Introduction

inclinarse means “to lean, to bow”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to lean, to bow” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows inclinarse in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo me inclino ante el rey por la mañana.” — “I lean before the king.”

inclinarse in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how inclinarse is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.

In the present: everyday use

These sentences use {verb} in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.

  1. “Yo me inclino ante el rey cada día.” — “I lean before the king.”
  2. “Tú te inclinas ante el rey cada día.” — “you lean before the king.”
  3. “Él se inclina ante el rey siempre.” — “He leans before the king.”
  4. “Nosotros nos inclinamos ante el rey todos los días.” — “We lean before the king.”

Talking about the past

The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show {verb} in the past, so you can talk about what already happened. 5. “Yo me incliné ante el rey ayer.” — “I leaned before the king.” (preterite) 6. “Él se inclinó ante el rey ayer.” — “He leaned before the king.” (preterite) 7. “Yo me inclinaba ante el rey cuando era joven.” — “I used to lean before the king.” (imperfect)

Plans and things already done

These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of {verb} stays the same. 8. “Nosotros nos inclinaremos ante el rey mañana.” — “We will lean before the king.” (future) 9. “Tú te has inclinado ante el rey hoy.” — “you have leaned before the king.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo me incline ante el rey.” — “I hope that I lean before the king.” (present-subjunctive)

More everyday uses

Two more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action. 11. “Vosotros os inclináis ante el rey cada semana.” — “You lean before the king.” 12. “Ellos se inclinan ante el rey normalmente.” — “They lean before the king.”

inclinarse in context

Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how inclinarse appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.

Dialogue at home in the evening

Ana: “¿Tú te inclinas ante el rey?” — Do you lean before the king?

Luis: “Sí, yo me inclino ante el rey cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I lean before the king every day. It is part of my routine.

Ana: “¿Y ayer? ¿También te inclinas ante el rey?” — And yesterday? Did you lean before the king too?

Luis: “Sí, ayer yo me incliné ante el rey. Mañana nosotros inclinaremos ante el rey otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I leaned before the king. Tomorrow we will lean before the king again.

A short paragraph

Él se inclina ante el rey cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how inclinarse works in real Spanish: who does it, when, and with what. Around it you can build a whole paragraph: what happened yesterday, what is happening now, and what will happen tomorrow, all with the same verb. When you write your own paragraph, start with the present — yo inclino ante el rey — then add one past sentence and one future sentence, and you have practised three tenses with one verb. That is the fastest way to make inclinarse yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is incliné, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — incline — is a spelling error, and in speech the stress lands in the wrong place. Preterite yo forms that end in a vowel carry that accent, so check it every time you write the preterite of inclinarse.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For inclinarse, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: inclinamos. Only the context tells you which tense is meant, so pay attention to the time words around it — cada día points to the present, ayer points to the preterite. Do not invent a different form for one of the tenses.

Dropping the reflexive pronoun

Because inclinarse is reflexive, it always needs its pronoun: yo me inclino ante el rey, not yo inclino ante el rey. Without me, the sentence either means something else or means nothing at all. The pronouns are me, te, se, nos, os, se — learn them with the verb, not as an afterthought.

Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses

Spanish perfect tenses always use haber, never ser: yo he inclinado ante el rey. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy inclinado is not the present perfect of inclinarse — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing inclinarse with reducir

inclinarse and reducir look similar, and learners mix them up. They are different verbs with different meanings, so check which one the sentence needs before you conjugate. If you can substitute the English meaning of inclinarse — lean — the sentence needs inclinarse; if it needs the meaning of reducir, use that verb instead.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the best answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the yo form of inclinarse in the present?

  • A. inclinas
  • B. inclina
  • C. inclinamos
  • D. inclino

2. What is the tu form of inclinarse in the preterite?

  • A. inclinamos
  • B. inclinaste
  • C. incliné
  • D. inclinó

3. What is the el form of inclinarse in the imperfect?

  • A. inclinabas
  • B. inclinábamos
  • C. inclinabais
  • D. inclinaba

4. What is the nosotros form of inclinarse in the future?

  • A. inclinará
  • B. inclinaremos
  • C. inclinaré
  • D. inclinarás

5. What is the vosotros form of inclinarse in the present perfect?

  • A. he inclinado
  • B. has inclinado
  • C. ha inclinado
  • D. habéis inclinado

6. What is the ellos form of inclinarse in the present subjunctive?

  • A. incline
  • B. inclinen
  • C. incline
  • D. inclines

7. What is the yo form of inclinarse in the preterite?

  • A. inclinaste
  • B. inclinó
  • C. inclinamos
  • D. incliné

8. What is the tu form of inclinarse in the imperfect?

  • A. inclinábamos
  • B. inclinabas
  • C. inclinaba
  • D. inclinaba

9. What is the el form of inclinarse in the future?

  • A. inclinaré
  • B. inclinarás
  • C. inclinaremos
  • D. inclinará

10. What is the nosotros form of inclinarse in the conditional?

  • A. inclinaría
  • B. inclinaríamos
  • C. inclinaría
  • D. inclinarías

Answer key

  1. inclino — The present table gives yo = inclino.
  2. inclinaste — The preterite table gives tu = inclinaste.
  3. inclinaba — The imperfect table gives el = inclinaba.
  4. inclinaremos — The future table gives nosotros = inclinaremos.
  5. habéis inclinado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis inclinado.
  6. inclinen — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = inclinen.
  7. incliné — The preterite table gives yo = incliné.
  8. inclinabas — The imperfect table gives tu = inclinabas.
  9. inclinará — The future table gives el = inclinará.
  10. inclinaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = inclinaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use inclinarse in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo me inclino ante el rey.” — “I lean before the king.” Do not forget the reflexive pronoun: it goes before the verb. Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

What is the most useful form of inclinarse to learn first?

Learn the present yo form inclino first, then the preterite yo form incliné and the participle inclinado. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund inclinando next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is inclinarse reflexive?

Yes — inclinarse is reflexive, so it always takes me, te, se, nos, os or se. You say yo me inclino, never just yo inclino. The pronoun goes before the conjugated verb, or attached to the infinitive and gerund.

Where can I see the full conjugation of inclinarse?

On the main conjugation page for inclinarse, which has every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, plus notes, examples and a quiz. The present-tense page covers one tense in depth if that is what you need right now.

Related links