Razonar Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb razonar means to reason, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Razonar is a regular -ar verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of razonar 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 razono con calma — "I reason calmly" — and in the preterite you say Yo razoné sobre el problema — "I reasoned about the problem". 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: razonar
- English: to reason
- Verb type: regular -ar verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: razonando
- Past participle: razonado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + razonado)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for razonar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for razonar. 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: razonando · Past participle: razonado
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | razono |
| tú | razonas |
| él/ella/Ud. | razona |
| nosotros/as | razonamos |
| vosotros/as | razonáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | razonan |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | razoné |
| tú | razonaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | razonó |
| nosotros/as | razonamos |
| vosotros/as | razonasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | razonaron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | razonaba |
| tú | razonabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | razonaba |
| nosotros/as | razonábamos |
| vosotros/as | razonabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | razonaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | razonaré |
| tú | razonarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | razonará |
| nosotros/as | razonaremos |
| vosotros/as | razonaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | razonarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | razonaría |
| tú | razonarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | razonaría |
| nosotros/as | razonaríamos |
| vosotros/as | razonaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | razonarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he razonado |
| tú | has razonado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha razonado |
| nosotros/as | hemos razonado |
| vosotros/as | habéis razonado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han razonado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había razonado |
| tú | habías razonado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había razonado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos razonado |
| vosotros/as | habíais razonado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían razonado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré razonado |
| tú | habrás razonado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá razonado |
| nosotros/as | habremos razonado |
| vosotros/as | habréis razonado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán razonado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría razonado |
| tú | habrías razonado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría razonado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos razonado |
| vosotros/as | habríais razonado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían razonado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | razone |
| tú | razones |
| él/ella/Ud. | razone |
| nosotros/as | razonemos |
| vosotros/as | razonéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | razonen |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | razonara |
| tú | razonaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | razonara |
| nosotros/as | razonáramos |
| vosotros/as | razonarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | razonaran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | razona |
| él/ella/Ud. | razone |
| nosotros/as | razonemos |
| vosotros/as | razonad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | razonen |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | razones |
| él/ella/Ud. | razone |
| nosotros/as | razonemos |
| vosotros/as | razonéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | razonen |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | razonando | with estar for the progressive: estoy razonando |
| Past participle | razonado | with haber for the perfect tenses: he razonado |
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 razonar, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo razono sobre el problema — "I reason about the problem". 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 razonar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Antes de decidir, yo razoné — "Before deciding, I reasoned". 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 razonar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo razonaba con calma — "I used to reason calmly". 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 razonar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Yo razonaré sobre el problema — "I will reason about the problem". 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 razonar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Antes de decidir, yo razonaría — "Before deciding, I would reason". 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 razonar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo he razonado con calma — "I have reasoned calmly". 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 razonar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo había razonado sobre el problema — "I had reasoned about the problem". 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 razonar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Antes de decidir, yo habré razonado — "Before deciding, I will have reasoned". 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 razonar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría razonado con calma — "I would have reasoned calmly". 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 razonar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él razone sobre el problema — "I hope he reasons about the problem". 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 razonar, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo razonara antes de decidir, todo cambiaría — "If I reasoned before deciding, 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 razonar, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Razone con calma — "Let him reason calmly". 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 razonar, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No razones sobre el problema — "Don't reason about the problem". 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 razonar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.
- Antes de decidir, yo razono — "Before deciding, I reason"
- Él razona con calma — "He reasons calmly"
- Yo razoné sobre el problema — "I reasoned about the problem"
- Antes de decidir, yo razonaba — "Before deciding, I used to reason"
- Tú razonarás con calma — "You will reason calmly"
- Yo razonaría sobre el problema — "I would reason about the problem"
- Antes de decidir, él ha razonado — "Before deciding, he has reasoned"
- Espero que él razone con calma — "I hope he reasons calmly"
- Yo había razonado sobre el problema — "I had reasoned about the problem"
- Antes de decidir, ellos razonaban — "Before deciding, they used to reason"
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Ellos razona con calma — Right: Ellos razonan con calma — Ellos needs the ellos form razonan. The singular razona belongs with él, ella or a singular noun.
- Wrong: Ayer, yo razono — Right: Ayer, yo razoné — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to razoné.
- Wrong: De niño, yo razoné todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo razonaba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (razonaba), not the preterite. The preterite (razoné) is for one finished action.
- Wrong: Yo soy razonado sobre el problema. — Right: Yo he razonado sobre el problema. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he razonado, has razonado, ha razonado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
- Wrong: Espero que él razona con calma. — Right: Espero que él razone con calma. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: razone. The indicative razona is wrong here.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on razonar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ con calma. (present tense) A. razonarán B. habrías razonado C. razonaréis D. razono
Complete the sentence: Él ___ con calma. (preterite) A. razonó B. has razonado C. razonaréis D. razoné
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ con calma. (imperfect) A. razonaríamos B. razonábamos C. razonas D. razonaste
Complete the sentence: Tú ___ con calma. (future) A. hemos razonado B. habrán razonado C. razonabais D. razonarás
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ con calma. (conditional) A. razonaríais B. habrían razonado C. razonarás D. razonaría
Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ con calma. (present subjunctive) A. razonas B. razonó C. habría razonado D. razone
Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ con calma, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. razonabas B. razonan C. razonaremos D. razonara
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ con calma. (present perfect) A. hemos razonado B. razonaría C. razonarás D. habrían razonado
Complete the command: No ___ con calma. (negative imperative, tú) A. razonéis B. razonemos C. razones D. razone
Which is the gerund of razonar, used with estar for the progressive? A. razoné B. razonando C. razonaba D. razonaré
Answer key
- razono — The yo present tense of razonar is razono.
- razonó — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of razonar is razonó.
- razonábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of razonar is razonábamos.
- razonarás — The tú future of razonar is razonarás.
- razonaría — The yo conditional of razonar is razonaría.
- razone — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of razonar is razone.
- razonara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of razonar is razonara.
- hemos razonado — The nosotros/as present perfect of razonar is hemos razonado.
- razones — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: razones.
- razonando — The gerund of razonar is razonando: estoy razonando. The participle razonado is used with haber instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does razonar mean in English?
Razonar means to reason. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo razono con calma. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.
Is razonar regular?
Yes. Razonar is a regular -ar verb: razono, razonas, razona. The only thing to learn is the pattern of endings, which is the same for every regular -ar verb.
What is the gerund and the past participle of razonar?
The gerund is razonando, used with estar for the progressive: estoy razonando. The past participle is razonado, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he razonado.
How do I say “I reason” in the past?
It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo razoné sobre el problema. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Antes de decidir, yo razonaba. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he razonado con calma.
How do I practise razonar?
Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the razonar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related links
- Razonar in the present tense — the full present-tense table for razonar.
- Razonar examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for razonar.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Reaccionar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with razonar.
- Realizarse conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with razonar.
- Rebajar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with razonar.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.
- Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.