Aislarse Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb aislarse means to isolate oneself, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Aislarse means to isolate oneself, to withdraw from other people and stay alone. It is the reflexive partner of aislar, used for people who shut themselves away, and it is fully regular. Like every Spanish verb, aislarse changes its ending for each person and tense, and this page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say me aislo en su habitación durante días, and in the preterite you say me aislé en el campo para descansar. Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: aislarse
  • English: to isolate oneself
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb, reflexive
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: aislando
  • Past participle: aislado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + aislado)
  • Reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nos, os, se — one before every conjugated form, matching the person.

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for aislarse, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Aislarse is reflexive: me aislo. It is shutting yourself away from people; retirarse is withdrawing from a place or a job.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for aislarse. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.

Present indicative

Person Pronoun Form
yo me aislo
tú te aislas
él/ella/Ud. se aisla
nosotros/as nos aislamos
vosotros/as os aisláis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se aislan

Preterite

Person Pronoun Form
yo me aislé
tú te aislaste
él/ella/Ud. se aisló
nosotros/as nos aislamos
vosotros/as os aislasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se aislaron

Imperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me aislaba
tú te aislabas
él/ella/Ud. se aislaba
nosotros/as nos aislábamos
vosotros/as os aislabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se aislaban

Future

Person Pronoun Form
yo me aislaré
tú te aislarás
él/ella/Ud. se aislará
nosotros/as nos aislaremos
vosotros/as os aislaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se aislarán

Conditional

Person Pronoun Form
yo me aislaría
tú te aislarías
él/ella/Ud. se aislaría
nosotros/as nos aislaríamos
vosotros/as os aislaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se aislarían

Present perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me he aislado
tú te has aislado
él/ella/Ud. se ha aislado
nosotros/as nos hemos aislado
vosotros/as os habéis aislado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se han aislado

Pluperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me había aislado
tú te habías aislado
él/ella/Ud. se había aislado
nosotros/as nos habíamos aislado
vosotros/as os habíais aislado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habían aislado

Future perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habré aislado
tú te habrás aislado
él/ella/Ud. se habrá aislado
nosotros/as nos habremos aislado
vosotros/as os habréis aislado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrán aislado

Conditional perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habría aislado
tú te habrías aislado
él/ella/Ud. se habría aislado
nosotros/as nos habríamos aislado
vosotros/as os habríais aislado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrían aislado

Present subjunctive

Person Pronoun Form
yo me aisle
tú te aisles
él/ella/Ud. se aisle
nosotros/as nos aislemos
vosotros/as os aisléis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se aislen

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Pronoun Form
yo me aislara
tú te aislaras
él/ella/Ud. se aislara
nosotros/as nos aisláramos
vosotros/as os aislarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se aislaran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Pronoun Form
tú te aisla
él/ella/Ud. se aisle
nosotros/as nos aislemos
vosotros/as os aislad
ellos/ellas/Uds. se aislen

Imperative (negative)

Person Pronoun Form
tú te aisles
él/ella/Ud. se aisle
nosotros/as nos aislemos
vosotros/as os aisléis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se aislen

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund aislando with estar for the progressive: estoy aislando (or me estoy aislando for this reflexive verb)
Past participle aislado with haber for the perfect tenses: he aislado

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For aislarse, the present looks like this in a real sentence: Me aislo en su habitación durante días. Learn the present forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For aislarse, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, me aislé del mundo tras la noticia. Learn the preterite forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For aislarse, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, me aislaba en el campo para descansar. Learn the imperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For aislarse, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, me aislaré de sus amigos sin motivo. Learn the future forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For aislarse, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Me aislaría en su habitación durante días si pudiera. Learn the conditional forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For aislarse, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, me he aislado del mundo tras la noticia. Learn the present perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For aislarse, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Me había aislado en el campo para descansar antes de salir. Learn the pluperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For aislarse, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, me habré aislado de sus amigos sin motivo. Learn the future perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For aislarse, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Me habría aislado en su habitación durante días con más tiempo. Learn the conditional perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For aislarse, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él se aisle del mundo tras la noticia. Learn the present subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past, and note the -ra forms shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For aislarse, the imperfect subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Si él se aislara en el campo para descansar, todo cambiaría. Learn the imperfect subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For aislarse, the affirmative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: Que se aisle de sus amigos sin motivo. Learn the affirmative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For aislarse, the negative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: No te aisles en su habitación durante días. Learn the negative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with aislarse, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Me aislo en su habitación durante días. — I isolate in my room for days.
  2. Se aisla del mundo tras la noticia. — He/she isolates from the world after the news.
  3. Ayer, me aislé en el campo para descansar. — Yesterday, I isolated in the countryside to rest.
  4. Antes, nosotros nos aislábamos de sus amigos sin motivo. — Before, we used to isolate from my friends for no reason.
  5. Mañana, tú te aislarás en su habitación durante días. — Tomorrow, you will isolate in my room for days.
  6. Yo me aislaría del mundo tras la noticia si tuviera más tiempo. — I would isolate from the world after the news if I had more time.
  7. Él se ha aislado en el campo para descansar. — He has isolated in the countryside to rest.
  8. Espero que él se aisle de sus amigos sin motivo. — I hope he isolates from my friends for no reason.
  9. Yo ya me había aislado en su habitación durante días antes de salir. — I had already isolated in my room for days before leaving.
  10. Ellos se aislaban del mundo tras la noticia cuando eran jóvenes. — They used to isolate from the world after the news when they were young.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo aislo en su habitación durante días. — Right: Yo me aislo en su habitación durante días. — Aislarse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required: without it the verb means something else, or nothing at all.
  2. Wrong: Ayer yo aislo del mundo tras la noticia. — Right: Ayer yo aislé del mundo tras la noticia. — The present and the preterite are different tenses: aislo is happening now, while aislé is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
  3. Wrong: Treating aislarse and retirarse as identical in every context. — Right: Aislarse means to isolate oneself, while retirarse means to withdraw. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: aislarse fits sentences such as Me aislo en su habitación durante días, while retirarse belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy aislado del mundo tras la noticia. — Right: Yo he aislado del mundo tras la noticia. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he aislado, has aislado, ha aislado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo aislé en el campo para descansar todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo aislaba en el campo para descansar todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (aislaba), not the preterite. The preterite (aislé) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on aislarse. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ en su habitación durante días. (present tense) A. me aislo B. te aislas C. se aisla D. nos aislamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, él ___ del mundo tras la noticia. (preterite) A. me aislé B. te aislaste C. se aislaron D. se aisló

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ___ en el campo para descansar. (imperfect) A. te aislabas B. se aislaban C. nos aislábamos D. me aislaba

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ___ de sus amigos sin motivo. (future) A. nos aislaremos B. te aislarás C. me aislaré D. se aislará

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ en su habitación durante días si pudiera. (conditional) A. me aislaría B. te aislarías C. se aislaría D. se aislarían

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ del mundo tras la noticia. (present subjunctive) A. me aisle B. te aisles C. nos aislemos D. se aisle

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ en el campo para descansar, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. se aislara B. nos aisláramos C. me aislara D. te aislaras

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ de sus amigos sin motivo. (present perfect) A. se han aislado B. nos hemos aislado C. me he aislado D. te has aislado

  9. Complete the command: No ___ en su habitación durante días. (negative imperative, tú) A. te aisles B. se aisle C. nos aislemos D. os aisléis

  10. Which is the gerund of aislarse, used with estar for the progressive? A. aislado B. aislo C. aislé D. aislando

Answer key

  1. me aislo — The first-person present of aislarse is me aislo. The other options are the tú, él/ella and nosotros forms.
  2. se aisló — The third-person preterite of aislarse is se aisló, the form for a single finished action in the past.
  3. nos aislábamos — The nosotros imperfect of aislarse is nos aislábamos, used here for a repeated past habit.
  4. te aislarás — The second-person future of aislarse is te aislarás.
  5. me aislaría — The first-person conditional of aislarse is me aislaría, the form for what would happen.
  6. se aisle — After espero que, the subjunctive is required: the third-person present subjunctive of aislarse is se aisle.
  7. me aislara — The first-person imperfect subjunctive (-ra) of aislarse is me aislara.
  8. nos hemos aislado — The nosotros present perfect of aislarse is nos hemos aislado: hemos + aislado.
  9. te aisles — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: te aisles.
  10. aislando — The gerund of aislarse is aislando: estoy aislando. The participle aislado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does aislarse mean in English?

Aislarse means to isolate oneself. It is used in everyday situations such as Me aislo en su habitación durante días. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is aislarse a reflexive verb?

Yes. Aislarse is reflexive, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun that matches the person: me, te, se, nos, os or se. For example, Me aislo en su habitación durante días and él se aisla del mundo tras la noticia. If you leave the pronoun out, the verb changes meaning or stops making sense.

What is the difference between aislarse and retirarse?

Aislarse means to isolate oneself, while retirarse means to withdraw. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use aislarse when you mean to isolate oneself, as in Me aislo en su habitación durante días, and use retirarse for to withdraw. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.

How do I say “I isolate oneself” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: yo me aislé del mundo tras la noticia. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: yo me aislaba en el campo para descansar. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: yo me he aislado del mundo tras la noticia.

How do I practise aislarse?

Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the aislarse examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.

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