Quejarse Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb quejarse means to complain, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Quejarse is a regular -ar, reflexive verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. Quejarse is reflexive, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun that matches the person: me, te, se, nos, os or se. For example, me quejo del ruido means "I complain about the noise". Without the pronoun, the verb changes meaning or stops making sense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of quejarse in all thirteen tenses, notes on when to use each one, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. For example, in the present tense you say Yo me quejo del ruido — "I complain about the noise" — and in the preterite you say Yo me quejé del calor — "I complained about the heat". 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: quejarse
  • English: to complain
  • Verb type: regular -ar, reflexive verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: quejando
  • Past participle: quejado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + quejado)
  • 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 quejarse, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Quejarse is reflexive: me quejo, te quejas. Without the pronoun, quejar means something else — it acts on someone or something else, not on yourself.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for quejarse. 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.

Gerund: quejando · Past participle: quejado

Present indicative

Person Pronoun Form
yo me quejo
tú te quejas
él/ella/Ud. se queja
nosotros/as nos quejamos
vosotros/as os quejáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se quejan

Preterite

Person Pronoun Form
yo me quejé
tú te quejaste
él/ella/Ud. se quejó
nosotros/as nos quejamos
vosotros/as os quejasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se quejaron

Imperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me quejaba
tú te quejabas
él/ella/Ud. se quejaba
nosotros/as nos quejábamos
vosotros/as os quejabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se quejaban

Future

Person Pronoun Form
yo me quejaré
tú te quejarás
él/ella/Ud. se quejará
nosotros/as nos quejaremos
vosotros/as os quejaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se quejarán

Conditional

Person Pronoun Form
yo me quejaría
tú te quejarías
él/ella/Ud. se quejaría
nosotros/as nos quejaríamos
vosotros/as os quejaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se quejarían

Present perfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Future perfect

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

Conditional perfect

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

Present subjunctive

Person Pronoun Form
yo me queje
tú te quejes
él/ella/Ud. se queje
nosotros/as nos quejemos
vosotros/as os quejéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se quejen

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Pronoun Form
yo me quejara
tú te quejaras
él/ella/Ud. se quejara
nosotros/as nos quejáramos
vosotros/as os quejarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se quejaran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Pronoun Form
tú te queja
él/ella/Ud. se queje
nosotros/as nos quejemos
vosotros/as os quejad
ellos/ellas/Uds. se quejen

Imperative (negative)

Person Pronoun Form
tú te quejes
él/ella/Ud. se queje
nosotros/as nos quejemos
vosotros/as os quejéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se quejen

Gerund and past participle

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

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. It is the tense you will use most often in everyday conversation, for habits with words like todos los días and for statements that are true in general. For quejarse, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me quejo del calor — "I complain about the heat". Learn the present indicative 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 in the past — things that started and ended, often with time words like ayer, anoche or la semana pasada. The preterite moves a story forward, one completed event at a time. For quejarse, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Todo el día, yo me quejé — "All day, I complained". 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 words like antes, de niño or mientras. It describes how things used to be, not one finished event. For quejarse, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me quejaba del ruido — "I used to complain about the noise". 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. It talks about what will happen, not what is happening now. For quejarse, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me quejaré del calor — "I will complain about the heat". 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 in si clauses. It softens a request and describes imagined situations. For quejarse, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Todo el día, yo me quejaría — "All day, I would complain". 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. It connects the past with the present moment. For quejarse, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me he quejado del ruido — "I have complained about the noise". 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. It is the past of the past, and it usually appears with antes de or ya. For quejarse, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me había quejado del calor — "I had complained about the heat". 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, often with para mañana or para el viernes. For quejarse, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Todo el día, yo me habré quejado — "All day, I will have complained". 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. It looks back at a past that never happened. For quejarse, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me habría quejado del ruido — "I would have complained about the noise". 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. The subjunctive does not state a fact; it states an attitude towards the action. For quejarse, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él se queje del calor — "I hope he complains about the heat". 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 quejarse, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo me quejara todo el día, todo cambiaría — "If I complained all day, everything would change". Learn the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) 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. It tells someone to do something, and it has no yo form. For quejarse, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Que se queje del ruido — "Let him complain about the noise". Learn the imperative (affirmative) 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. It uses the subjunctive forms, so it looks different from the affirmative commands. For quejarse, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No te quejes del calor — "Don't complain about the heat". Learn the imperative (negative) 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 quejarse, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Todo el día, yo me quejo — "All day, I complain"
  2. Él se queja del ruido — "He complains about the noise"
  3. Yo me quejé del calor — "I complained about the heat"
  4. Todo el día, yo me quejaba — "All day, I used to complain"
  5. Tú te quejarás del ruido — "You will complain about the noise"
  6. Yo me quejaría del calor — "I would complain about the heat"
  7. Todo el día, él se ha quejado — "All day, he has complained"
  8. Espero que él se queje del ruido — "I hope he complains about the noise"
  9. Yo me había quejado del calor — "I had complained about the heat"
  10. Todo el día, ellos se quejaban — "All day, they used to complain"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo quejo del ruido — Right: Yo me quejo del ruido — Quejarse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required: without it the verb means something else, or nothing at all.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo me quejo — Right: Ayer, yo me quejé — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to quejé.
  3. Wrong: De niño, yo me quejé todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo me quejaba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (quejaba), not the preterite. The preterite (quejé) is for one finished action.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy quejado del calor. — Right: Yo me he quejado del calor. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he quejado, has quejado, ha quejado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: Espero que él queja del ruido. — Right: Espero que él se queje del ruido. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: queje. The indicative queja is wrong here.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo me ___ del ruido. (present tense) A. quejaba B. quejéis C. quejarais D. quejo

  2. Complete the sentence: Él se ___ del ruido. (preterite) A. quejó B. quejan C. quejáis D. quejad

  3. Complete the sentence: Nosotros nos ___ del ruido. (imperfect) A. quejábamos B. quejéis C. había quejado D. quejaríamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú te ___ del ruido. (future) A. quejarás B. quejáramos C. quejaréis D. habríamos quejado

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo me ___ del ruido. (conditional) A. habías quejado B. había quejado C. quejaría D. quejaban

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él se ___ del ruido. (present subjunctive) A. habrán quejado B. quejará C. habrás quejado D. queje

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo me ___ del ruido, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. quejara B. habíais quejado C. habrían quejado D. quejamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros nos ___ del ruido. (present perfect) A. habrán quejado B. habréis quejado C. has quejado D. hemos quejado

  9. Complete the command: No te ___ del ruido. (negative imperative, tú) A. queje B. quejéis C. quejemos D. quejes

  10. Which is the gerund of quejarse, used with estar for the progressive? A. quejo B. quejando C. quejé D. quejaré

Answer key

  1. me quejo — The yo present tense of quejarse is me quejo.
  2. se quejó — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of quejarse is se quejó.
  3. nos quejábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of quejarse is nos quejábamos.
  4. te quejarás — The tú future of quejarse is te quejarás.
  5. me quejaría — The yo conditional of quejarse is me quejaría.
  6. se queje — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of quejarse is se queje.
  7. me quejara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of quejarse is me quejara.
  8. nos hemos quejado — The nosotros/as present perfect of quejarse is nos hemos quejado.
  9. te quejes — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: te quejes.
  10. quejando — The gerund of quejarse is quejando: estoy quejando. The participle quejado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does quejarse mean in English?

Quejarse means to complain. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo me quejo del ruido. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is quejarse a reflexive verb?

Yes. Quejarse is reflexive, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun that matches the person: me, te, se, nos, os or se. For example, Yo me quejo del ruido and Él se queja del calor. If you leave the pronoun out, the verb changes meaning or stops making sense.

What is the gerund and the past participle of quejarse?

The gerund is quejando, used with estar for the progressive: estoy quejando. The past participle is quejado, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he quejado.

How do I say “I complain” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo me quejé del calor. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Todo el día, yo me quejaba. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo me he quejado del ruido.

How do I practise quejarse?

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

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