# Stem change e → i (pedir, servir, seguir)

> id: conjugation.present.stem-e-i · category: conjugation · depth: standard · levels: A2 · review: internally_reviewed

**Summary.** Only -ir verbs do this: the stem e becomes i in the boot forms. Pedir: pido, pides, pide, pedimos, pedís, piden.

In this family the stem vowel doesn't diphthongize — it raises: e becomes i in the stressed boot forms. Pedir → pido; servir → sirvo; repetir → repito; vestir → visto.

The pattern exists only in -ir verbs. Nosotros, vosotros, and vos keep the e: pedimos, pedís, vos pedís.

Unlike e → ie verbs, the raised i spreads much further: preterite third person (pidió, pidieron), gerund (pidiendo), and the whole present subjunctive (pida, pidamos). Seguir adds a spelling change: sigo, sigues.

## Examples
- Pido la cuenta. — I ask for the bill.
- ¿Qué sirven aquí? — What do they serve here?
- Seguimos las instrucciones. — We follow the instructions. *(No change in nosotros.)*

Related: conjugation.present.stem-e-ie, conjugation.preterite.stem-third-person

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