Most verbs that end in -iar in Spanish have a regular conjugation in El Presente, e.g. cambiar, estudiar, apreciar, copiar. However, some verbs follow the regular conjugation except also take a written accent in most forms of the present. Some of these common verbs are:
enviar (to send)
liar (to roll/to wrap)
criar (to raise/to bring up)
fotografiar (to photograph)
Here is how they are conjugated in El Presente:
enviar | liar | criar | fotografiar | |
yo | envío | lío | crío | fotografío |
tú | envías | lías | crías | fotografías |
él/ella/usted | envía | lía | cría | fotografía |
nosotros/-as | enviamos | liamos | criamos | fotografiamos |
vosotros/-as | enviáis | liais | criais | fotografiáis |
ellos/-as/ustedes | envían | lían | crían | fotografían |
The verb in the infinitive has the stress on the -ar at the end of the word: envi-ar, li-ar, cri-ar, fotografi-ar. However, when it is conjugated in the present, the stress is on the -i in the yo, tú, él and ellos forms. In the nosotros and vosotros forms, the stress in on the -a at the end of the verb.
In order to break the syllable into two (i.e. to break the diphthong) and make the -i the stressed vowel, we put a written accent on it. Have a look at: Accents on diphthongs
Here are some examples:
Here is a list of verbs ending in -iar that need the accent.
Here is a list of regular verbs ending in -iar that do not take the accent.
This irregularity also affects their conjugation in El Presente de Subjuntivo.
For this, see Some -iar verbs in El Presente de Subjuntivo take an accent (liar, enviar, criar)
See also -uar verbs in El Presente (actuar, continuar) and -uar verbs in El Presente de Subjuntivo (actuar, continuar)
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