Spanish conjugation explanation
Spelling change: -guir → -g-
<p>The spelling of some verb forms changes in order <strong>to preserve the pronunciation</strong> of the infinitive stem.</p>
<p>In Spanish, the letter <strong>g</strong> has two sounds depending on the vowel that follows it:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Hard /g/</strong> (like in "go") before <span style="font-style: italic;">a, o, u</span>.</li> <li><strong>Soft /x/</strong> (like English "h") before <span style="font-style: italic;">e, i</span>.</li> </ul>
<p>Verbs ending in <strong style="font-style: italic;">-guir</strong> (like
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/distinguir/" title="Click to see conjugations for distinguir" target="_blank">distinguir</a>
) contain the combination <span style="font-style: italic;">gu</span> to force the hard <strong>/g/</strong> sound before the vowels <span style="font-style: italic;">e</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">i</span>. In this case, the <span style="font-style: italic;">u</span> is silent.</p><p>However, when conjugating before an <span style="font-style: italic;">a</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">o</span> ending, the letter <span style="font-style: italic;">g</span> naturally makes the hard /g/ sound. If we kept the <span style="font-style: italic;">u</span> in these forms, the pronunciation would change to <span style="font-style: italic;">/gw/</span> (like in <span style="font-style: italic;">agua</span>).</p>
<p>Therefore, to maintain the original clear /g/ sound, we simply <strong>remove the u</strong>:</p>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">The Rule</div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong style="font-style: italic;">-guir</strong> → <strong style="font-style: italic;">-g-</strong> (before <span style="font-style: italic;">a</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">o</span>)</p>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Yo <span class="green_emphasis">distingo</span> los colores. (<span style="font-style: italic;">I distinguish the colors.</span>)</div> <div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence_note">(Not <span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: line-through;">distinguo</span>, which would be pronounced "distin-gwo".)</div>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">No <span class="green_emphasis">persigas</span> al perro. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Don't chase the dog.</span>)</div>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Affected Verbs</div>
<p>Common verbs that undergo this spelling change include:</p> <ul> <li>
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/distinguir/" title="Click to see conjugations for distinguir" target="_blank">distinguir</a>
(<span style="font-style: italic;">to distinguish</span>)</li> <li><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, to continue</span>)</li> <li><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, to achieve</span>)</li> <li><a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/perseguir/" title="Click to see conjugations for perseguir" target="_blank">perseguir</a>
(<span style="font-style: italic;">to pursue, to chase</span>)</li> <li><a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/proseguir/" title="Click to see conjugations for proseguir" target="_blank">proseguir</a>
(<span style="font-style: italic;">to proceed, to continue</span>)</li> <li><span style="font-style: italic;">extinguir</span> (<span style="font-style: italic;">to extinguish</span>)</li> </ul><div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Conjugation Tables</div>
<p>This change primarily affects the
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/14/" target="_blank">Present Indicative</a>
(first person singular), the<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/19/" target="_blank">Present Subjunctive</a>
(all forms), and the<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/22/" target="_blank">Imperative</a>
(formal and plural commands, plus negative commands).</p><p>The affected forms of
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/distinguir/" title="Click to see conjugations for distinguir" target="_blank">distinguir</a>
are highlighted below:</p><div class="study_conjugations_tense_container">
<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>
<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">distingo<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>distingues
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
él
</span>distingue
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
nosotros
</span>distinguimos
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
vosotros
</span>distinguís
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
ellos
</span>distinguen
</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">distinga<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">distingas<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">distinga<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">distingamos<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">distingáis<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">distingan<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>distingue
</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">distinga<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">distingamos<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>distinguid
</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">distingan<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><strong>Note:</strong> Many common verbs in this group, such as
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/seguir/" title="Click to see conjugations for seguir" target="_blank">seguir</a>
and<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/conseguir/" title="Click to see conjugations for conseguir" target="_blank">conseguir</a>
, also have a vowel stem change (<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/conjugationExplanation/spanish_stem_change_e_i_present/" target="_blank">e → i</a>
) in addition to this spelling adjustment (e.g., <span style="font-style: italic;">yo sigo</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">yo consigo</span>).</p>