Quitarse Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb quitarse means to take off — it also means to remove, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Quitarse is a regular -ar, reflexive verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. Quitarse is reflexive, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun that matches the person: me, te, se, nos, os or se. For example, me quito la chaqueta means "I take off my jacket". Without the pronoun, the verb changes meaning or stops making sense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of quitarse 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 quito la chaqueta — "I take off my jacket" — and in the preterite you say Yo me quité los zapatos — "I took off my shoes". 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: quitarse
  • English: to take off, to remove
  • Verb type: regular -ar, reflexive verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: quitando
  • Past participle: quitado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + quitado)
  • 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 quitarse, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Quitarse is reflexive: me quito, te quitas. Without the pronoun, quitar 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 quitarse. 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: quitando · Past participle: quitado

Present indicative

Person Pronoun Form
yo me quito
tú te quitas
él/ella/Ud. se quita
nosotros/as nos quitamos
vosotros/as os quitáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se quitan

Preterite

Person Pronoun Form
yo me quité
tú te quitaste
él/ella/Ud. se quitó
nosotros/as nos quitamos
vosotros/as os quitasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se quitaron

Imperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me quitaba
tú te quitabas
él/ella/Ud. se quitaba
nosotros/as nos quitábamos
vosotros/as os quitabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se quitaban

Future

Person Pronoun Form
yo me quitaré
tú te quitarás
él/ella/Ud. se quitará
nosotros/as nos quitaremos
vosotros/as os quitaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se quitarán

Conditional

Person Pronoun Form
yo me quitaría
tú te quitarías
él/ella/Ud. se quitaría
nosotros/as nos quitaríamos
vosotros/as os quitaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se quitarían

Present perfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Future perfect

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

Conditional perfect

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

Present subjunctive

Person Pronoun Form
yo me quite
tú te quites
él/ella/Ud. se quite
nosotros/as nos quitemos
vosotros/as os quitéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se quiten

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Pronoun Form
yo me quitara
tú te quitaras
él/ella/Ud. se quitara
nosotros/as nos quitáramos
vosotros/as os quitarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se quitaran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Pronoun Form
tú te quita
él/ella/Ud. se quite
nosotros/as nos quitemos
vosotros/as os quitad
ellos/ellas/Uds. se quiten

Imperative (negative)

Person Pronoun Form
tú te quites
él/ella/Ud. se quite
nosotros/as nos quitemos
vosotros/as os quitéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se quiten

Gerund and past participle

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

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 quitarse, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me quito los zapatos — "I take off my shoes". 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 quitarse, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me quité el sombrero — "I took off my hat". 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 quitarse, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me quitaba la chaqueta — "I used to take off my jacket". 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 quitarse, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me quitaré los zapatos — "I will take off my shoes". 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 quitarse, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me quitaría el sombrero — "I would take off my hat". 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 quitarse, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me he quitado la chaqueta — "I have taken off my jacket". 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 quitarse, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me había quitado los zapatos — "I had taken off my shoes". 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 quitarse, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me habré quitado el sombrero — "I will have taken off my hat". 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 quitarse, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me habría quitado la chaqueta — "I would have taken off my jacket". 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 quitarse, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él se quite los zapatos — "I hope he takes off my shoes". 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 quitarse, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo me quitara el sombrero, todo cambiaría — "If I took off my hat, 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 quitarse, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Que se quite la chaqueta — "Let him take off my jacket". 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 quitarse, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No te quites los zapatos — "Don't take off my shoes". 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 quitarse, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Yo me quito el sombrero — "I take off my hat"
  2. Él se quita la chaqueta — "He takes off my jacket"
  3. Yo me quité los zapatos — "I took off my shoes"
  4. Yo me quitaba el sombrero — "I used to take off my hat"
  5. Tú te quitarás la chaqueta — "You will take off my jacket"
  6. Yo me quitaría los zapatos — "I would take off my shoes"
  7. Él se ha quitado el sombrero — "He has taken off my hat"
  8. Espero que él se quite la chaqueta — "I hope he takes off my jacket"
  9. Yo me había quitado los zapatos — "I had taken off my shoes"
  10. Ellos se quitaban el sombrero — "They used to take off my hat"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo quito la chaqueta — Right: Yo me quito la chaqueta — Quitarse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required: without it the verb means something else, or nothing at all.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo me quito — Right: Ayer, yo me quité — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to quité.
  3. Wrong: De niño, yo me quité todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo me quitaba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (quitaba), not the preterite. The preterite (quité) is for one finished action.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy quitado los zapatos. — Right: Yo me he quitado los zapatos. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he quitado, has quitado, ha quitado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: Treating quitarse and quitar as identical in every context. — Right: Quitarse means to take off, while quitar means to remove, to take away. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: quitarse fits sentences such as Yo me quito la chaqueta, while quitar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo me ___ la chaqueta. (present tense) A. quitaría B. quité C. quitarán D. quito

  2. Complete the sentence: Él se ___ la chaqueta. (preterite) A. ha quitado B. quitaron C. quitasteis D. quitó

  3. Complete the sentence: Nosotros nos ___ la chaqueta. (imperfect) A. quitábamos B. has quitado C. quitaban D. habrán quitado

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú te ___ la chaqueta. (future) A. quitaríamos B. quite C. quiten D. quitarás

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo me ___ la chaqueta. (conditional) A. habías quitado B. quitó C. quitaría D. habéis quitado

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él se ___ la chaqueta. (present subjunctive) A. quito B. quitad C. quitáis D. quite

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo me ___ la chaqueta, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. quitaran B. quitara C. quitaron D. habíamos quitado

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros nos ___ la chaqueta. (present perfect) A. habrías quitado B. quitábamos C. hemos quitado D. quitara

  9. Complete the command: No te ___ la chaqueta. (negative imperative, tú) A. quitéis B. quiten C. quite D. quites

  10. Which is the gerund of quitarse, used with estar for the progressive? A. quitaré B. quité C. quitando D. quitado

Answer key

  1. me quito — The yo present tense of quitarse is me quito.
  2. se quitó — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of quitarse is se quitó.
  3. nos quitábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of quitarse is nos quitábamos.
  4. te quitarás — The tú future of quitarse is te quitarás.
  5. me quitaría — The yo conditional of quitarse is me quitaría.
  6. se quite — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of quitarse is se quite.
  7. me quitara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of quitarse is me quitara.
  8. nos hemos quitado — The nosotros/as present perfect of quitarse is nos hemos quitado.
  9. te quites — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: te quites.
  10. quitando — The gerund of quitarse is quitando: estoy quitando. The participle quitado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does quitarse mean in English?

Quitarse means to take off, to remove. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo me quito la chaqueta. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is quitarse a reflexive verb?

Yes. Quitarse is reflexive, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun that matches the person: me, te, se, nos, os or se. For example, Yo me quito la chaqueta and Él se quita los zapatos. If you leave the pronoun out, the verb changes meaning or stops making sense.

What is the difference between quitarse and quitar?

Quitarse means to take off, while quitar means to remove, to take away. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use quitarse when you mean to take off, as in Yo me quito la chaqueta, and use quitar for to remove, to take away. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.

How do I say “I take off” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo me quité los zapatos. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo me quitaba el sombrero. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo me he quitado la chaqueta.

How do I practise quitarse?

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

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