Romance Languages
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Why do we say «fui» for both «I went» and «I was» in Spanish?
[Bajar para español] To pave the way for a comparison between the shared simple past tense of “ir” and “ser”, let’s begin with the complex history of “ser”. Its origins combine Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti (to be) and *bʰuH- (to become or… Continue reading
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O >UE and E>IE Stem Changes in Spanish (Shoe Verbs)
[Bajar para español.] Why Are There Stem-Changing Verbs in Spanish? Short answer: Stem-changing verbs in Spanish originate from the historical evolution of Latin, where differences between long and short vowels influenced vowel transformations in stressed syllables. Long answer: In Latin, long vowels… Continue reading
