roer Present Conjugation
roer — to gnaw
The present tense of roer is irregular in the 'yo' form (roigo), but otherwise follows regular -er patterns.
roer Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use this to describe what someone or something is gnawing on right now, or to talk about animals' general habits (like rodents gnawing on wood).
Notes on roer in the Present
The only irregularity is the 'yo' form, which adds a 'g' (roigo). This is a common pattern for some Spanish -er verbs to preserve the sound.
Example Sentences
Yo roigo un trozo de pan duro.
I am gnawing on a piece of stale bread.
yo
El ratón roe el cable de la televisión.
The mouse is gnawing the TV cable.
él/ella/usted
Esos perros siempre roen sus huesos en el jardín.
Those dogs always gnaw their bones in the garden.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Saying 'roo' for the yo form.
Correct: The correct form is 'roigo'.
Why: Learners often try to follow the regular pattern, but roer requires the 'g' insertion in the first person.
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: roí
The preterite of roer features spelling changes where 'i' becomes 'y' in the third person (royó, royeron).
Imperfect
yo: roía
The imperfect of roer is completely regular: roía, roías, roía, roíamos, roíais, roían.
Future
yo: roeré
The future tense of roer is regular: roeré, roerás, roerá, roeremos, roeréis, roerán.
Conditional
yo: roería
The conditional of roer is regular: roería, roerías, roería, roeríamos, roeríais, roerían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: roiga
The present subjunctive of roer follows the 'roig-' stem: roiga, roigas, roiga, roigamos, roigáis, roigan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: royera
The imperfect subjunctive of roer uses the 'roy-' stem: royera, royeras, royera, royéramos, royerais, royeran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: roe
The imperative of roer uses 'roe' (tú) and the irregular 'roiga' (usted/ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no roigas
The negative imperative of roer always uses the 'roig-' stem: no roigas, no roiga, no roigamos, no roigáis, no roigan.