Introduction

Learning to conjugate recitar — “to recite” — opens up a whole set of sentences you will use in real Spanish. Whether you are talking about what you do every day, what happened yesterday, or what you plan to do tomorrow, recitar is one of the verbs that carries those sentences, especially when the topic is the poem. On this page you will find the full conjugation of recitar 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. recitar is a regular -ar verb; the gerund is recitando and the past participle is recitado, and both appear in the tables and examples below. For example: “Yo recito el poema todos los días.” — “I recite the poem.” Read the tables first, then the notes, and finish with the quiz to check what you have learned.

Quick facts
Infinitive recitar
English to recite
Verb type Regular -ar verb
Gerund recitando
Past participle recitado
Auxiliary verb haber

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: recitando · Past participle: recitado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo recito
tú recitas
él/ella/Ud. recita
nosotros/as recitamos
vosotros/as recitáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. recitan

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For recitar, the yo form is recito, as in “Yo recito el poema.” — “I recite the poem.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo recité
tú recitaste
él/ella/Ud. recitó
nosotros/as recitamos
vosotros/as recitasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. recitaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For recitar, the yo form is recité, as in “Yo recité el poema.” — “I recited the poem.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo recitaba
tú recitabas
él/ella/Ud. recitaba
nosotros/as recitábamos
vosotros/as recitabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. recitaban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For recitar, the yo form is recitaba, as in “Yo recitaba el poema.” — “I used to recite the poem.”

Future

Person Form
yo recitaré
tú recitarás
él/ella/Ud. recitará
nosotros/as recitaremos
vosotros/as recitaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. recitarán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For recitar, the yo form is recitaré, as in “Yo recitaré el poema.” — “I will recite the poem.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo recitaría
tú recitarías
él/ella/Ud. recitaría
nosotros/as recitaríamos
vosotros/as recitaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. recitarían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For recitar, the yo form is recitaría, as in “Yo recitaría el poema.” — “I would recite the poem.”

Present Perfect

Person Form
yo he recitado
tú has recitado
él/ella/Ud. ha recitado
nosotros/as hemos recitado
vosotros/as habéis recitado
ellos/ellas/Uds. han recitado

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For recitar, the yo form is he recitado, as in “Yo he recitado el poema.” — “I have recited the poem.”

Pluperfect

Person Form
yo había recitado
tú habías recitado
él/ella/Ud. había recitado
nosotros/as habíamos recitado
vosotros/as habíais recitado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habían recitado

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For recitar, the yo form is había recitado, as in “Yo había recitado el poema.” — “I had recited the poem.”

Future Perfect

Person Form
yo habré recitado
tú habrás recitado
él/ella/Ud. habrá recitado
nosotros/as habremos recitado
vosotros/as habréis recitado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán recitado

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For recitar, the yo form is habré recitado, as in “Yo habré recitado el poema.” — “I will have recited the poem.”

Conditional Perfect

Person Form
yo habría recitado
tú habrías recitado
él/ella/Ud. habría recitado
nosotros/as habríamos recitado
vosotros/as habríais recitado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrían recitado

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For recitar, the yo form is habría recitado, as in “Yo habría recitado el poema.” — “I would have recited the poem.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo recite
tú recites
él/ella/Ud. recite
nosotros/as recitemos
vosotros/as recitéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. reciten

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For recitar, the yo form is recite, as in “Espero que yo recite el poema.” — “I hope that I recite the poem.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo recitara
tú recitaras
él/ella/Ud. recitara
nosotros/as recitáramos
vosotros/as recitarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. recitaran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For recitar, the yo form is recitara, as in “Si yo recitara el poema, ...” — “If I recited the poem, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: recitara becomes recitase, and the same change applies to every person. Both variants mean the same thing; -ra is more common in everyday speech.

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú recita
Ud. recite
nosotros/as recitemos
vosotros/as recitad
Uds. reciten

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú recites
Ud. recite
nosotros/as recitemos
vosotros/as recitéis
Uds. reciten

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is recita, as in “¡Recita el poema” — “Recite the poem” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no recites. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with recitar.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with recitar, covering different tenses and persons. Read each one out loud, then read the translation, and notice how the verb form changes while the meaning stays the same.

  1. “Yo recito el poema cada día.” — “I recite the poem.”
  2. “Él recita el poema todos los días.” — “He recites the poem.”
  3. “Yo recité el poema ayer.” — “I recited the poem.”
  4. “Él recitó el poema ayer.” — “He recited the poem.”
  5. “Yo recitaba el poema cuando era joven.” — “I used to recite the poem.”
  6. “Nosotros recitaremos el poema mañana.” — “We will recite the poem.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo recitaría el poema.” — “If I could, i would recite the poem.”
  8. “Yo he recitado el poema hoy.” — “I have recited the poem.”
  9. “Espero que yo recite el poema.” — “I hope that I recite the poem.”
  10. “estoy recitando el poema ahora mismo.” — “I am reciting the poem.”

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is recité, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — recite — is a spelling error, and in speech the stress lands in the wrong place. Preterite yo forms that end in a vowel carry that accent, so check it every time you write the preterite of recitar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For recitar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: recitamos. Only the context tells you which tense is meant, so pay attention to the time words around it — cada día points to the present, ayer points to the preterite. Do not invent a different form for one of the tenses.

Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses

Spanish perfect tenses always use haber, never ser: yo he recitado el poema. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy recitado is not the present perfect of recitar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing recitar with recuperar

recitar and recuperar look similar, and learners mix them up. They are different verbs with different meanings, so check which one the sentence needs before you conjugate. If you can substitute the English meaning of recitar — recite — the sentence needs recitar; if it needs the meaning of recuperar, use that verb instead.

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo recite el poema. Using the indicative — Espero que yo recito — is one of the most frequent learner errors with recitar. Whenever the main clause expresses a wish, doubt or emotion, switch to the subjunctive.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the best answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the yo form of recitar in the present?

  • A. recitas
  • B. recita
  • C. recitamos
  • D. recito

2. What is the tu form of recitar in the preterite?

  • A. recitamos
  • B. recitaste
  • C. recité
  • D. recitó

3. What is the el form of recitar in the imperfect?

  • A. recitabas
  • B. recitábamos
  • C. recitabais
  • D. recitaba

4. What is the nosotros form of recitar in the future?

  • A. recitará
  • B. recitaremos
  • C. recitaré
  • D. recitarás

5. What is the vosotros form of recitar in the present perfect?

  • A. he recitado
  • B. has recitado
  • C. ha recitado
  • D. habéis recitado

6. What is the ellos form of recitar in the present subjunctive?

  • A. recite
  • B. reciten
  • C. recite
  • D. recites

7. What is the yo form of recitar in the preterite?

  • A. recitaste
  • B. recitó
  • C. recitamos
  • D. recité

8. What is the tu form of recitar in the imperfect?

  • A. recitábamos
  • B. recitabas
  • C. recitaba
  • D. recitaba

9. What is the el form of recitar in the future?

  • A. recitaré
  • B. recitarás
  • C. recitaremos
  • D. recitará

10. What is the nosotros form of recitar in the conditional?

  • A. recitaría
  • B. recitaríamos
  • C. recitaría
  • D. recitarías

Answer key

  1. recito — The present table gives yo = recito.
  2. recitaste — The preterite table gives tu = recitaste.
  3. recitaba — The imperfect table gives el = recitaba.
  4. recitaremos — The future table gives nosotros = recitaremos.
  5. habéis recitado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis recitado.
  6. reciten — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = reciten.
  7. recité — The preterite table gives yo = recité.
  8. recitabas — The imperfect table gives tu = recitabas.
  9. recitará — The future table gives el = recitará.
  10. recitaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = recitaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

Is recitar regular or irregular?

recitar is a regular -ar verb. It follows the regular patterns for its ending in every tense. The tables on this page show the correct form for every person, so use them rather than guessing.

What is the past participle of recitar?

The past participle of recitar is recitado. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he recitado, había recitado, habré recitado — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund recitando and you have the two non-finite forms covered.

What is the gerund of recitar?

The gerund of recitar is recitando. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy recitando, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle recitado, which belongs with haber, not with estar.

What is the yo form of recitar in the present?

The yo form is recito — “Yo recito el poema.” means “I recite the poem.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú recitas, él recita, nosotros recitamos, ellos recitan.

What is the difference between recitar and recuperar?

recitar means “to recite”, while recuperar means “to recover, to get back”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to recite”, use recitar; if it is about the meaning of recuperar, use recuperar instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.

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