Referir Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb referir means to refer, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. 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. Like every Spanish verb, referir changes its ending for each person and tense, and this page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say Yo refiero el caso a un especialista — "I refer the case to a specialist". Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.

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.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: referir
  • English: to refer
  • Verb type: stem-changing -ir verb (e → ie)
  • Ending: -ir
  • Gerund: refiriendo
  • Past participle: referido
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + referido)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for referir, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for referir. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem.

Present indicative

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

Preterite

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | referí | | tú | referiste | | él/ella/Ud. | refirió | | nosotros/as | referimos | | vosotros/as | referisteis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | refirieron |

Imperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | refería | | tú | referías | | él/ella/Ud. | refería | | nosotros/as | referíamos | | vosotros/as | referíais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | referían |

Future

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | referiré | | tú | referirás | | él/ella/Ud. | referirá | | nosotros/as | referiremos | | vosotros/as | referiréis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | referirán |

Conditional

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | referiría | | tú | referirías | | él/ella/Ud. | referiría | | nosotros/as | referiríamos | | vosotros/as | referiríais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | referirían |

Present perfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Future perfect

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

Conditional perfect

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

Present subjunctive

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | refiera | | tú | refieras | | él/ella/Ud. | refiera | | nosotros/as | refiramos | | vosotros/as | refiráis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | refieran |

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | refiriera | | tú | refirieras | | él/ella/Ud. | refiriera | | nosotros/as | refiriéramos | | vosotros/as | refirierais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | refirieran |

Imperative (affirmative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | refiere | | él/ella/Ud. | refiera | | nosotros/as | refiramos | | vosotros/as | referid | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | refieran |

Imperative (negative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | refieras | | él/ella/Ud. | refiera | | nosotros/as | refiramos | | vosotros/as | refiráis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | refieran |

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund refiriendo with estar for the progressive: está refiriendo
Past participle referido with haber for the perfect tenses: he referido

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. 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. For referir, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo refiero el caso a un especialista — "I refer the case to a specialist".

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. In this tense the stem changes in the third person: refirió, refirieron. The gerund changes too: refiriendo. For referir, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, yo referí una historia de su infancia — "Yesterday, I referred a story from his childhood".

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For referir, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, yo refería los datos en su informe — "As a child, I used to refer the data in his report".

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For referir, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, yo referiré el problema al director — "Tomorrow, I will refer the problem to the director".

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For referir, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo referiría el caso a un especialista si pudiera — "I would refer the case to a specialist if I could".

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For referir, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, yo he referido una historia de su infancia — "Today, I have referred a story from his childhood".

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For referir, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo ya había referido los datos en su informe antes de salir — "I already had referred the data in his report before leaving".

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For referir, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, yo habré referido el problema al director — "By tomorrow, I will have referred the problem to the director".

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For referir, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría referido el caso a un especialista con más tiempo — "I would have referred the case to a specialist with more time".

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. 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. For referir, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él refiera una historia de su infancia — "I hope he refers a story from his childhood".

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past. The -ra forms are shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is irregular — see the table above. For referir, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo refiriera los datos en su informe, todo cambiaría — "If I referred the data in his report, everything would change".

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. 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. For referir, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Refiere el problema al director. — "Refer the problem to the director.".

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. 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. For referir, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No refieras el caso a un especialista. — "Do not refer the case to a specialist.".

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with referir, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Yo refiero el caso a un especialista — "I refer the case to a specialist"
  2. Mi amigo refiere una historia de su infancia — "My friend refers a story from his childhood"
  3. Ayer, yo referí los datos en su informe — "Yesterday, I referred the data in his report"
  4. Antes, nosotros referíamos el problema al director — "Before, we used to refer the problem to the director"
  5. Mañana, tú referirás un ejemplo de su libro — "Tomorrow, you will refer an example from his book"
  6. Yo referiría el caso a un especialista si tuviera más tiempo — "I would refer the case to a specialist if I had more time"
  7. Él ha referido una historia de su infancia — "He has referred a story from his childhood"
  8. Espero que él refiera los datos en su informe — "I hope he refers the data in his report"
  9. Yo ya había referido el problema al director antes de salir — "I already had referred the problem to the director before leaving"
  10. Ellos referían un ejemplo de su libro cuando eran jóvenes — "They used to refer an example from his book when they were young"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo refero una historia de su infancia. — Right: Yo refiero una historia de su infancia. — 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.
  2. Wrong: Espero que él refiere una historia de su infancia — Right: Espero que él refiera una historia de su infancia — After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él refiera una historia de su infancia — not the indicative Espero que él refiere una historia de su infancia.
  3. Wrong: Ayer, yo refiero los datos en su informe — Right: Ayer, yo referí los datos en su informe — Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo referí los datos en su informe.
  4. Wrong: De niño, yo referí el problema al director todos los días — Right: De niño, yo refería el problema al director todos los días — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo refería el problema al director todos los días.
  5. Wrong: Yo refiero en el caso a un especialista. — Right: Yo refiero el caso a un especialista. — referir takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo refiero el caso a un especialista.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on referir. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. 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

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ______ una historia de su infancia — "He referred a story from his childhood" (preterite) A. referiste B. referimos C. refirió D. referí

  3. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ los datos en su informe — "We used to refer the data in his report" (imperfect) A. referíamos B. refería C. referías D. referíais

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú ______ el problema al director — "You will refer the problem to the director" (future) A. referirás B. referiré C. referirá D. referiremos

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ un ejemplo de su libro — "I would refer an example from his book" (conditional) A. referiríamos B. referiríais C. referiría D. referirías

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ el caso a un especialista — "I hope he refers the case to a specialist" (present subjunctive) A. refiramos B. refiráis C. refiera D. refieras

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ______ una historia de su infancia, todo cambiaría — "If I referred a story from his childhood, everything would change" (imperfect subjunctive) A. refiriéramos B. refirierais C. refiriera D. refirieras

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ los datos en su informe — "We have referred the data in his report" (present perfect) A. has referido B. ha referido C. hemos referido D. he referido

  9. Complete the sentence: No ______ el problema al director. — "Do not refer the problem to the director." (negative imperative) A. refieras B. refiera C. refiramos D. refiráis

  10. Which is the gerund of referir, used with estar for the progressive? A. referido B. refiero C. referí D. refiriendo

Answer key

  1. refiero — The present form for yo is refiero.
  2. refirió — The preterite form for él/ella/Ud. is refirió.
  3. referíamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is referíamos.
  4. referirás — The future form for tú is referirás.
  5. referiría — The conditional form for yo is referiría.
  6. refiera — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is refiera.
  7. refiriera — The imperfect subjunctive form for yo is refiriera.
  8. hemos referido — The present perfect form for nosotros/as is hemos referido.
  9. refieras — The negative imperative form is refieras.
  10. refiriendo — The gerund of referir is refiriendo: estoy refiriendo. The participle referido is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does referir mean in English?

referir means to refer. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo refiero el caso a un especialista — "I refer the case to a specialist". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is referir regular?

No. referir is a stem-changing -ir verb (e → ie). 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, which is the part learners most often get right by accident.

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 I say "I refer" in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Ayer, yo referí una historia de su infancia — "Yesterday, I referred a story from his childhood". For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: De niño, yo refería los datos en su informe — "As a child, I used to refer the data in his report". For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Hoy, yo he referido una historia de su infancia — "Today, I have referred a story from his childhood".

What is the difference between referir and mencionar?

Mencionar is to mention something briefly. Referir is to refer it on to someone, or to tell it in full. 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.

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