hervir Present Conjugation
hervir — to boil
Hervir is an e > ie stem-changer in the present (hiervo, hierves, hierve, hierven), except for nosotros and vosotros.
hervir Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present tense to talk about what is boiling right now, general cooking rules, or the boiling point of liquids.
Notes on hervir in the Present
This is a 'boot verb' where the 'e' changes to 'ie' in all forms except nosotros (hervimos) and vosotros (hervís).
Example Sentences
El agua siempre hierve a 100 grados.
Water always boils at 100 degrees.
él/ella/usted
Primero hiervo la leche y luego añado el chocolate.
First I boil the milk and then I add the chocolate.
yo
Nosotros hervimos los huevos por diez minutos.
We boil the eggs for ten minutes.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: hiervimos
Correct: hervimos
Why: Stem changes never happen in the nosotros or vosotros forms in the present indicative.
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: herví
Hervir has a 'slipper' stem change (e > i) only in the third-person forms: hirvió and hirvieron.
Imperfect
yo: hervía
Hervir is completely regular in the imperfect: hervía, hervías, hervía, hervíamos, hervíais, hervían.
Future
yo: herviré
Hervir is regular in the future; just add the endings to the infinitive: herviré, hervirás, etc.
Conditional
yo: herviría
The conditional uses the full infinitive 'hervir' plus the endings -ía, -ías, -ía, etc.
Present Subjunctive
yo: hierva
Hervir changes e > ie in most forms, but importantly shifts e > i in the nosotros and vosotros forms.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: hirviera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'hirvier-' stem for all forms (hirviera, hirvieras, etc.).
Affirmative Imperative
yo: hierve
Use 'hierve' for tú and 'hierva' for usted to give direct cooking instructions.
Negative Imperative
yo: no hiervas
All negative commands for hervir are identical to the present subjunctive forms preceded by 'no'.