Arruinar Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb arruinar means to ruin, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Arruinar means to ruin, and it covers ruining a plan, a reputation, a business, a holiday and a person's life: bad weather ruins a picnic, a scandal ruins a career, debts ruin a family. It is a strong verb of total damage. Like every Spanish verb, arruinar 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 arruino el plan del fin de semana, and in the preterite you say arruiné las vacaciones con la lluvia. 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: arruinar
  • English: to ruin
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: arruinando
  • Past participle: arruinado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + arruinado)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for arruinar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Arruinar is fully regular: arruiné, arruinaba, arruinaré. Its reflexive partner arruinarse means to be ruined financially.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for arruinar. 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 Form
yo arruino
tú arruinas
él/ella/Ud. arruina
nosotros/as arruinamos
vosotros/as arruináis
ellos/ellas/Uds. arruinan

Preterite

Person Form
yo arruiné
tú arruinaste
él/ella/Ud. arruinó
nosotros/as arruinamos
vosotros/as arruinasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. arruinaron

Imperfect

Person Form
yo arruinaba
tú arruinabas
él/ella/Ud. arruinaba
nosotros/as arruinábamos
vosotros/as arruinabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. arruinaban

Future

Person Form
yo arruinaré
tú arruinarás
él/ella/Ud. arruinará
nosotros/as arruinaremos
vosotros/as arruinaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. arruinarán

Conditional

Person Form
yo arruinaría
tú arruinarías
él/ella/Ud. arruinaría
nosotros/as arruinaríamos
vosotros/as arruinaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. arruinarían

Present perfect

Person Form
yo he arruinado
tú has arruinado
él/ella/Ud. ha arruinado
nosotros/as hemos arruinado
vosotros/as habéis arruinado
ellos/ellas/Uds. han arruinado

Pluperfect

Person Form
yo había arruinado
tú habías arruinado
él/ella/Ud. había arruinado
nosotros/as habíamos arruinado
vosotros/as habíais arruinado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habían arruinado

Future perfect

Person Form
yo habré arruinado
tú habrás arruinado
él/ella/Ud. habrá arruinado
nosotros/as habremos arruinado
vosotros/as habréis arruinado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán arruinado

Conditional perfect

Person Form
yo habría arruinado
tú habrías arruinado
él/ella/Ud. habría arruinado
nosotros/as habríamos arruinado
vosotros/as habríais arruinado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrían arruinado

Present subjunctive

Person Form
yo arruine
tú arruines
él/ella/Ud. arruine
nosotros/as arruinemos
vosotros/as arruinéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. arruinen

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo arruinara
tú arruinaras
él/ella/Ud. arruinara
nosotros/as arruináramos
vosotros/as arruinarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. arruinaran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú arruina
él/ella/Ud. arruine
nosotros/as arruinemos
vosotros/as arruinad
ellos/ellas/Uds. arruinen

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú arruines
él/ella/Ud. arruine
nosotros/as arruinemos
vosotros/as arruinéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. arruinen

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund arruinando with estar for the progressive: estoy arruinando
Past participle arruinado with haber for the perfect tenses: he arruinado

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 arruinar, the present looks like this in a real sentence: Arruino el plan del fin de semana. 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 arruinar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, arruiné la reputación de la empresa. 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 arruinar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, arruinaba las vacaciones con la lluvia. 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 arruinar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, arruinaré mi carrera con un escándalo. 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 arruinar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Arruinaría el plan del fin de semana 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 arruinar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, he arruinado la reputación de la empresa. 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 arruinar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Había arruinado las vacaciones con la lluvia 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 arruinar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, habré arruinado mi carrera con un escándalo. 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 arruinar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Habría arruinado el plan del fin de semana 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 arruinar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él arruine la reputación de la empresa. 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 arruinar, the imperfect subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Si él arruinara las vacaciones con la lluvia, 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 arruinar, the affirmative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: ¡arruina mi carrera con un escándalo! 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 arruinar, the negative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: No arruines el plan del fin de semana. 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 arruinar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Arruino el plan del fin de semana. — I ruin the weekend plan.
  2. Arruina la reputación de la empresa. — He/she ruins the company's reputation.
  3. Ayer, arruiné las vacaciones con la lluvia. — Yesterday, I ruined the holidays with the rain.
  4. Antes, nosotros arruinábamos mi carrera con un escándalo. — Before, we used to ruin my career with a scandal.
  5. Mañana, tú arruinarás el plan del fin de semana. — Tomorrow, you will ruin the weekend plan.
  6. Yo arruinaría la reputación de la empresa si tuviera más tiempo. — I would ruin the company's reputation if I had more time.
  7. Él ha arruinado las vacaciones con la lluvia. — He has ruined the holidays with the rain.
  8. Espero que él arruine mi carrera con un escándalo. — I hope he ruins my career with a scandal.
  9. Yo ya había arruinado el plan del fin de semana antes de salir. — I had already ruined the weekend plan before leaving.
  10. Ellos arruinaban la reputación de la empresa cuando eran jóvenes. — They used to ruin the company's reputation when they were young.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo arruina el plan del fin de semana. — Right: Yo arruino el plan del fin de semana. — The person matters: arruina is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is arruino. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Treating arruinar and estropear as identical in every context. — Right: Arruinar means to ruin, while estropear means to spoil or damage something. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: arruinar fits sentences such as Arruino el plan del fin de semana, while estropear belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  3. Wrong: Yo soy arruinado la reputación de la empresa. — Right: Yo he arruinado la reputación de la empresa. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he arruinado, has arruinado, ha arruinado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  4. Wrong: De niño, yo arruiné las vacaciones con la lluvia todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo arruinaba las vacaciones con la lluvia todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (arruinaba), not the preterite. The preterite (arruiné) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el plan del fin de semana. (present tense) A. arruino B. arruinas C. arruina D. arruinamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, él ___ la reputación de la empresa. (preterite) A. arruiné B. arruinaste C. arruinaron D. arruinó

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ___ las vacaciones con la lluvia. (imperfect) A. arruinabas B. arruinaban C. arruinábamos D. arruinaba

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ___ mi carrera con un escándalo. (future) A. arruinaremos B. arruinarás C. arruinaré D. arruinará

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el plan del fin de semana si pudiera. (conditional) A. arruinaría B. arruinarías C. arruinarían D. arruino

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ la reputación de la empresa. (present subjunctive) A. arruines B. arruinemos C. arruino D. arruine

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ las vacaciones con la lluvia, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. arruináramos B. arruino C. arruinara D. arruinaras

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ mi carrera con un escándalo. (present perfect) A. han arruinado B. hemos arruinado C. he arruinado D. has arruinado

  9. Complete the command: ¡___ el plan del fin de semana! (affirmative imperative, tú) A. arruina B. arruine C. arruinemos D. arruinad

  10. Which is the gerund of arruinar, used with estar for the progressive? A. arruinado B. arruino C. arruiné D. arruinando

Answer key

  1. arruino — The first-person present of arruinar is arruino. The other options are the tú, él/ella and nosotros forms.
  2. arruinó — The third-person preterite of arruinar is arruinó, the form for a single finished action in the past.
  3. arruinábamos — The nosotros imperfect of arruinar is arruinábamos, used here for a repeated past habit.
  4. arruinarás — The second-person future of arruinar is arruinarás.
  5. arruinaría — The first-person conditional of arruinar is arruinaría, the form for what would happen.
  6. arruine — After espero que, the subjunctive is required: the third-person present subjunctive of arruinar is arruine.
  7. arruinara — The first-person imperfect subjunctive (-ra) of arruinar is arruinara.
  8. hemos arruinado — The nosotros present perfect of arruinar is hemos arruinado: hemos + arruinado.
  9. arruina — The affirmative tú imperative of arruinar is arruina.
  10. arruinando — The gerund of arruinar is arruinando: estoy arruinando. The participle arruinado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does arruinar mean in English?

Arruinar means to ruin. It is used in everyday situations such as Arruino el plan del fin de semana. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is arruinar regular or irregular?

Arruinar is a fully regular -ar verb, so every tense follows the standard endings for its class. Once you know the regular pattern, you can produce every form on this page, including arruino in the present and arruiné in the preterite.

What is the difference between arruinar and estropear?

Arruinar means to ruin, while estropear means to spoil or damage something. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use arruinar when you mean to ruin, as in Arruino el plan del fin de semana, and use estropear for to spoil or damage something. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.

How do I say “I ruin” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: yo arruiné la reputación de la empresa. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: yo arruinaba las vacaciones con la lluvia. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: yo he arruinado la reputación de la empresa.

How do I practise arruinar?

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

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