Reaccionar Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb reaccionar means to react, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Reaccionar 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 reaccionar 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 reacciono rápido — "I react quickly" — and in the preterite you say Yo reaccioné con calma — "I reacted calmly". 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: reaccionar
- English: to react
- Verb type: regular -ar verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: reaccionando
- Past participle: reaccionado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + reaccionado)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for reaccionar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for reaccionar. 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: reaccionando · Past participle: reaccionado
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | reacciono |
| tú | reaccionas |
| él/ella/Ud. | reacciona |
| nosotros/as | reaccionamos |
| vosotros/as | reaccionáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | reaccionan |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | reaccioné |
| tú | reaccionaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | reaccionó |
| nosotros/as | reaccionamos |
| vosotros/as | reaccionasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | reaccionaron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | reaccionaba |
| tú | reaccionabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | reaccionaba |
| nosotros/as | reaccionábamos |
| vosotros/as | reaccionabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | reaccionaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | reaccionaré |
| tú | reaccionarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | reaccionará |
| nosotros/as | reaccionaremos |
| vosotros/as | reaccionaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | reaccionarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | reaccionaría |
| tú | reaccionarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | reaccionaría |
| nosotros/as | reaccionaríamos |
| vosotros/as | reaccionaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | reaccionarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he reaccionado |
| tú | has reaccionado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha reaccionado |
| nosotros/as | hemos reaccionado |
| vosotros/as | habéis reaccionado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han reaccionado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había reaccionado |
| tú | habías reaccionado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había reaccionado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos reaccionado |
| vosotros/as | habíais reaccionado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían reaccionado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré reaccionado |
| tú | habrás reaccionado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá reaccionado |
| nosotros/as | habremos reaccionado |
| vosotros/as | habréis reaccionado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán reaccionado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría reaccionado |
| tú | habrías reaccionado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría reaccionado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos reaccionado |
| vosotros/as | habríais reaccionado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían reaccionado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | reaccione |
| tú | reacciones |
| él/ella/Ud. | reaccione |
| nosotros/as | reaccionemos |
| vosotros/as | reaccionéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | reaccionen |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | reaccionara |
| tú | reaccionaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | reaccionara |
| nosotros/as | reaccionáramos |
| vosotros/as | reaccionarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | reaccionaran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | reacciona |
| él/ella/Ud. | reaccione |
| nosotros/as | reaccionemos |
| vosotros/as | reaccionad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | reaccionen |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | reacciones |
| él/ella/Ud. | reaccione |
| nosotros/as | reaccionemos |
| vosotros/as | reaccionéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | reaccionen |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | reaccionando | with estar for the progressive: estoy reaccionando |
| Past participle | reaccionado | with haber for the perfect tenses: he reaccionado |
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 reaccionar, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo reacciono con calma — "I react calmly". 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 reaccionar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Yo reaccioné ante la noticia — "I reacted to the news". 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 reaccionar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo reaccionaba rápido — "I used to react quickly". 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 reaccionar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Yo reaccionaré con calma — "I will react calmly". 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 reaccionar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo reaccionaría ante la noticia — "I would react to the news". 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 reaccionar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo he reaccionado rápido — "I have reacted quickly". 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 reaccionar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo había reaccionado con calma — "I had reacted calmly". 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 reaccionar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habré reaccionado ante la noticia — "I will have reacted to the news". 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 reaccionar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría reaccionado rápido — "I would have reacted quickly". 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 reaccionar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él reaccione con calma — "I hope he reacts calmly". 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 reaccionar, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo reaccionara ante la noticia, todo cambiaría — "If I reacted to the news, 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 reaccionar, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Reaccione rápido — "Let him react quickly". 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 reaccionar, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No reacciones con calma — "Don't react calmly". 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 reaccionar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.
- Yo reacciono ante la noticia — "I react to the news"
- Él reacciona rápido — "He reacts quickly"
- Yo reaccioné con calma — "I reacted calmly"
- Yo reaccionaba ante la noticia — "I used to react to the news"
- Tú reaccionarás rápido — "You will react quickly"
- Yo reaccionaría con calma — "I would react calmly"
- Él ha reaccionado ante la noticia — "He has reacted to the news"
- Espero que él reaccione rápido — "I hope he reacts quickly"
- Yo había reaccionado con calma — "I had reacted calmly"
- Ellos reaccionaban ante la noticia — "They used to react to the news"
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Ellos reacciona rápido — Right: Ellos reaccionan rápido — Ellos needs the ellos form reaccionan. The singular reacciona belongs with él, ella or a singular noun.
- Wrong: Ayer, yo reacciono — Right: Ayer, yo reaccioné — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to reaccioné.
- Wrong: De niño, yo reaccioné todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo reaccionaba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (reaccionaba), not the preterite. The preterite (reaccioné) is for one finished action.
- Wrong: Yo soy reaccionado con calma. — Right: Yo he reaccionado con calma. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he reaccionado, has reaccionado, ha reaccionado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
- Wrong: Espero que él reacciona rápido. — Right: Espero que él reaccione rápido. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: reaccione. The indicative reacciona is wrong here.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on reaccionar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ rápido. (present tense) A. reacciono B. habrás reaccionado C. habíais reaccionado D. reaccionéis
Complete the sentence: Él ___ rápido. (preterite) A. reaccionó B. reaccionad C. reaccionarás D. reacciona
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ rápido. (imperfect) A. reaccionaron B. reacciona C. habré reaccionado D. reaccionábamos
Complete the sentence: Tú ___ rápido. (future) A. reacciona B. reaccionarás C. han reaccionado D. ha reaccionado
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ rápido. (conditional) A. había reaccionado B. han reaccionado C. reaccionaría D. reacciona
Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ rápido. (present subjunctive) A. reaccione B. habéis reaccionado C. reaccionaréis D. habríamos reaccionado
Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ rápido, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. reaccionara B. reacciono C. reaccionéis D. ha reaccionado
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ rápido. (present perfect) A. reaccionarais B. reaccionáis C. hemos reaccionado D. habremos reaccionado
Complete the command: No ___ rápido. (negative imperative, tú) A. reaccionen B. reaccione C. reaccionéis D. reacciones
Which is the gerund of reaccionar, used with estar for the progressive? A. reaccionando B. reaccionado C. reaccionaba D. reacciono
Answer key
- reacciono — The yo present tense of reaccionar is reacciono.
- reaccionó — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of reaccionar is reaccionó.
- reaccionábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of reaccionar is reaccionábamos.
- reaccionarás — The tú future of reaccionar is reaccionarás.
- reaccionaría — The yo conditional of reaccionar is reaccionaría.
- reaccione — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of reaccionar is reaccione.
- reaccionara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of reaccionar is reaccionara.
- hemos reaccionado — The nosotros/as present perfect of reaccionar is hemos reaccionado.
- reacciones — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: reacciones.
- reaccionando — The gerund of reaccionar is reaccionando: estoy reaccionando. The participle reaccionado is used with haber instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does reaccionar mean in English?
Reaccionar means to react. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo reacciono rápido. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.
Is reaccionar regular?
Yes. Reaccionar is a regular -ar verb: reacciono, reaccionas, reacciona. 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 reaccionar?
The gerund is reaccionando, used with estar for the progressive: estoy reaccionando. The past participle is reaccionado, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he reaccionado.
How do I say “I react” in the past?
It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo reaccioné con calma. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo reaccionaba ante la noticia. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he reaccionado rápido.
How do I practise reaccionar?
Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the reaccionar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related links
- Reaccionar in the present tense — the full present-tense table for reaccionar.
- Reaccionar examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for reaccionar.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Realizarse conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with reaccionar.
- Rebajar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with reaccionar.
- Rebelarse conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with reaccionar.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.
- Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.