Referir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of referir — "to refer" in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for referir with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Referir means to refer something to someone, or to tell a story: referir el caso a un especialista, referir una historia. With se it means to refer to something: referirse a un problema. To see it in a real sentence: Yo refiero el caso a un especialista — "I refer the case to a specialist".

Present tense conjugation table: referir

Every person of referir in the present tense. The gerund is refiriendo and the past participle is referido.

Person Form
yo refiero
tú refieres
él/ella/Ud. refiere
nosotros/as referimos
vosotros/as referís
ellos/ellas/Uds. refieren

How the present of referir is formed

The present of referir is built from the stem refer- plus the present endings for -ir verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ir ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.

Person Ending Form
yo -o refiero
tú -es refieres
él/ella/Ud. -e refiere
nosotros/as -imos referimos
vosotros/as -ís referís
ellos/ellas/Uds. -en refieren

The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: refiero, refieres, refiere and refieren — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: referimos, referís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: refirió, refirieron, and the gerund is refiriendo.

The gerund of referir is refiriendo and the past participle is referido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.

When to use the present tense of referir

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and referir appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.

Habits and routines

The present describes things that happen regularly, as a habit or routine.

"Cada día, yo refiero el caso a un especialista" — "Every day, I refer the case to a specialist"

General truths

The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.

"Mi amigo refiere una historia de su infancia" — "My friend refers a story from his childhood"

What is happening now

The present describes an action in progress right now.

"Ahora, yo refiero los datos en su informe" — "Right now, I refer the data in his report"

Near-future plans

Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.

"Mañana, nosotros referimos el problema al director" — "Tomorrow, we refer the problem to the director"

Timetables and scheduled events

The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.

"Ellos refieren un ejemplo de su libro" — "They refer an example from his book"

The present tense vs the closest tenses

Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion

The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.

  • Present — habit or general fact: {'pre_es': 'Cada día, ', 'pre_en': 'Every day, '}yo refiero el caso a un especialista — "I refer the case to a specialist"
  • Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo referí el caso a un especialista — "I referred the case to a specialist"

Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background

The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add "used to" in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.

  • Present — now: {}tú refieres una historia de su infancia — "You refer a story from his childhood"
  • Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú referías una historia de su infancia — "You used to refer a story from his childhood"

Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen

The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.

  • Present — now or a fixed plan: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él refiere los datos en su informe — "He refers the data in his report"
  • Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él referirá los datos en su informe — "He will refer the data in his report"

Examples: referir in the present tense

Seven sentences that show referir in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.

  • Yo refiero el caso a un especialista — "I refer the case to a specialist"
  • Tú refieres una historia de su infancia — "You refer a story from his childhood"
  • Él refiere los datos en su informe — "He refers the data in his report"
  • Nosotros referimos el problema al director — "We refer the problem to the director"
  • Vosotros referís un ejemplo de su libro — "You refer an example from his book"
  • Ellos refieren el caso a un especialista — "They refer the case to a specialist"
  • Yo refiero una historia de su infancia — "I refer a story from his childhood"

Common mistakes with referir in the present tense

These are the errors learners actually make with referir in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ *Yo refero el caso a un especialista.

✓ Correct: Yo refiero el caso a un especialista.

referir is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is refiero, not refero.

✗ *Tú refiere una historia de su infancia.

✓ Correct: Tú refieres una historia de su infancia.

The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes refieres, él takes refiere.

✗ *Cada día, yo referí los datos en su informe

✓ Correct: Cada día, yo refiero los datos en su informe

Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.

✗ *Vosotros referis el problema al director.

✓ Correct: Vosotros referís el problema al director.

The vosotros present form carries a written accent: referís, not referis.

Quiz: referir in the present tense

Eight questions on the present tense of referir. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.

  1. Which is the correct present form of referir for tú? A. referimos B. refieres C. refiero D. refiere

  2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el caso a un especialista — "I refer the case to a specialist" (present) A. refiere B. referimos C. refiero D. refieres

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ una historia de su infancia — "He refers a story from his childhood" (present) A. referimos B. refiere C. refiero D. refieres

  4. Which is the correct present form of referir for nosotros? A. referimos B. refieres C. refiere D. refieren

  5. Which sentence uses referir correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo refería los datos en su informe B. Mi amigo referimos los datos en su informe C. Mi amigo refiere los datos en su informe D. Mi amigo refieres los datos en su informe

  6. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ el problema al director — "You refer the problem to the director" (present) A. refiere B. referís C. refiero D. refieres

  7. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ un ejemplo de su libro — "They refer an example from his book" (present) A. refieren B. refiero C. refieres D. refiere

  8. What is the gerund of referir? A. referido B. refiero C. referí D. refiriendo

Answer key

  1. refieres — The tú form in the present is refieres.
  2. refiero — The present form for yo is refiero.
  3. refiere — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is refiere.
  4. referimos — The nosotros form in the present is referimos.
  5. Mi amigo refiere los datos en su informe — Mi amigo refiere los datos en su informe is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
  6. referís — The present form for vosotros/as is referís.
  7. refieren — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is refieren.
  8. refiriendo — The gerund is refiriendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle referido.

Frequently asked questions

Is referir regular in the present tense?

No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: refiero, refieres, refiere and refieren — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: referimos, referís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: refirió, refirieron, and the gerund is refiriendo. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.

What is the gerund and the past participle of referir?

The gerund is refiriendo and the past participle is referido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.

How do you say "I refer" in the present tense?

Say refiero. For example: Yo refiero el caso a un especialista — "I refer the case to a specialist".

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of referir?

The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo refiero el caso a un especialista — "I refer the case to a specialist". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo referí el caso a un especialista — "Yesterday, I referred the case to a specialist". Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once.

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