Rechazar Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

rechazar means to reject, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Rechazar means to reject, and it is used for rejecting a job offer, declining an invitation, refusing a gift and rejecting a proposal. It is the opposite of aceptar, and it is a spelling-change verb: the z becomes c before e, so the preterite is rechacé. This page puts rechazar to work: twelve example sentences in different tenses and persons, grouped by use, then two short dialogues where the verb appears naturally, then the common mistakes to avoid, and finally a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every Spanish form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for rechazar, and the full tables are on the rechazar conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo rechazo la oferta por el sueldo. — I reject the offer because of the salary.
  2. Él rechaza la invitación con educación. — He/she rejects the invitation politely.
  3. Ayer, yo rechacé el regalo sin abrirlo. — Yesterday, I rejected the gift without opening it.
  4. Antes, nosotros rechazábamos la propuesta del comité. — Before, we used to reject the committee's proposal.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú rechazarás la oferta por el sueldo. — Tomorrow, you will reject the offer because of the salary.
  2. Yo rechazaría la invitación con educación. — I would reject the invitation politely.
  3. Él ha rechazado el regalo sin abrirlo. — He/she has rejected the gift without opening it.
  4. Espero que él rechace la propuesta del comité. — I hope he/she rejects the committee's proposal.

With other people

  1. Nosotros rechazamos la oferta por el sueldo. — We reject the offer because of the salary.
  2. Vosotros rechazáis la invitación con educación. — You all reject the invitation politely.
  3. Antes, ellos rechazaban el regalo sin abrirlo. — Before, they used to reject the gift without opening it.
  4. Mañana, él rechazará la propuesta del comité. — Tomorrow, he/she will reject the committee's proposal.

Rechazar in context

Two short dialogues that use rechazar the way people really use it. Read them aloud — the verb forms will stick much faster in a conversation than in a table.

Dialogue 1: today and yesterday

  • Ana: "Hola, ¿qué tal?" — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Luis: "Hoy rechazo la oferta por el sueldo." — "Today I reject the offer because of the salary."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, rechacé el regalo sin abrirlo." — "Yesterday I rejected the gift without opening it."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú rechazarás la invitación con educación?" — "And tomorrow, will you will reject the invitation politely?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros rechazamos la propuesta del comité." — "Tomorrow we reject the committee's proposal."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo rechazaría la invitación con educación si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would reject the invitation politely if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él rechace la oferta por el sueldo." — "I hope he rejects the offer because of the salary."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha rechazado el regalo sin abrirlo." — "Surely. He has already has rejected the gift without opening it."
  • Marta: "Vale, nos vemos mañana." — "OK, see you tomorrow."

Notice how the same verb changes with the tense: the present for the plan, the conditional for the wish, the subjunctive after espero que, and the present perfect for what has already happened. That is the whole point of learning a verb across its tenses, not just in one form.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo rechaza la oferta por el sueldo. — Right: Yo rechazo la oferta por el sueldo. — The person matters: rechaza is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is rechazo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo rechazé la invitación con educación. — Right: Yo rechacé la invitación con educación. — In the preterite, the correct first-person form is rechacé, not rechazé. rechazar is a spelling-change verb: z becomes c before e, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
  3. Wrong: Treating rechazar and aceptar as identical in every context. — Right: Rechazar means to reject, while aceptar means to accept, its opposite. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: rechazar fits sentences such as Rechazo la oferta por el sueldo, while aceptar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy rechazado la invitación con educación. — Right: Yo he rechazado la invitación con educación. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he rechazado, has rechazado, ha rechazado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo rechacé el regalo sin abrirlo todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo rechazaba el regalo sin abrirlo todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (rechazaba), not the preterite. The preterite (rechacé) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on rechazar: four on the forms, three on the meaning, and three on spotting the correct sentence. Check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la oferta por el sueldo. (present tense) A. rechazo B. rechazas C. rechaza D. rechazamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ la invitación con educación. (preterite tense) A. rechacé B. rechazaste C. rechazamos D. rechazó

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el regalo sin abrirlo. (future tense) A. rechazará B. rechazaremos C. rechazarás D. rechazaré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ la propuesta del comité. (imperfect tense) A. rechazabais B. rechazábamos C. rechazaba D. rechazabas

  5. What does "Yo rechazo la oferta por el sueldo." mean in English? A. I reject the offer because of the salary. B. I reject the invitation politely. C. I reject the gift without opening it. D. I reject the committee's proposal.

  6. What does "Él rechazó la invitación con educación." mean in English? A. He/she rejected the offer because of the salary. B. He/she rejected the gift without opening it. C. He/she rejected the committee's proposal. D. He/she rejected the invitation politely.

  7. What does "Nosotros rechazaremos el regalo sin abrirlo." mean in English? A. We will reject the invitation politely. B. We will reject the committee's proposal. C. We will reject the gift without opening it. D. We will reject the offer because of the salary.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo rechazan la invitación con educación. B. Yo rechaza la invitación con educación. C. Yo rechazo la invitación con educación.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él rechacé el regalo sin abrirlo. B. Él rechazó el regalo sin abrirlo. C. Él rechazaron el regalo sin abrirlo.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo rechace la propuesta del comité. B. Yo rechaze la propuesta del comité. C. Yo rechace la propuesta del comité.

Answer key

  1. rechazo — The yo present form of rechazar is rechazo.
  2. rechazó — The el preterite form of rechazar is rechazó.
  3. rechazarás — The tu future form of rechazar is rechazarás.
  4. rechazábamos — The nosotros imperfect form of rechazar is rechazábamos.
  5. I reject the offer because of the salary. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form rechazo, so the English is "I reject the offer because of the salary." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she rejected the invitation politely. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form rechazó, so the English is "He/she rejected the invitation politely." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will reject the gift without opening it. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form rechazaremos, so the English is "We will reject the gift without opening it." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo rechazo la invitación con educación. — The correct sentence is "Yo rechazo la invitación con educación." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él rechazó el regalo sin abrirlo. — The correct sentence is "Él rechazó el regalo sin abrirlo." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo rechace la propuesta del comité. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo rechace la propuesta del comité." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

What does rechazar mean, and when do I use it?

Rechazar means to reject. Rechazar means to reject, and it is used for rejecting a job offer, declining an invitation, refusing a gift and rejecting a proposal. It is the opposite of aceptar, and it is a spelling-change verb: the z becomes c before e, so the preterite is rechacé. A good first sentence to remember is Yo rechazo la oferta por el sueldo. — "I reject the offer because of the salary."

What is the difference between rechazar and aceptar?

Rechazar means to reject, while aceptar means to accept, its opposite. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use rechazar when you mean to reject, as in Yo rechazo la invitación con educación., and use aceptar for to accept, its opposite.

How do I say "I reject" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo rechacé la invitación con educación.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo rechazaba el regalo sin abrirlo.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he rechazado la invitación con educación..

How do I practise rechazar?

Start with the rechazar conjugation page for the full tables, then the rechazar in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Spelling change: z becomes c before e, so the preterite is rechacé and the subjunctive is rechace, never rechazé or rechaze.

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