Introduction
Learning to conjugate recurrir — “to resort to, to turn to” — 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, recurrir is one of the verbs that carries those sentences, especially when the topic is a lawyer. On this page you will find the full conjugation of recurrir 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. recurrir is a regular -ir verb; the gerund is recurriendo and the past participle is recurrido, and both appear in the tables and examples below. For example: “Yo recurro a un abogado todos los días.” — “I resort to a lawyer.” Read the tables first, then the notes, and finish with the quiz to check what you have learned.
Quick facts
| Infinitive | recurrir |
| English | to resort to, to turn to |
| Verb type | Regular -ir verb |
| Gerund | recurriendo |
| Past participle | recurrido |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
Gerund: recurriendo · Past participle: recurrido
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | recurro |
| tú | recurres |
| él/ella/Ud. | recurre |
| nosotros/as | recurrimos |
| vosotros/as | recurrís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | recurren |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For recurrir, the yo form is recurro, as in “Yo recurro a un abogado.” — “I resort to a lawyer.”
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | recurrí |
| tú | recurriste |
| él/ella/Ud. | recurrió |
| nosotros/as | recurrimos |
| vosotros/as | recurristeis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | recurrieron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For recurrir, the yo form is recurrí, as in “Yo recurrí a un abogado.” — “I resorted to a lawyer.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | recurría |
| tú | recurrías |
| él/ella/Ud. | recurría |
| nosotros/as | recurríamos |
| vosotros/as | recurríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | recurrían |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For recurrir, the yo form is recurría, as in “Yo recurría a un abogado.” — “I used to resort to a lawyer.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | recurriré |
| tú | recurrirás |
| él/ella/Ud. | recurrirá |
| nosotros/as | recurriremos |
| vosotros/as | recurriréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | recurrirán |
The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For recurrir, the yo form is recurriré, as in “Yo recurriré a un abogado.” — “I will resort to a lawyer.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | recurriría |
| tú | recurrirías |
| él/ella/Ud. | recurriría |
| nosotros/as | recurriríamos |
| vosotros/as | recurriríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | recurrirían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For recurrir, the yo form is recurriría, as in “Yo recurriría a un abogado.” — “I would resort to a lawyer.”
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he recurrido |
| tú | has recurrido |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha recurrido |
| nosotros/as | hemos recurrido |
| vosotros/as | habéis recurrido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han recurrido |
The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For recurrir, the yo form is he recurrido, as in “Yo he recurrido a un abogado.” — “I have resorted to a lawyer.”
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había recurrido |
| tú | habías recurrido |
| él/ella/Ud. | había recurrido |
| nosotros/as | habíamos recurrido |
| vosotros/as | habíais recurrido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían recurrido |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For recurrir, the yo form is había recurrido, as in “Yo había recurrido a un abogado.” — “I had resorted to a lawyer.”
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré recurrido |
| tú | habrás recurrido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá recurrido |
| nosotros/as | habremos recurrido |
| vosotros/as | habréis recurrido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán recurrido |
The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For recurrir, the yo form is habré recurrido, as in “Yo habré recurrido a un abogado.” — “I will have resorted to a lawyer.”
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría recurrido |
| tú | habrías recurrido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría recurrido |
| nosotros/as | habríamos recurrido |
| vosotros/as | habríais recurrido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían recurrido |
The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For recurrir, the yo form is habría recurrido, as in “Yo habría recurrido a un abogado.” — “I would have resorted to a lawyer.”
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | recurra |
| tú | recurras |
| él/ella/Ud. | recurra |
| nosotros/as | recurramos |
| vosotros/as | recurráis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | recurran |
The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For recurrir, the yo form is recurra, as in “Espero que yo recurra a un abogado.” — “I hope that I resort to a lawyer.”
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | recurriera |
| tú | recurrieras |
| él/ella/Ud. | recurriera |
| nosotros/as | recurriéramos |
| vosotros/as | recurrierais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | recurrieran |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For recurrir, the yo form is recurriera, as in “Si yo recurriera a un abogado, ...” — “If I resorted to a lawyer, ...”
The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: recurriera becomes recurriese, 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 | recurre |
| Ud. | recurra |
| nosotros/as | recurramos |
| vosotros/as | recurrid |
| Uds. | recurran |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | recurras |
| Ud. | recurra |
| nosotros/as | recurramos |
| vosotros/as | recurráis |
| Uds. | recurran |
The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is recurre, as in “¡Recurre a un abogado” — “Resort to a lawyer” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no recurras. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with recurrir.
Example sentences
Here are ten sentences with recurrir, 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 recurro a un abogado cada día.” — “I resort to a lawyer.”
- “Él recurre a un abogado todos los días.” — “He resorts to a lawyer.”
- “Yo recurrí a un abogado ayer.” — “I resorted to a lawyer.”
- “Él recurrió a un abogado ayer.” — “He resorted to a lawyer.”
- “Yo recurría a un abogado cuando era joven.” — “I used to resort to a lawyer.”
- “Nosotros recurriremos a un abogado mañana.” — “We will resort to a lawyer.”
- “Si pudiera, yo recurriría a un abogado.” — “If I could, i would resort to a lawyer.”
- “Yo he recurrido a un abogado hoy.” — “I have resorted to a lawyer.”
- “Espero que yo recurra a un abogado.” — “I hope that I resort to a lawyer.”
- “estoy recurriendo a un abogado ahora mismo.” — “I am resorting to a lawyer.”
Common mistakes
Forgetting the accent in the preterite
The yo preterite form is recurrí, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — recurri — 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 recurrir.
Mixing up present and preterite nosotros
For recurrir, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: recurrimos. 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 recurrido a un abogado. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy recurrido is not the present perfect of recurrir — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.
Confusing recurrir with recuperar
recurrir 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 recurrir — resort to — the sentence needs recurrir; 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 recurra a un abogado. Using the indicative — Espero que yo recurro — is one of the most frequent learner errors with recurrir. 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 recurrir in the present?
- A. recurres
- B. recurre
- C. recurrimos
- D. recurro
2. What is the tu form of recurrir in the preterite?
- A. recurrimos
- B. recurriste
- C. recurrí
- D. recurrió
3. What is the el form of recurrir in the imperfect?
- A. recurrías
- B. recurríamos
- C. recurríais
- D. recurría
4. What is the nosotros form of recurrir in the future?
- A. recurrirá
- B. recurriremos
- C. recurriré
- D. recurrirás
5. What is the vosotros form of recurrir in the present perfect?
- A. he recurrido
- B. has recurrido
- C. ha recurrido
- D. habéis recurrido
6. What is the ellos form of recurrir in the present subjunctive?
- A. recurra
- B. recurran
- C. recurra
- D. recurras
7. What is the yo form of recurrir in the preterite?
- A. recurriste
- B. recurrió
- C. recurrimos
- D. recurrí
8. What is the tu form of recurrir in the imperfect?
- A. recurríamos
- B. recurrías
- C. recurría
- D. recurría
9. What is the el form of recurrir in the future?
- A. recurriré
- B. recurrirás
- C. recurriremos
- D. recurrirá
10. What is the nosotros form of recurrir in the conditional?
- A. recurriría
- B. recurriríamos
- C. recurriría
- D. recurrirías
Answer key
- recurro — The present table gives yo = recurro.
- recurriste — The preterite table gives tu = recurriste.
- recurría — The imperfect table gives el = recurría.
- recurriremos — The future table gives nosotros = recurriremos.
- habéis recurrido — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis recurrido.
- recurran — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = recurran.
- recurrí — The preterite table gives yo = recurrí.
- recurrías — The imperfect table gives tu = recurrías.
- recurrirá — The future table gives el = recurrirá.
- recurriríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = recurriríamos.
Frequently asked questions
Is recurrir regular or irregular?
recurrir is a regular -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 recurrir?
The past participle of recurrir is recurrido. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he recurrido, había recurrido, habré recurrido — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund recurriendo and you have the two non-finite forms covered.
What is the gerund of recurrir?
The gerund of recurrir is recurriendo. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy recurriendo, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle recurrido, which belongs with haber, not with estar.
What is the yo form of recurrir in the present?
The yo form is recurro — “Yo recurro a un abogado.” means “I resort to a lawyer.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú recurres, él recurre, nosotros recurrimos, ellos recurren.
What is the difference between recurrir and recuperar?
recurrir means “to resort to, to turn to”, 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 resort to, to turn to”, use recurrir; if it is about the meaning of recuperar, use recuperar instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.
Related links
- recurrir in the present tense — the full present-tense page for this verb.
- recurrir examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a second quiz.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub with every verb on VerbFlow.
- recuperar conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- reconstruir conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- recitar conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- Verb conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb instantly.
- Verb quiz — practise conjugations with timed questions.