How to identify the ROOT of a verb

To identify the root of a verb we have to do these steps: detect the family, see the repetitions, find the endings and eliminate the verb ending. We tell you!

The verb It is a type of word that indicates the action, state or process that takes place in a sentence. This is the most important word of the predicate and each of the words that are part of the grammatical category of verbs, They are composed of a root and one or more endings. But how can we find the root of the verbs?

In this lesson from a TEACHER, we want to help you how to identify the root of a verb so that you know to which family it belongs and, with this, you can intuit its meaning.

Index

1. How to know which is the root of a verb? the verb structure
2. Steps to identify the root of a verb - with examples
3. Verb root examples
4. Examples of verb roots

As we have mentioned before, the verb is a grammatical category that expresses a

all the verbs are composed of two parts:

• The root either lexeme: It is the part of the verb that never changes and gives us the intrinsic meaning of said word. For example: sufferedgo
• The endings either endings: It is the part or parts of the verb that are adapted to fit the mood, tense, and person in which the verb is conjugated. For example: sufferedthey went, sufferstill, sufferwe'll go

Image: Billiken

But how to identify the root of a verb? the root of a verb contains its main meaning and it is very important to identify it, in order to understand the full meaning of the word and learn to build other words, from the lexeme.

Identifying the stem of a verb can be somewhat complicated if you don't know how to do it, so we are going to give you some easy steps that you must follow find the root of any verb that is presented to you

1- Form a family of words with the verb

To identify the root of a verb you can form the word family with the verb in question. For example, if I have the verb PLAY, I will have to find his family of words:

• Play: I will play, playing, played, you play, played, let's play, playing, etc.

2- Find the repetitions

The part that is repeated in each of the words is the root or lexeme, so it will only be a matter of looking closely:

• playedar: jugI will, jugI walk jugado, jugyay, jugada, juglet's go, jugI walk, etc.

As you can see, the root of the word PLAY is JUG-, since it is the part that is repeated in all the words of its family.

3- If you want, find the endings

The endings will be all those that are after the root and they give us a circumstantial meaning, about the time, the way and the person in which the verb is being conjugated:

• playedar: jugI will, playedI walk, playedado, playedyou are, playedada, playedLet's go, playedI walk, etc.

4- Delete the ending of the infinitive

You can also find the root of a verb writing it in the infinitive and deleting the ending -AR, -ER or -IR.

• For example: The verb TO PLAY, is from the first conjugation, so what we will do is delete the -AR with the one that ends and we will obtain the root of the verb: JUG-

let's get you some examples of conjugated verbs, taking into account the ending to which they belong, so you can see how we find their root in an easy way. We have given an example of the verb in past, present and future.

Conjugation of the verb to speak (1st conjugation)

• I speak / spoke / will speak
• you speak / spoke / will speak
• He / She speaks / spoke / will speak
• We talk / we talk / we will talk
• You speak / you spoke / you will speak
• They / They speak / spoke / will speak

The root of the verb to speak is HABL-

Conjugation of the verb to eat (2nd conjugation)

• I eat / ate / will eat
• you eat / ate / will eat
• He / She eats / ate / will eat
• We eat / ate / will eat
• You / you eat / you ate / you will eat
• They / They eat / ate / will eat

The root of the verb to eat is COM-

Conjugation of the verb to write (3rd conjugation)

• I write / wrote / will write
• You write / wrote / will write
• he/she writes/wrote/will write
• We write / write / will write
• You / as wrote / wrote / will write
• They / They write / wrote / will write

The root of the verb to write is WRITING-

Image: Billiken

We have analyzed some verbs to give you some examples and that you can see what is the root of each one of them and the endings. Would you know how to find the lexeme by yourself?

• To calm. Root: calm- / Endings: calm, calm, calm, calm.
• Play. Root: jug- / Endings: I would play, I will play, played, we would play, they would have played.
• Sing. Root: cant-/ Endings: I sing, singing, I will sing, we would sing, we had sung.
• Hop. Root: salt- / Endings: they jumped, would jump, will jump, we will jump, they have jumped, they would have jumped.
• leave. Root: par- / Endings: we will give birth, give birth, give birth, give birth.
• Sing. Root: cant- / Endings: they sang, we will sing, I sang.
• To drink. Root: beb- / Endings: drank, we drink, you will drink.
• Breast-feed. Root: amamant- / Endings: breastfed, breastfed, we would breastfeed, you would breastfeed.
• leave. Root: part- / Endings: departed, I will depart, they would depart, they will depart.
• Suffer. Root: suffer- / Endings: suffered, will suffer, we would suffer, suffered.
• To hurt. Root: dol- / Endings: hurt, hurt, will hurt, hurt, had hurt.
• Travel. Root: viaj- Endings: would travel, traveled, traveled, traveled, we will travel, we will travel, they will travel.
• Take. Root: tom- / Endings: we would take, they took, we will take, I took, took, will take.
• Eat. Root: com- / Endings: we will eat, will eat, they ate, I ate, you will eat.
• Cry. Root: cry- / Endings: cried, I will cry, they cried, they will cry, they have cried.
• dawn. Root: dawn- / Endings: dawned, dawned, dawned, have dawned.
• Accompany. Root: accompany- / Endings: accompany, accompany, accompanied, accompany.

We hope this lesson has helped you to know how to identify the root of a verb and that now you can understand each of the words you pronounce and write much better. If you want to continue learning more about this subject and something similar, do not hesitate to consult our section on grammar and linguistics.

If you want to read more articles similar to How to identify the root of a verb, we recommend that you enter our category of Grammar and Linguistics.

• Torrego, L. g. (2015). Spanish didactic grammar. Editions SM Spain.
• Pineda Perez, M. Á. d. (1992). Computational analysis of the morphology of Spanish. Philologia Hispalensis, 7, 7-22.