive</a>
: All forms (singular and plural).</li><li>
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/22/" target="_blank">Imperative</a>
: Formal commands (<span style="font-style: italic;">usted, ustedes</span>) and the <span style="font-style: italic;">nosotros</span> form.</li></ul>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Examples</div>
<ul>
<li>
<div>
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/pagar/" title="Click to see conjugations for pagar" target="_blank">pagar</a>
: to pay</div><div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Yo <span class="green_emphasis">pa<span class="in_word_highlight">gu</span>é</span> la cuenta ayer. (<span style="font-style: italic;">I paid the bill yesterday.</span>)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/llegar/" title="Click to see conjugations for llegar" target="_blank">llegar</a>
: to arrive</div><div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Es importante que <span class="green_emphasis">lle<span class="in_word_highlight">gu</span>es</span> a tiempo. (<span style="font-style: italic;">It is important that you arrive on time.</span>)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/apagar/" title="Click to see conjugations for apagar" target="_blank">apagar</a>
: to turn off</div><div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">¡<span class="green_emphasis">Apa<span class="in_word_highlight">gu</span>e</span> la televisión, por favor! (<span style="font-style: italic;">Turn off the television, please!</span>)</div>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Common verbs that follow this pattern include
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/jugar/" title="Click to see conjugations for jugar" target="_blank">jugar</a>
,<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/entregar/" title="Click to see conjugations for entregar" target="_blank">entregar</a>
,<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/encargar/" title="Click to see conjugations for encargar" target="_blank">encargar</a>
,<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/cargar/" title="Click to see conjugations for cargar" target="_blank">cargar</a>
,<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/negar/" title="Click to see conjugations for negar" target="_blank">negar</a>
, and<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/pegar/" title="Click to see conjugations for pegar" target="_blank">pegar</a>
.</p><p>Note: This is part of the common "CAR-GAR-ZAR" spelling changes found in Spanish. You can learn about the other groups here:
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/conjugationExplanation/spanish_orthograpic_change_car_qu/" target="_blank">-car verbs</a>
and<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/conjugationExplanation/spanish_orthograpic_change_zar_c/" target="_blank">-zar verbs</a>
.</p><div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Conjugation Tables</div>
<p>In the following tables for the verb <span style="font-style: italic;">llegar</span>, the forms affected by the <span style="font-style: italic;">g → gu</span> spelling change are highlighted:</p>
<div class="study_conjugations_tense_container">
<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>
<div class="study_conjugations_conjugation conjugations_table two_columns">
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
yo
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">llegué<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
tú
</span>llegaste
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
él
</span>llegó
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
nosotros
</span>llegamos
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
vosotros
</span>llegasteis
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
ellos
</span>llegaron
</span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_tense_container">
<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>
<div class="study_conjugations_conjugation conjugations_table two_columns">
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
yo
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">llegue<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
tú
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">llegues<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
él
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">llegue<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
nosotros
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">lleguemos<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
vosotros
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">lleguéis<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
ellos
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">lleguen<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_tense_container">
<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 class="study_conjugations_conjugation conjugations_table two_columns">
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">---</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(tú)
</span>llega
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(usted)
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">llegue<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(nosotros)
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">lleguemos<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(vosotros)
</span>llegad
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(ustedes)
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">lleguen<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>