Rebelarse Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb rebelarse means to rebel, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Rebelarse is a regular -ar, reflexive verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. Rebelarse is reflexive, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun that matches the person: me, te, se, nos, os or se. For example, me rebelo contra la norma means "I rebel against the rule". Without the pronoun, the verb changes meaning or stops making sense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of rebelarse 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 rebelo contra la norma — "I rebel against the rule" — and in the preterite you say En su adolescencia, yo me rebelé — "In his teens, I rebeled". 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: rebelarse
  • English: to rebel
  • Verb type: regular -ar, reflexive verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: rebelando
  • Past participle: rebelado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + rebelado)
  • 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 rebelarse, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Rebelarse is reflexive: me rebelo, te rebelas. Without the pronoun, rebelar 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 rebelarse. 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: rebelando · Past participle: rebelado

Present indicative

Person Pronoun Form
yo me rebelo
tú te rebelas
él/ella/Ud. se rebela
nosotros/as nos rebelamos
vosotros/as os rebeláis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se rebelan

Preterite

Person Pronoun Form
yo me rebelé
tú te rebelaste
él/ella/Ud. se rebeló
nosotros/as nos rebelamos
vosotros/as os rebelasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se rebelaron

Imperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me rebelaba
tú te rebelabas
él/ella/Ud. se rebelaba
nosotros/as nos rebelábamos
vosotros/as os rebelabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se rebelaban

Future

Person Pronoun Form
yo me rebelaré
tú te rebelarás
él/ella/Ud. se rebelará
nosotros/as nos rebelaremos
vosotros/as os rebelaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se rebelarán

Conditional

Person Pronoun Form
yo me rebelaría
tú te rebelarías
él/ella/Ud. se rebelaría
nosotros/as nos rebelaríamos
vosotros/as os rebelaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se rebelarían

Present perfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Future perfect

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

Conditional perfect

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

Present subjunctive

Person Pronoun Form
yo me rebele
tú te rebeles
él/ella/Ud. se rebele
nosotros/as nos rebelemos
vosotros/as os rebeléis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se rebelen

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Pronoun Form
yo me rebelara
tú te rebelaras
él/ella/Ud. se rebelara
nosotros/as nos rebeláramos
vosotros/as os rebelarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se rebelaran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Pronoun Form
tú te rebela
él/ella/Ud. se rebele
nosotros/as nos rebelemos
vosotros/as os rebelad
ellos/ellas/Uds. se rebelen

Imperative (negative)

Person Pronoun Form
tú te rebeles
él/ella/Ud. se rebele
nosotros/as nos rebelemos
vosotros/as os rebeléis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se rebelen

Gerund and past participle

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

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 rebelarse, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: En su adolescencia, yo me rebelo — "In his teens, I rebel". 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 rebelarse, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me rebelé contra la injusticia — "I rebeled against injustice". 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 rebelarse, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me rebelaba contra la norma — "I used to rebel against the rule". 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 rebelarse, the future looks like this in a real sentence: En su adolescencia, yo me rebelaré — "In his teens, I will rebel". 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 rebelarse, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me rebelaría contra la injusticia — "I would rebel against injustice". 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 rebelarse, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me he rebelado contra la norma — "I have rebeled against the rule". 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 rebelarse, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: En su adolescencia, yo me había rebelado — "In his teens, I had rebeled". 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 rebelarse, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me habré rebelado contra la injusticia — "I will have rebeled against injustice". 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 rebelarse, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me habría rebelado contra la norma — "I would have rebeled against the rule". 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 rebelarse, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él se rebele en su adolescencia — "I hope he rebels in his teens". 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 rebelarse, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo me rebelara contra la injusticia, todo cambiaría — "If I rebeled against injustice, 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 rebelarse, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Que se rebele contra la norma — "Let him rebel against the rule". 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 rebelarse, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No te rebeles en su adolescencia — "Don't rebel in his teens". 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 rebelarse, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Yo me rebelo contra la injusticia — "I rebel against injustice"
  2. Él se rebela contra la norma — "He rebels against the rule"
  3. En su adolescencia, yo me rebelé — "In his teens, I rebeled"
  4. Yo me rebelaba contra la injusticia — "I used to rebel against injustice"
  5. Tú te rebelarás contra la norma — "You will rebel against the rule"
  6. En su adolescencia, yo me rebelaría — "In his teens, I would rebel"
  7. Él se ha rebelado contra la injusticia — "He has rebeled against injustice"
  8. Espero que él se rebele contra la norma — "I hope he rebels against the rule"
  9. En su adolescencia, yo me había rebelado — "In his teens, I had rebeled"
  10. Ellos se rebelaban contra la injusticia — "They used to rebel against injustice"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo rebelo contra la norma — Right: Yo me rebelo contra la norma — Rebelarse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required: without it the verb means something else, or nothing at all.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo me rebelo — Right: Ayer, yo me rebelé — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to rebelé.
  3. Wrong: De niño, yo me rebelé todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo me rebelaba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (rebelaba), not the preterite. The preterite (rebelé) is for one finished action.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy rebelado en su adolescencia. — Right: Yo me he rebelado en su adolescencia. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he rebelado, has rebelado, ha rebelado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: Espero que él rebela contra la norma. — Right: Espero que él se rebele contra la norma. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: rebele. The indicative rebela is wrong here.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo me ___ contra la norma. (present tense) A. habréis rebelado B. rebelo C. habrías rebelado D. rebelarían

  2. Complete the sentence: Él se ___ contra la norma. (preterite) A. rebeló B. habíais rebelado C. rebelaran D. rebelaremos

  3. Complete the sentence: Nosotros nos ___ contra la norma. (imperfect) A. rebelábamos B. había rebelado C. rebelaríamos D. han rebelado

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú te ___ contra la norma. (future) A. rebelarás B. rebelara C. habrá rebelado D. rebelabais

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo me ___ contra la norma. (conditional) A. rebelaría B. habríais rebelado C. rebelad D. rebeléis

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él se ___ contra la norma. (present subjunctive) A. rebele B. rebelamos C. habré rebelado D. rebelaban

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo me ___ contra la norma, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. rebelara B. habrán rebelado C. rebele D. habrían rebelado

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros nos ___ contra la norma. (present perfect) A. rebelaras B. hemos rebelado C. habías rebelado D. habrá rebelado

  9. Complete the command: No te ___ contra la norma. (negative imperative, tú) A. rebeléis B. rebelemos C. rebele D. rebeles

  10. Which is the gerund of rebelarse, used with estar for the progressive? A. rebelé B. rebelando C. rebelo D. rebelaba

Answer key

  1. me rebelo — The yo present tense of rebelarse is me rebelo.
  2. se rebeló — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of rebelarse is se rebeló.
  3. nos rebelábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of rebelarse is nos rebelábamos.
  4. te rebelarás — The tú future of rebelarse is te rebelarás.
  5. me rebelaría — The yo conditional of rebelarse is me rebelaría.
  6. se rebele — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of rebelarse is se rebele.
  7. me rebelara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of rebelarse is me rebelara.
  8. nos hemos rebelado — The nosotros/as present perfect of rebelarse is nos hemos rebelado.
  9. te rebeles — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: te rebeles.
  10. rebelando — The gerund of rebelarse is rebelando: estoy rebelando. The participle rebelado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does rebelarse mean in English?

Rebelarse means to rebel. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo me rebelo contra la norma. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is rebelarse a reflexive verb?

Yes. Rebelarse is reflexive, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun that matches the person: me, te, se, nos, os or se. For example, Yo me rebelo contra la norma and En su adolescencia, él se rebela. If you leave the pronoun out, the verb changes meaning or stops making sense.

What is the gerund and the past participle of rebelarse?

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

How do I say “I rebel” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: En su adolescencia, yo me rebelé. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo me rebelaba contra la injusticia. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo me he rebelado contra la norma.

How do I practise rebelarse?

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

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