Recibir Conjugation in Spanish
recibir means “receive” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Spanish learners meet — it sits at number 49 in VerbFlow’s frequency list. You use it for receiving letters, for receiving good news, and for receiving presents. Because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of recibir — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Yo recibo una carta de mi abuela todos los días.” — “I receive a letter from my grandmother every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: recibir
- English: to receive
- Verb type: Regular -ir verb
- Irregular in: no tense — fully regular
- Gerund: recibiendo
- Past participle: recibido
- Auxiliary: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + the past participle)
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for recibir. Learn the present tense first, then the preterite and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | recibo |
| tú | recibes |
| él/ella/Ud. | recibe |
| nosotros/as | recibimos |
| vosotros/as | recibís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | reciben |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | recibí |
| tú | recibiste |
| él/ella/Ud. | recibió |
| nosotros/as | recibimos |
| vosotros/as | recibisteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | recibieron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | recibía |
| tú | recibías |
| él/ella/Ud. | recibía |
| nosotros/as | recibíamos |
| vosotros/as | recibíais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | recibían |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | recibiré |
| tú | recibirás |
| él/ella/Ud. | recibirá |
| nosotros/as | recibiremos |
| vosotros/as | recibiréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | recibirán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | recibiría |
| tú | recibirías |
| él/ella/Ud. | recibiría |
| nosotros/as | recibiríamos |
| vosotros/as | recibiríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | recibirían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he recibido |
| tú | has recibido |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha recibido |
| nosotros/as | hemos recibido |
| vosotros/as | habéis recibido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han recibido |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había recibido |
| tú | habías recibido |
| él/ella/Ud. | había recibido |
| nosotros/as | habíamos recibido |
| vosotros/as | habíais recibido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían recibido |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré recibido |
| tú | habrás recibido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá recibido |
| nosotros/as | habremos recibido |
| vosotros/as | habréis recibido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán recibido |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría recibido |
| tú | habrías recibido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría recibido |
| nosotros/as | habríamos recibido |
| vosotros/as | habríais recibido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían recibido |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | reciba |
| tú | recibas |
| él/ella/Ud. | reciba |
| nosotros/as | recibamos |
| vosotros/as | recibáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | reciban |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | recibiera |
| tú | recibieras |
| él/ella/Ud. | recibiera |
| nosotros/as | recibiéramos |
| vosotros/as | recibierais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | recibieran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | recibe |
| él/ella/Ud. | reciba |
| nosotros/as | recibamos |
| vosotros/as | recibid |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | reciban |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | recibas |
| él/ella/Ud. | reciba |
| nosotros/as | recibamos |
| vosotros/as | recibáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | reciban |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Gerund | recibiendo |
| Past participle | recibido |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Yo recibo una carta de mi abuela todos los días.” — “I receive a letter from my grandmother every day.”
Preterite
The preterite is used for completed actions in the past. For example: “Tú recibiste buenas noticias ayer.” — “You received good news yesterday.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Él recibía un regalo antes.” — “He used to receive a present before.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and probability. For example: “Yo recibiré una carta de mi abuela mañana.” — “I will receive a letter from my grandmother tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Tú recibirías buenas noticias algún día.” — “You would receive good news someday.”
Present perfect
The present perfect is used for recent past actions and life experience, formed with haber + the past participle. For example: “Él ha recibido un regalo esta semana.” — “He has received a present this week.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Yo había recibido una carta de mi abuela antes de la fiesta.” — “I had received a letter from my grandmother before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tú habrás recibido buenas noticias para mañana.” — “You will have received good news by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Él habría recibido un regalo ayer.” — “He would have received a present yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Es importante que yo reciba una carta de mi abuela.” — “It is important that i receive a letter from my grandmother.”
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
The imperfect subjunctive (-ra) is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, and clauses after a past-tense trigger. For example: “Ojalá tú recibieras buenas noticias.” — “I wish you received good news.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. The imperative of recibir gives a direct order; the negative forms use the present subjunctive pattern. For example: “¡Recibe un regalo!” — “Receive a present!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. The imperative of recibir gives a direct order; the negative forms use the present subjunctive pattern. For example: “No recibas una carta de mi abuela.” — “Do not receive a letter from my grandmother.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with recibir, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Spanish and try to produce it from the English.
- “Yo recibo una carta de mi abuela todos los días.” — “I receive a letter from my grandmother every day.”
- “Tú recibiste buenas noticias ayer.” — “You received good news yesterday.”
- “Él recibía un regalo antes.” — “He used to receive a present before.”
- “Yo recibiré buenas noticias mañana.” — “I will receive good news tomorrow.”
- “Tú recibirías una carta de mi abuela algún día.” — “You would receive a letter from my grandmother someday.”
- “Él ha recibido un regalo esta semana.” — “He has received a present this week.”
- “Yo había recibido una carta de mi abuela antes de la fiesta.” — “I had received a letter from my grandmother before the party.”
- “Tú habrás recibido buenas noticias para mañana.” — “You will have received good news by tomorrow.”
- “Es importante que él reciba un regalo.” — “It is important that he receive a present.”
- “¡Recibe una carta de mi abuela!” — “Receive a letter from my grandmother!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Yo recibir una carta de mi abuela.”
✓ Right: “Yo recibo una carta de mi abuela.”
The infinitive recibir never takes a subject. After yo you need the conjugated present form recibo.
2. Confusing recibir with dar
✗ Wrong: “Yo doy una carta de mi abuela.”
✓ Right: “Yo recibo una carta de mi abuela.”
Recibir is to receive; dar is to give.
3. Using the wrong auxiliary in perfect tenses
✗ Wrong: “Yo soy recibido una carta de mi abuela.”
✓ Right: “Yo he recibido una carta de mi abuela.”
Spanish perfect tenses are always built with haber, never with ser. The correct form is he + the participle recibido.
4. Dropping the written accent
✗ Wrong: “recibi”
✓ Right: “recibí”
The accent on recibí is part of the spelling in the preterite. Without it the form looks like a different word, so always write the accent.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Ojalá tú recibes una carta de mi abuela.”
✓ Right: “Ojalá tú recibas una carta de mi abuela.”
After ojalá Spanish needs the subjunctive, so use recibas here, not the indicative recibes.
6. Using the preterite for a habitual past action
✗ Wrong: “Yo recibí una carta de mi abuela antes.” (said of a repeated habit)
✓ Right: “Yo recibía una carta de mi abuela antes.”
The preterite recibí describes one finished action. For something you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect recibía.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on recibir. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the yo form of recibir in the Present indicative?
- A) recibes
- B) recibe
- C) recibimos
- D) recibo
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of recibir in the Preterite?
- A) recibiste
- B) recibimos
- C) recibió
- D) recibí
What is the nosotros/as form of recibir in the Imperfect?
- A) recibíais
- B) recibíamos
- C) recibía
- D) recibías
What is the tú form of recibir in the Future?
- A) recibirás
- B) recibiré
- C) recibirá
- D) recibiremos
What is the yo form of recibir in the Conditional?
- A) recibirías
- B) recibiríamos
- C) recibiríais
- D) recibiría
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of recibir in the Present subjunctive?
- A) recibamos
- B) recibáis
- C) reciba
- D) recibas
What is the yo form of recibir in the Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- A) recibierais
- B) recibiera
- C) recibieras
- D) recibiéramos
What is the gerund of recibir?
- A) recordando
- B) recibiendo
- C) pidiendo
What is the past participle of recibir?
- A) recibido
- B) pedido
- C) recordado
What does recibir mean in English?
- A) to ask for
- B) to remember
- C) to receive
Answer key
- D) recibo — the yo form of recibir in the present indicative is recibo. The other options (recibes, recibe, recibimos) are the same tense for different persons.
- C) recibió — the él/ella/Ud. form of recibir in the preterite is recibió. The other options (recibí, recibiste, recibimos) are the same tense for different persons.
- B) recibíamos — the nosotros/as form of recibir in the imperfect is recibíamos. The other options (recibía, recibías, recibía) are the same tense for different persons.
- A) recibirás — the tú form of recibir in the future is recibirás. The other options (recibiré, recibirá, recibiremos) are the same tense for different persons.
- D) recibiría — the yo form of recibir in the conditional is recibiría. The other options (recibirías, recibiría, recibiríamos) are the same tense for different persons.
- C) reciba — the él/ella/Ud. form of recibir in the present subjunctive is reciba. The other options (reciba, recibas, recibamos) are the same tense for different persons.
- B) recibiera — the yo form of recibir in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) is recibiera. The other options (recibieras, recibiera, recibiéramos) are the same tense for different persons.
- B) recibiendo — the gerund of recibir is recibiendo; it is used with estar for the progressive. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- A) recibido — the past participle of recibir is recibido; perfect tenses use haber + recibido. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- C) to receive — recibir means “to receive” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does recibir mean in English?
recibir means “to receive”. You use it for receiving letters, for receiving good news, and for receiving presents. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is recibir regular or irregular?
recibir is regular -ir verb, with no irregular tense — it follows the regular pattern throughout. The gerund is recibiendo and the past participle is recibido.
What are the gerund and past participle of recibir?
The gerund is recibiendo — use it with estar for actions in progress. The past participle is recibido — use it with haber for the perfect tenses, as in he recibido (I have received).
What is the difference between recibir and dar?
Recibir is to receive; dar is to give. If you are unsure, check the full table for dar and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I receive” in Spanish?
Say “Yo recibo una carta de mi abuela.” — “I receive a letter from my grandmother every day.” The yo form of the present is recibo, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- recibir in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in its most practised tense.
- recibir examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Pedir conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Recordar conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Present tense guide — how the present tense works for regular verbs.
- Preterite tense guide — how the preterite works, and when to choose it over the imperfect.
- Verb Conjugator — practise recibir with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise recibir with the interactive tool.