This 3 page English-Spanish handout and worksheet is about the spelling changes of present indicative tense verbs ending in ger and gir. It is intended for English speakers who are learning Spanish.

1. English-Spanish Helpful Handouts Page 1 of 5
Spanish Verbs With Spelling Changes – Verbs Ending In Ger And Gir
Verbs that end in ger and gir change their spelling in the first person singular of the present indicative tense.
These verbs change the g to j in the first person singular.
proteger – to protect dirigir – to direct
yo protejo yo dirijo
tú proteges tú diriges
él protege él dirige
ella protege ella dirige
usted protege usted dirige
nosotros protegemos nosotros dirigimos
nosotras protegemos nosotras dirigimos
vosotros protegéis vosotros dirigís
vosotras protegéis vosotras dirigís
ellos protegen ellos dirigen
ellas protegen ellas dirigen
ustedes protegen ustedes dirigen
Here are some other verbs that end in ger and gir that change the g to j in the first person singular.
acoger – to afligir – to coger – to corregir – to dirigir – to elegir – to emerger – to
greet afflict grab, to hold, correct direct elect emerge
to catch
encoger – to escoger – to exigir – to fingir – to infringer – to recoger – to restringir – to
shrink choose demand pretend infringe pick up restrain
resurgir – to rugir – to roar sumergir – to surgir – to urgir – to urge
re-emerge submerge, to emerge
drown
Two of the above verbs are also stem changing verbs. They are corregir and elegir. These 2 verbs change the e to i
in the stem. The conjugations are below.
corregir to correct elegir – to elect
yo corrijo yo elijo
tú corriges tú eliges
él corrige él elige
ella corrige ella elige
usted corrige usted elige
nosotros corregimos nosotros elegimos
nosotras corregimos nosotras elegimos
vosotros corregís vosotros elegís
vosotras corregís vosotras elegís
ellos corrigen ellos eligen
ellas corrigen ellas eligen
ustedes corrigen ustedes eligen
Please remember that with the exception of corregir and elegir, all of the other verbs presented in this handout are
conjugated just like proteger and dirigir.
Free handout – http://sites.google.com/site/englishspanishhelpfulhandouts. Written by S. Watson.

2. English-Spanish Helpful Handouts Page 2 of 5
Spanish Verbs With Spelling Changes – Verbs Ending In Ger And Gir
Match the infinitive to the first person singular form to the verb.
1. acoger _____ yo cojo
2. afligir _____ yo acojo
3. coger _____ yo elijo
4. corregir _____ yo exijo
5. dirigir _____ yo escojo
6. elegir _____ yo sumerjo
7. emerger _____ yo rujo
8. encoger _____ yo dirijo
9. escoger _____ yo protejo
10. exigir _____ yo aflijo
11. fingir _____ yo surjo
12. infringir _____ yo emerjo
13. proteger _____ yo finjo
14. recoger _____ yo encojo
15. restringir _____ yo recojo
16. resurgir _____ yo corrijo
17. rugir _____ yo infrinjo
18. sumergir _____ yo urjo
19. urgir _____ yo resurjo
20. surgir _____ yo restrinjo
Practice conjugating these 8 verbs.
acoger rugir afligir sumergir
yo _______________ yo _______________ yo_______________ yo _______________
tú _______________ tú _______________ tú _______________ tú _______________
él _______________ él _______________ él _______________ él _______________
ella______________ ella______________ ella______________ ella______________
usted_____________ usted_____________ usted_____________ usted_____________
nosotros___________ nosotros___________ nosotros___________ nosotros___________
nosotras__________ nosotras__________ nosotras__________ nosotras__________
vosotros__________ vosotros__________ vosotros__________ vosotros__________
vosotras__________ vosotras__________ vosotras__________ vosotras__________
ellos_____________ ellos_____________ ellos_____________ ellos_____________
ellas_____________ ellas_____________ ellas_____________ ellas_____________
ustedes___________ ustedes___________ ustedes___________ ustedes___________
coger surgir corregir elegir
yo _______________ yo _______________ yo _______________ yo _______________
tú _______________ tú _______________ tú _______________ tú _______________
él _______________ él _______________ él _______________ él _______________
ella______________ ella______________ ella______________ ella______________
usted_____________ usted_____________ usted_____________ usted_____________
nosotros___________ nosotros___________ nosotros___________ nosotros___________
nosotras__________ nosotras__________ nosotras__________ nosotras__________
vosotros__________ vosotros__________ vosotros__________ vosotros__________
vosotras__________ vosotras__________ vosotras__________ vosotras__________
ellos_____________ ellos_____________ ellos_____________ ellos_____________
ellas_____________ ellas_____________ ellas_____________ ellas_____________
ustedes___________ ustedes___________ ustedes___________ ustedes___________
Free handout – http://sites.google.com/site/englishspanishhelpfulhandouts. Written by S. Watson.

3. English-Spanish Helpful Handouts Page 3 of 5
Spanish Verbs With Spelling Changes – Verbs Ending In Ger And Gir
Review the vocabulary in the box below. Then, fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb.
el avión - plane, la bolsa - bag, la compensación - compensation,
encogerse de hombros - to shrug one’s shoulders, hay que –must, infringir la ley – to break the law,
los exámenes - exams, el hotel - hotel, el león - lion, la opción - option, el presidente - president,
el profesor - professor, la tarde - afternoon, ver - to see
1. Nosotros ____________ (elegir) al presidente.
2. Yo ____________ (exigir) una compensación.
3. El profesor ____________ (corregir) los exámenes.
4. Ellos ____________ (fingir) no me ver.
5. Vosotros ____________ (coger) el avión a las dos de la tarde.
6. El león ____________ (rugir).
7. Ellas hay que __________ (escoger) una opción.
8. Me (yo) ____________ (encoger) de hombros.
9. Me (usted) ____________ (dirigir) al hotel.
10. Me (tú) ____________ (acoger) con cariño.
11. Usted ____________ (coger) esta bolsa un momento.
12. Ellos ____________ (infringir) la ley.
After you finish the fill in the blank exercise above, go to page 4 and try to solve the double puzzle.
Free handout – http://sites.google.com/site/englishspanishhelpfulhandouts. Written by S. Watson.

4. English-Spanish Helpful Handouts Page 4 of 5
Spanish Verbs With Spelling Changer – Verbs ending In Ger And Gir
Double Puzzle
Unscramble each of the clue words. Take the letters that appear in boxes and unscramble them for the final
message. Write the final message in the boxes at the bottom of each puzzle. The scrambled words are in Spanish
and the final message is in English. The answers are on page 5.
Don’t forget! Go to page 5 to see the answers to the double puzzle.
Free handout – http://sites.google.com/site/englishspanishhelpfulhandouts. Written by S. Watson.

5. English-Spanish Helpful Handouts Page 5 of 5
Spanish Verbs With Spelling Changer – Verbs ending In Ger And Gir
Double Puzzle Answers
The Scrambled Words
yo acojo
tú ruges
él aflige
nosotros sumergimos
vosotros cogéis
ellos surgen
The Final Message
Verbs that end in ger and gir change the g to j in the first person singular.
Free handout – http://sites.google.com/site/englishspanishhelpfulhandouts. Written by S. Watson.