preceded by ^, j, II, since these sounds, as in other inflections, 

 absorb a following i, It might be added, though of very little 

 practical consequence, that a few verbs of similar form, viz. 

 those in -olgar, -olei\ -over^ -olcjer, -erir, -entir, -ertir, -er- 

 vir are all stem changing, while some others, as those in 

 -ebar^ -eber, are invariable. 



On the whole, therefore, the attempt to make a 

 sufficiently broad distinction between varying and unvarying 

 verb-stems by the criterion of external form leads, so far as I 

 can see, to a negative result. Is there any other criterion left ? 

 The grammar of the Spanish Academy, without any reference 

 to historical reasons for this distinction, simply points out that 

 the stem-changing verbs may be recognized by the fact that 

 nearly all of them have cognate nouns with modified vowel. To 

 this rule there are indeed only a dozen exceptions, ^^ mostly for 

 verbs with original long e^ o, and about 50 stem-changing verbs 

 are actually denominatives derived from nouns with modified 

 stem-vowel. It may, therefore, be of some suggestive importance 

 to the student as he advances; but it would of course afford no 

 help to one yet unfamiliar with the language. 



Thus, even though able to recognize with little effort a great 

 number of verbs with unmodifiable themetic e, o, or determin- 

 ing a very few and small classes of nothing but stem-changing 

 verbs, or vice versa, and of finding some suggestive aid in 

 cognate noun-forms, we are after all forced back upon the ne- 

 cessity of full lists of the stem-changing verbs. These lists 

 however, may be so arranged as to facilitate considerably their 

 gradual acquirement (when desired at all) by adopting some 

 more suggestive method than the ordinary alphabetical, by 

 giving only simple verbs (preceded by a prefix if occurring 

 only in compounds), and by indicating any group that may 

 happen to comprise only stem-changing verbs, and, finally, by 

 marking for early study all verbs of more common occurence. 

 By this method the small homotype groups are easily learned, 

 the whole list, which comprises some 400 verbs, being re^ 



10 Entregar, negar, colar, podrer, podrir, empezar. derengar, apa- 

 centar, erguir, cerrar, hervir, tostar. 



