Introduction

recuperarse means “to recover” in English, and it is a verb you will meet again and again once you start reading and speaking Spanish. It is used whenever you need to talk about from the illness — at home, at work, and in everyday conversation — which makes it a practical verb to learn early and to use confidently. This page gives you the complete conjugation of recuperarse in every tense and mood, with all six persons, plus the gerund and the past participle, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. Every form below comes from VerbFlow's verified conjugation tables, so you can trust the accents and the irregular forms. recuperarse is a reflexive -ar verb, and the notes under each tense explain exactly where it follows the rules and where it breaks them. To hear it in a real sentence: “Yo me recupero de la enfermedad todos los días.” — “I recover from the illness.” Work through the tables, read the notes, then test yourself with the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts
Infinitive recuperarse
English to recover
Verb type Reflexive -ar verb
Gerund recuperando
Past participle recuperado
Auxiliary verb haber
  • Reflexive: yes — always use it with the reflexive pronouns me, te, se, nos, os, se.

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: recuperando · Past participle: recuperado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo recupero
tú recuperas
él/ella/Ud. recupera
nosotros/as recuperamos
vosotros/as recuperáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. recuperan

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For recuperarse, the yo form is recupero, as in “Yo me recupero de la enfermedad.” — “I recover from the illness.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo recuperé
tú recuperaste
él/ella/Ud. recuperó
nosotros/as recuperamos
vosotros/as recuperasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. recuperaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For recuperarse, the yo form is recuperé, as in “Yo me recuperé de la enfermedad.” — “I recovered from the illness.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo recuperaba
tú recuperabas
él/ella/Ud. recuperaba
nosotros/as recuperábamos
vosotros/as recuperabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. recuperaban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For recuperarse, the yo form is recuperaba, as in “Yo me recuperaba de la enfermedad.” — “I used to recover from the illness.”

Future

Person Form
yo recuperaré
tú recuperarás
él/ella/Ud. recuperará
nosotros/as recuperaremos
vosotros/as recuperaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. recuperarán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For recuperarse, the yo form is recuperaré, as in “Yo me recuperaré de la enfermedad.” — “I will recover from the illness.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo recuperaría
tú recuperarías
él/ella/Ud. recuperaría
nosotros/as recuperaríamos
vosotros/as recuperaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. recuperarían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For recuperarse, the yo form is recuperaría, as in “Yo me recuperaría de la enfermedad.” — “I would recover from the illness.”

Present Perfect

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

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For recuperarse, the yo form is he recuperado, as in “Yo me he recuperado de la enfermedad.” — “I have recovered from the illness.”

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For recuperarse, the yo form is había recuperado, as in “Yo me había recuperado de la enfermedad.” — “I had recovered from the illness.”

Future Perfect

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

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For recuperarse, the yo form is habré recuperado, as in “Yo me habré recuperado de la enfermedad.” — “I will have recovered from the illness.”

Conditional Perfect

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

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For recuperarse, the yo form is habría recuperado, as in “Yo me habría recuperado de la enfermedad.” — “I would have recovered from the illness.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo recupere
tú recuperes
él/ella/Ud. recupere
nosotros/as recuperemos
vosotros/as recuperéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. recuperen

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For recuperarse, the yo form is recupere, as in “Espero que yo me recupere de la enfermedad.” — “I hope that I recover from the illness.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo recuperara
tú recuperaras
él/ella/Ud. recuperara
nosotros/as recuperáramos
vosotros/as recuperarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. recuperaran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For recuperarse, the yo form is recuperara, as in “Si yo me recuperara de la enfermedad, ...” — “If I recovered from the illness, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: recuperara becomes recuperase, 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 recupera
Ud. recupere
nosotros/as recuperemos
vosotros/as recuperad
Uds. recuperen

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú recuperes
Ud. recupere
nosotros/as recuperemos
vosotros/as recuperéis
Uds. recuperen

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is recupera, as in “No te recuperes de la enfermedad” — “Do not recover from the illness” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no recuperes. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with recuperarse.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with recuperarse, 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 me recupero de la enfermedad cada día.” — “I recover from the illness.”
  2. “Él se recupera de la enfermedad todos los días.” — “He recovers from the illness.”
  3. “Yo me recuperé de la enfermedad ayer.” — “I recovered from the illness.”
  4. “Él se recuperó de la enfermedad ayer.” — “He recovered from the illness.”
  5. “Yo me recuperaba de la enfermedad cuando era joven.” — “I used to recover from the illness.”
  6. “Nosotros nos recuperaremos de la enfermedad mañana.” — “We will recover from the illness.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo me recuperaría de la enfermedad.” — “If I could, i would recover from the illness.”
  8. “Yo me he recuperado de la enfermedad hoy.” — “I have recovered from the illness.”
  9. “Espero que yo me recupere de la enfermedad.” — “I hope that I recover from the illness.”
  10. “Me estoy recuperando de la enfermedad ahora mismo.” — “I am recovering from the illness.”

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is recuperé, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — recupere — 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 recuperarse.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For recuperarse, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: recuperamos. 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.

Dropping the reflexive pronoun

Because recuperarse is reflexive, it always needs its pronoun: yo me recupero de la enfermedad, not yo recupero de la enfermedad. Without me, the sentence either means something else or means nothing at all. The pronouns are me, te, se, nos, os, se — learn them with the verb, not as an afterthought.

Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses

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

Confusing recuperarse with recuperar

recuperarse 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 recuperarse — recover — the sentence needs recuperarse; 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 recupere de la enfermedad. Using the indicative — Espero que yo recupero — is one of the most frequent learner errors with recuperarse. 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 recuperarse in the present?

  • A. recuperas
  • B. recupera
  • C. recuperamos
  • D. recupero

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

  • A. recuperamos
  • B. recuperaste
  • C. recuperé
  • D. recuperó

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

  • A. recuperabas
  • B. recuperábamos
  • C. recuperabais
  • D. recuperaba

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

  • A. recuperará
  • B. recuperaremos
  • C. recuperaré
  • D. recuperarás

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

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

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

  • A. recupere
  • B. recuperen
  • C. recupere
  • D. recuperes

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

  • A. recuperaste
  • B. recuperó
  • C. recuperamos
  • D. recuperé

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

  • A. recuperábamos
  • B. recuperabas
  • C. recuperaba
  • D. recuperaba

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

  • A. recuperaré
  • B. recuperarás
  • C. recuperaremos
  • D. recuperará

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

  • A. recuperaría
  • B. recuperaríamos
  • C. recuperaría
  • D. recuperarías

Answer key

  1. recupero — The present table gives yo = recupero.
  2. recuperaste — The preterite table gives tu = recuperaste.
  3. recuperaba — The imperfect table gives el = recuperaba.
  4. recuperaremos — The future table gives nosotros = recuperaremos.
  5. habéis recuperado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis recuperado.
  6. recuperen — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = recuperen.
  7. recuperé — The preterite table gives yo = recuperé.
  8. recuperabas — The imperfect table gives tu = recuperabas.
  9. recuperará — The future table gives el = recuperará.
  10. recuperaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = recuperaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

Is recuperarse regular or irregular?

recuperarse is a reflexive -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 recuperarse?

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

What is the gerund of recuperarse?

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

What is the yo form of recuperarse in the present?

The yo form is recupero — “Yo me recupero de la enfermedad.” means “I recover from the illness.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú recuperas, él recupera, nosotros recuperamos, ellos recuperan.

What is the difference between recuperarse and recuperar?

recuperarse means “to recover”, 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 recover”, use recuperarse; if it is about the meaning of recuperar, use recuperar instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.

Do I always need the pronoun with recuperarse?

Yes. recuperarse is reflexive, so the pronoun is part of the verb: me, te, se, nos, os, se. You say yo me recupero, tú te recuperas, él se recupera. Leaving the pronoun out changes the meaning or makes the sentence wrong, so learn the pronoun together with each form.

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