Spanish conjugation explanation

Spelling change: -quir → -c-

<p>The spelling of some verb forms changes in order <strong>to preserve the pronunciation</strong> of the consonant sound in the infinitive. Verbs ending in <strong style="font-style: italic">-quir</strong> follow a specific pattern based on Spanish phonetics.</p>

<p>In Spanish, the <strong>/k/</strong> sound is written in two ways depending on the vowel that follows:</p>

<ul>

<li><strong>qu</strong> before <span style="font-style: italic">e</span> or <span style="font-style: italic">i</span> (e.g., <span style="font-style: italic">esquí</span>).</li>

<li><strong>c</strong> before <span style="font-style: italic">a</span>, <span style="font-style: italic">o</span>, or <span style="font-style: italic">u</span> (e.g., <span style="font-style: italic">casa</span>).</li>

</ul>

<p>Since the infinitive ends in <span style="font-style: italic">-quir</span> (followed by <span style="font-style: italic">i</span>), it uses <span style="font-style: italic">qu</span>. However, when conjugated forms require the endings <strong>-o</strong> or <strong>-a</strong>, the spelling must change from <strong>qu</strong> to <strong>c</strong> to keep the hard <strong>/k/</strong> sound.</p>

<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>qu → c</strong></p>

<p>This affects the first person singular of the

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/14/" target="_blank">Present Indicative</a>

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

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Example: delinquir</div>

<p>The verb <span style="font-style: italic">delinquir</span> (<span style="font-style: italic">to commit a crime</span>) shows this change:</p>

<ul>

<li>

<div><strong>Present Indicative (yo):</strong></div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Yo <span class="green_emphasis">delinco</span> raramente. (<span style="font-style: italic">I rarely commit crimes.</span>)</div>

</li>

<li>

<div><strong>Present Subjunctive (él/ella):</strong></div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Es triste que él <span class="green_emphasis">delinca</span> otra vez. (<span style="font-style: italic">It is sad that he is committing a crime again.</span>)</div>

</li>

</ul>

<p>Note: This is similar to how

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/conjugationExplanation/spanish_orthograpic_change_guir_g/" target="_blank">verbs ending in -guir</a>

<p>In the following conjugation tables, the affected forms of the verb <span style="font-style: italic">jaquir</span> 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/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">jaco<span class="irregularity_circle">&#9679;</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>jaques

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

él

</span>jaque

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

nosotros

</span>jaquimos

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

vosotros

</span>jaquís

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

ellos

</span>jaquen

</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">jaca<span class="irregularity_circle">&#9679;</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">jacas<span class="irregularity_circle">&#9679;</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">jaca<span class="irregularity_circle">&#9679;</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">jacamos<span class="irregularity_circle">&#9679;</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">jacáis<span class="irregularity_circle">&#9679;</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">jacan<span class="irregularity_circle">&#9679;</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>jaque

</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">jaca<span class="irregularity_circle">&#9679;</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">jacamos<span class="irregularity_circle">&#9679;</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>jaquid

</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">jacan<span class="irregularity_circle">&#9679;</span></span></span>

</div>

</div>

</div>

</div>