Rechazar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of rechazar — "to reject" in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for rechazar with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. 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. To see it in a real sentence: Él rechaza la oferta por el sueldo. — "He/she rejects the offer because of the salary." Work through the table below, then the formation notes, the usage rules and the contrast with the preterite, and test yourself at the end.

Present tense conjugation table: rechazar

Every person of rechazar in the present tense. The gerund is rechazando and the past participle is rechazado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo rechazo
tú rechazas
él/ella/Ud. rechaza
nosotros/as rechazamos
vosotros/as rechazáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. rechazan

How the present indicative of rechazar is formed

The present indicative of rechazar is built from the stem rechaz- plus the present endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.

Person Ending Form
yo -o rechazo
tú -as rechazas
él/ella/Ud. -a rechaza
nosotros/as -amos rechazamos
vosotros/as -áis rechazáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an rechazan

rechazar is a spelling-change verb: z becomes c before e. That is why the written form changes in some persons — the sound stays the same, and only the spelling adapts. In this tense, watch the first-person form rechazo in particular.

The gerund of rechazar is rechazando and the past participle is rechazado. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.

When to use the present tense of rechazar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and rechazar appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.

Habits and routines

The present tense describes things you do regularly. If you do it every day, every week or every morning, the present is the tense to use. For rechazar, this use looks like this: "Yo rechazo la oferta por el sueldo." — "I reject the offer because of the salary." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

General facts

The present tense states facts that are generally true, not tied to one moment. It is the tense for definitions and permanent situations. For rechazar, this use looks like this: "Él rechaza la invitación con educación." — "He/she rejects the invitation politely." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

What is happening now

The present tense also covers what is happening at this moment, especially with verbs that describe an action in progress. For rechazar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros rechazamos el regalo sin abrirlo." — "We reject the gift without opening it." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Timetables and schedules

The present tense is used for fixed plans and timetables, such as trains, classes and opening times, even when they refer to the future. For rechazar, this use looks like this: "Ellos rechazan la propuesta del comité." — "They reject the committee's proposal." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Instructions and requests

The present tense appears in instructions and polite requests, where it sounds softer than a direct command. For rechazar, this use looks like this: "Tú rechazas la oferta por el sueldo." — "You reject the offer because of the salary." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

The present tense vs the preterite

Learners often mix up the present and the preterite with rechazar. The rule is simple: the present is for habits, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite is for one finished action in the past. The three pairs below show the same idea in both tenses, so you can feel the difference.

Pair 1: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Yo rechazo la oferta por el sueldo." — "I reject the offer because of the salary."
  • Preterite: "Yo rechacé la oferta por el sueldo." — "I rejected the offer because of the salary." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 2: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Él rechaza la invitación con educación." — "He/she rejects the invitation politely."
  • Preterite: "Él rechazó la invitación con educación." — "He/she rejected the invitation politely." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 3: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Nosotros rechazamos el regalo sin abrirlo." — "We reject the gift without opening it."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros rechazamos el regalo sin abrirlo." — "We rejected the gift without opening it." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Example sentences in the present tense

Eight natural sentences with rechazar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo rechazo la oferta por el sueldo. — I reject the offer because of the salary.
  2. Tú rechazas la invitación con educación. — You reject the invitation politely.
  3. Él rechaza el regalo sin abrirlo. — He/she rejects the gift without opening it.
  4. Nosotros rechazamos la propuesta del comité. — We reject the committee's proposal.
  5. Vosotros rechazáis la oferta por el sueldo. — You all reject the offer because of the salary.
  6. Ellos rechazan la invitación con educación. — They reject the invitation politely.
  7. Yo rechazo el regalo sin abrirlo. — I reject the gift without opening it.
  8. Él rechaza la propuesta del comité. — He/she rejects the committee's proposal.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros rechazais la invitación con educación. — Right: Vosotros rechazáis la invitación con educación. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: rechazáis, not rechazais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo rechazo el regalo sin abrirlo. — Right: Ayer, yo rechacé el regalo sin abrirlo. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (rechacé), not the present (rechazo). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. 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.
  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. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

Eight questions on the present tense of rechazar. Choose the right form, then 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: Tú ___ la invitación con educación. (present tense) A. rechazas B. rechazo C. rechaza D. rechazamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el regalo sin abrirlo. (present tense) A. rechaza B. rechazo C. rechazas D. rechazamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ la propuesta del comité. (present tense) A. rechazamos B. rechazo C. rechazas D. rechaza

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ la oferta por el sueldo. (present tense) A. rechazáis B. rechazo C. rechazas D. rechaza

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ la invitación con educación. (present tense) A. rechazan B. rechazo C. rechazas D. rechaza

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el regalo sin abrirlo. (present tense) A. rechazo B. rechazas C. rechaza D. rechazamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ la propuesta del comité. (present tense) A. rechaza B. rechazo C. rechazas D. rechazamos

Answer key

  1. rechazo — The yo present form of rechazar is rechazo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. rechazas — The tu present form of rechazar is rechazas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. rechaza — The el present form of rechazar is rechaza. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. rechazamos — The nosotros present form of rechazar is rechazamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. rechazáis — The vosotros present form of rechazar is rechazáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. rechazan — The ellos present form of rechazar is rechazan. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. rechazo — The yo present form of rechazar is rechazo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. rechaza — The el present form of rechazar is rechaza. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of rechazar?

Use the present tense of rechazar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo rechazo la oferta por el sueldo. — "I reject the offer because of the salary." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of rechazar formed?

Take the stem rechaz- and add the present endings for -ar verbs. The full table is at the top of this page. Remember the spelling change: z becomes c before e.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of rechazar?

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo rechazo la invitación con educación. with Yo rechacé la invitación con educación. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of rechazar?

Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the rechazar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Rechazar conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.

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