2 Songs To Learn Those Pesky Stem-Changers

If you always hear puedo (the present tense first person singular form of poder) whenever the context is “I can”, you will have to actually try hard to come up with an incorrect podo while speaking. This is the self-correcting trait of any matured language seasoned over time like Spanish. Given the right amount of input, your Spanish can correct itself without you depending on some complicated grammatical label, such as “stem-changing verb”, and help you produce more accurate sentences spontaneously without any mental editing each time you speak. And what source can get fill you with more Spanish language than Latino music?

Latino music is the best Spanish teacher!
Photo credit: Ramón Peco licensed CC BY-SA 2.0

Since we already know music is one of the most entertaining language teacher, let’s see how a couple of catchy Spanish songs can be employed to drive home one of the most annoying aspects of Spanish grammar, the conjugation of stem-changing verbs. Songs, especially the popular ones that are played almost everywhere you go, once heard even casually have this wonderful property of sticking to memory for longer than anything else.

Even annoying songs are easy to remember

How many times have you caught yourself humming your favorite jingle in the shower unaware? Even the most irritating song that you hate from your guts can do the same thing equally efficiently! All that matters is that the jingle should be catchy, regardless of whether you like it or hate it. It should stir up your emotions and if it can, it creeps into your head with literally no effort whatsoever. No flashcards, no reps, no cramming, no work! Then why not capitalize on this wonderful property of music to absorb some Spanish effortlessly?

One truly irritating aspect of Spanish grammar that tends to demotivate most beginners is he conjugation of a special class of verbs grammatically known as “stem-changing verbs”. This post discusses two songs rich in this class of verbs with enough repititions to make them a part of your life once you listen to them even twice!

Hace Tiempo

This single was a part of the album, Corazón, released in 2005 by the Colombian singer, Juan Fernanco Fonseca. Corazón is the album that brought Fonseca his Latin Grammy in 2006 and was one of the biggest hits of the season. Tener (to have), poder (can), querer (to want), sentir (to feel), morir (to die)...this song has it all. You have plenty of stem-changing bugs in their present tense conjugation to play with.

This song is also an excellent resource illustrating the usage of hace with a time-phrase to talk about how long something has been taking place. The song makes this otherwise complicated grammar simpler than cake-walk! With so many stem-changers and one important rule of grammar, this song is a must-have for all beginners struggling to memorize the conjugations of these verbs. Check out a snippet of this wonderful number along with the English translation below:

Tengo un corazon que se levanta tempranito, (I have a heart that wakes up very early,)
Diariamente a preguntarme por tu piel, (On a daily basis to ask me about your skin,)
Sangra porque no te puedo ver, (It bleeds because I cannot see you,)
Sangra porque no te puedo ver. (It bleeds because I cannot see you.)

Me levanto y rezo, pero ya me estoy cansando (I wake up and pray, because I am growing weary)
Porque el santo creo que esta quedando mal (Because I think the saint isn’t living up to his end of the bargain)
Rezo porque no te puedo ver, (I pray because I cannot see you,)
Rezo porque no te puedo ver. (I pray because I cannot see you.)
Rezo porque no te puedo ver. (I pray because I cannot see you.)

Hace tiempo que te digo que yo siento que me muero, (For a while now, I’ve been telling you that I feel like I'm dying,)
No es tan facil vivir lejos de la mujer que yo quiero. (It’s not so easy living apart from the woman I love.)
Aun me queda tu recuerdo, enmarcado entre tu espejo, (Your memory lingers, framed within your mirror,)
De mañana me levanto y rezo a Dios que no estes lejos. (Of tomorrow I wake up and pray to God that you’re not far away.)

Siempre llego a casa derecho de la parranda (I always get home straight from being out and about)
Y es por ti que siempre veo el amanecer, (And because of you, I always see the sun rise,)
Vuelve que me voy a enloquecer, (Come back because I’m going crazy,)
Yo solo quiero hacerte entender. (I only want to make you understand.)

Pasos de Gigante

Bacilos was a Miami-based Latin-pop band active between 1995 and 2007 with several hits on the Billboard Latin charts and notable success in the Latin Grammies. Their first single, Pasos de Gigante, from their Grammy-nominated album, Sin Vergüenza hit #1 in Argentina, #2 in Chile, and made top ten on Billboard’s Latin singles charts in 2004.

This hit single is a treasure trove of stem-changers with 9 instances of puedo in the first stanza alone. Other than that, you have puedes elsewhere and others like siento and pienso hammered repeatedly in the chorus. What better way to hardwire these hard-to-memorize conjugations to your brain! Entertaining, enriching, and above all, effortless. Acquiring Spanish doesn’t get any easier. To get you started, here’s an excerpt from the complete lyrics along with a rough English translation:

No puedo reír (I can’t laugh)
No puedo llorar. (I can’t cry.)
No puedo dejarte de recordar (I can’t stop remembering you)
No puedo decirte nada que tu no sepas. (I can’t tell you anything that you don't know.)
Tan solo puedo quedarme como un idiota (I can only stay here like an idiot)
Pensando en cosas que me provoca (Thinking about things I want)
Hacer contigo en islas perdidas. (To do with you on lost islands.)

No puedo gritar (I can’t cry)
No puedo exigir. (I can’t demand.)
No puedo contarte lo que sentí, (I can’t tell you how I felt,)
No puedo decirte nada, tu estas tan lejos. (I can’t tell you anything, you’re too far away.)
Y tu que no sabes nada y lo sabes todo, (And you know nothing and you know it all,)
Que me derrites de tantos modos. (That you melt me in so many ways.)
Dime pa’ donde vas con mi vida... (Tell me where you are going with my life…)

Carito el corazón (Carito the heart)
Me queda grande. (Is big for me.)
Cuando yo pienso en ti, yo siento pasos de gigante. (When I think about you, I feel giant’s steps.)
Carito esta canción, (carito this song,)
Es importante (Is important)
Porque cuando la canto yo juro que estas ahí delante (Because when I sing it, I swear you’re before me)
Porque cuando la canto yo juro que estas ahí delante. (Because when I sing it, I swear you’re before me.)