Introduction
reconstruir means “to rebuild”. It belongs to the group of Spanish verbs that express “to rebuild”, and once you can conjugate it you can say a surprising amount with a single verb. This page is the complete reference for reconstruir: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, with notes on usage, real example sentences, common mistakes, a quiz and frequently asked questions. reconstruir is a irregular -ir verb. If it is irregular in a tense, the note under that table says so plainly, and the forms in the table are the correct ones — copy them, do not guess them from the infinitive. A first example to fix the verb in your mind: “Yo reconstruyo la casa vieja todos los días.” — “I rebuild the old house.”
Quick facts
| Infinitive | reconstruir |
| English | to rebuild |
| Verb type | Irregular -ir verb |
| Gerund | reconstruyendo |
| Past participle | reconstruido |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
Gerund: reconstruyendo · Past participle: reconstruido
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | reconstruyo |
| tú | reconstruyes |
| él/ella/Ud. | reconstruye |
| nosotros/as | reconstruimos |
| vosotros/as | reconstruís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | reconstruyen |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For reconstruir, the yo form is reconstruyo, as in “Yo reconstruyo la casa vieja.” — “I rebuild the old house.”
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | reconstruí |
| tú | reconstruiste |
| él/ella/Ud. | reconstruyó |
| nosotros/as | reconstruimos |
| vosotros/as | reconstruisteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | reconstruyeron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For reconstruir, the yo form is reconstruí, as in “Yo reconstruí la casa vieja.” — “I rebuilt the old house.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | reconstruía |
| tú | reconstruías |
| él/ella/Ud. | reconstruía |
| nosotros/as | reconstruíamos |
| vosotros/as | reconstruíais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | reconstruían |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For reconstruir, the yo form is reconstruía, as in “Yo reconstruía la casa vieja.” — “I used to rebuild the old house.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | reconstruiré |
| tú | reconstruirás |
| él/ella/Ud. | reconstruirá |
| nosotros/as | reconstruiremos |
| vosotros/as | reconstruiréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | reconstruirán |
The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For reconstruir, the yo form is reconstruiré, as in “Yo reconstruiré la casa vieja.” — “I will rebuild the old house.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | reconstruiría |
| tú | reconstruirías |
| él/ella/Ud. | reconstruiría |
| nosotros/as | reconstruiríamos |
| vosotros/as | reconstruiríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | reconstruirían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For reconstruir, the yo form is reconstruiría, as in “Yo reconstruiría la casa vieja.” — “I would rebuild the old house.”
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he reconstruido |
| tú | has reconstruido |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha reconstruido |
| nosotros/as | hemos reconstruido |
| vosotros/as | habéis reconstruido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han reconstruido |
The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For reconstruir, the yo form is he reconstruido, as in “Yo he reconstruido la casa vieja.” — “I have rebuilt the old house.”
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había reconstruido |
| tú | habías reconstruido |
| él/ella/Ud. | había reconstruido |
| nosotros/as | habíamos reconstruido |
| vosotros/as | habíais reconstruido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían reconstruido |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For reconstruir, the yo form is había reconstruido, as in “Yo había reconstruido la casa vieja.” — “I had rebuilt the old house.”
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré reconstruido |
| tú | habrás reconstruido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá reconstruido |
| nosotros/as | habremos reconstruido |
| vosotros/as | habréis reconstruido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán reconstruido |
The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For reconstruir, the yo form is habré reconstruido, as in “Yo habré reconstruido la casa vieja.” — “I will have rebuilt the old house.”
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría reconstruido |
| tú | habrías reconstruido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría reconstruido |
| nosotros/as | habríamos reconstruido |
| vosotros/as | habríais reconstruido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían reconstruido |
The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For reconstruir, the yo form is habría reconstruido, as in “Yo habría reconstruido la casa vieja.” — “I would have rebuilt the old house.”
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | reconstruya |
| tú | reconstruyas |
| él/ella/Ud. | reconstruya |
| nosotros/as | reconstruyamos |
| vosotros/as | reconstruyáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | reconstruyan |
The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For reconstruir, the yo form is reconstruya, as in “Espero que yo reconstruya la casa vieja.” — “I hope that I rebuild the old house.”
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | reconstruyera |
| tú | reconstruyeras |
| él/ella/Ud. | reconstruyera |
| nosotros/as | reconstruyéramos |
| vosotros/as | reconstruyerais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | reconstruyeran |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For reconstruir, the yo form is reconstruyera, as in “Si yo reconstruyera la casa vieja, ...” — “If I rebuilt the old house, ...”
The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: reconstruyera becomes reconstruyese, 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 | reconstruye |
| Ud. | reconstruya |
| nosotros/as | reconstruyamos |
| vosotros/as | reconstruid |
| Uds. | reconstruyan |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | reconstruyas |
| Ud. | reconstruya |
| nosotros/as | reconstruyamos |
| vosotros/as | reconstruyáis |
| Uds. | reconstruyan |
The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is reconstruye, as in “¡Reconstruye la casa vieja” — “Rebuild the old house” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no reconstruyas. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with reconstruir.
Example sentences
Here are ten sentences with reconstruir, 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.
- “Yo reconstruyo la casa vieja cada día.” — “I rebuild the old house.”
- “Él reconstruye la casa vieja todos los días.” — “He rebuilds the old house.”
- “Yo reconstruí la casa vieja ayer.” — “I rebuilt the old house.”
- “Él reconstruyó la casa vieja ayer.” — “He rebuilt the old house.”
- “Yo reconstruía la casa vieja cuando era joven.” — “I used to rebuild the old house.”
- “Nosotros reconstruiremos la casa vieja mañana.” — “We will rebuild the old house.”
- “Si pudiera, yo reconstruiría la casa vieja.” — “If I could, i would rebuild the old house.”
- “Yo he reconstruido la casa vieja hoy.” — “I have rebuilt the old house.”
- “Espero que yo reconstruya la casa vieja.” — “I hope that I rebuild the old house.”
- “estoy reconstruyendo la casa vieja ahora mismo.” — “I am rebuilding the old house.”
Common mistakes
Forgetting the accent in the preterite
The yo preterite form is reconstruí, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — reconstrui — 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 reconstruir.
Mixing up present and preterite nosotros
For reconstruir, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: reconstruimos. 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 reconstruido la casa vieja. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy reconstruido is not the present perfect of reconstruir — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.
Confusing reconstruir with recuperar
reconstruir 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 reconstruir — rebuild — the sentence needs reconstruir; 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 reconstruya la casa vieja. Using the indicative — Espero que yo reconstruyo — is one of the most frequent learner errors with reconstruir. 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 reconstruir in the present?
- A. reconstruyes
- B. reconstruye
- C. reconstruimos
- D. reconstruyo
2. What is the tu form of reconstruir in the preterite?
- A. reconstruimos
- B. reconstruiste
- C. reconstruí
- D. reconstruyó
3. What is the el form of reconstruir in the imperfect?
- A. reconstruías
- B. reconstruíamos
- C. reconstruíais
- D. reconstruía
4. What is the nosotros form of reconstruir in the future?
- A. reconstruirá
- B. reconstruiremos
- C. reconstruiré
- D. reconstruirás
5. What is the vosotros form of reconstruir in the present perfect?
- A. he reconstruido
- B. has reconstruido
- C. ha reconstruido
- D. habéis reconstruido
6. What is the ellos form of reconstruir in the present subjunctive?
- A. reconstruya
- B. reconstruyan
- C. reconstruya
- D. reconstruyas
7. What is the yo form of reconstruir in the preterite?
- A. reconstruiste
- B. reconstruyó
- C. reconstruimos
- D. reconstruí
8. What is the tu form of reconstruir in the imperfect?
- A. reconstruíamos
- B. reconstruías
- C. reconstruía
- D. reconstruía
9. What is the el form of reconstruir in the future?
- A. reconstruiré
- B. reconstruirás
- C. reconstruiremos
- D. reconstruirá
10. What is the nosotros form of reconstruir in the conditional?
- A. reconstruiría
- B. reconstruiríamos
- C. reconstruiría
- D. reconstruirías
Answer key
- reconstruyo — The present table gives yo = reconstruyo.
- reconstruiste — The preterite table gives tu = reconstruiste.
- reconstruía — The imperfect table gives el = reconstruía.
- reconstruiremos — The future table gives nosotros = reconstruiremos.
- habéis reconstruido — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis reconstruido.
- reconstruyan — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = reconstruyan.
- reconstruí — The preterite table gives yo = reconstruí.
- reconstruías — The imperfect table gives tu = reconstruías.
- reconstruirá — The future table gives el = reconstruirá.
- reconstruiríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = reconstruiríamos.
Frequently asked questions
Is reconstruir regular or irregular?
reconstruir is a irregular -ir 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 reconstruir?
The past participle of reconstruir is reconstruido. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he reconstruido, había reconstruido, habré reconstruido — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund reconstruyendo and you have the two non-finite forms covered.
What is the gerund of reconstruir?
The gerund of reconstruir is reconstruyendo. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy reconstruyendo, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle reconstruido, which belongs with haber, not with estar.
What is the yo form of reconstruir in the present?
The yo form is reconstruyo — “Yo reconstruyo la casa vieja.” means “I rebuild the old house.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú reconstruyes, él reconstruye, nosotros reconstruimos, ellos reconstruyen.
What is the difference between reconstruir and recuperar?
reconstruir means “to rebuild”, 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 rebuild”, use reconstruir; if it is about the meaning of recuperar, use recuperar instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.
Related links
- reconstruir in the present tense — the full present-tense page for this verb.
- reconstruir examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a second quiz.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub with every verb on VerbFlow.
- Spanish irregular verbs — the full list of irregular verbs, grouped by pattern.
- recuperar conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- recitar conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- reclamar conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- Verb conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb instantly.
- Verb quiz — practise conjugations with timed questions.