elegir Present Conjugation
elegir — to choose
Elegir is a stem-changing verb (e > i) in all forms except nosotros and vosotros, plus a spelling change in the 'yo' form.
elegir Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present tense to talk about choices you make habitually, general preferences, or what you are picking right now.
Notes on elegir in the Present
The 'e' changes to 'i' in the 'boot' (all forms except nosotros/vosotros). Also, the 'yo' form changes 'g' to 'j' (elijo) to keep the soft 'h' sound.
Example Sentences
Yo siempre elijo el camino más corto.
I always choose the shortest path.
yo
¿Por qué eliges siempre la misma película?
Why do you always choose the same movie?
tú
Nosotros elegimos a los representantes cada año.
We choose the representatives every year.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'eligo' for the yo form.
Correct: The correct form is 'elijo'.
Why: In Spanish, 'g' before 'o' sounds hard (like 'go'). To keep the soft sound of 'elegir', you must switch to a 'j'.
Mistake: Using 'elegimos' with a stem change like 'eligimos'.
Correct: The correct form is 'elegimos'.
Why: Nosotros and vosotros never take the stem change in the present indicative.
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: elegí
Elegir has a stem change (e > i) in the third person: eligió and eligieron.
Imperfect
yo: elegía
The imperfect of elegir is regular: elegía, elegías, elegía, elegíamos, elegíais, elegían.
Future
yo: elegiré
The future tense of elegir is regular: elegiré, elegirás, elegirá, elegiremos, elegiréis, elegirán.
Conditional
yo: elegiría
The conditional of elegir is regular: elegiría, elegirías, elegiría, elegiríamos, elegiríais, elegirían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: elija
The present subjunctive uses the 'i' stem change and the 'j' spelling in all forms: elija, elijas, elija, elijamos, elijáis, elijan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: eligiera
The imperfect subjunctive is based on the third-person preterite 'eligieron', resulting in: eligiera, eligieras, eligiera, eligiéramos, eligierais, eligieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: elige
The imperative uses the 'i' stem change for most commands: elige (tú), elija (usted), elijamos (nosotros), elegid (vosotros), elijan (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no elijas
The negative imperative always uses the present subjunctive forms: no elijas, no elija, no elijamos, no elijáis, no elijan.