Introduction

reflejar means “to reflect”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to reflect” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows reflejar in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo reflejo la luz por la mañana.” — “I reflect the light.”

reflejar in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how reflejar is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.

In the present: everyday use

These sentences use {verb} in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.

  1. “Yo reflejo la luz cada día.” — “I reflect the light.”
  2. “Tú reflejas la luz cada día.” — “you reflect the light.”
  3. “Él refleja la luz siempre.” — “He reflects the light.”
  4. “Nosotros reflejamos la luz todos los días.” — “We reflect the light.”

Talking about the past

The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show {verb} in the past, so you can talk about what already happened. 5. “Yo reflejé la luz ayer.” — “I reflected the light.” (preterite) 6. “Él reflejó la luz ayer.” — “He reflected the light.” (preterite) 7. “Yo reflejaba la luz cuando era joven.” — “I used to reflect the light.” (imperfect)

Plans and things already done

These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of {verb} stays the same. 8. “Nosotros reflejaremos la luz mañana.” — “We will reflect the light.” (future) 9. “Tú has reflejado la luz hoy.” — “you have reflected the light.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo refleje la luz.” — “I hope that I reflect the light.” (present-subjunctive)

More everyday uses

Two more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action. 11. “Vosotros reflejáis la luz cada semana.” — “You reflect the light.” 12. “Ellos reflejan la luz normalmente.” — “They reflect the light.”

reflejar in context

Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how reflejar appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.

Dialogue on the phone

Lucía: “¿Tú reflejas la luz?” — Do you reflect the light?

Pedro: “Sí, yo reflejo la luz cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I reflect the light every day. It is part of my routine.

Lucía: “¿Y ayer? ¿También reflejas la luz?” — And yesterday? Did you reflect the light too?

Pedro: “Sí, ayer yo reflejé la luz. Mañana nosotros reflejaremos la luz otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I reflected the light. Tomorrow we will reflect the light again.

A short paragraph

Él refleja la luz cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how reflejar works in real Spanish: who does it, when, and with what. Around it you can build a whole paragraph: what happened yesterday, what is happening now, and what will happen tomorrow, all with the same verb. When you write your own paragraph, start with the present — yo reflejo la luz — then add one past sentence and one future sentence, and you have practised three tenses with one verb. That is the fastest way to make reflejar yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is reflejé, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — refleje — 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 reflejar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For reflejar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: reflejamos. 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 reflejado la luz. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy reflejado is not the present perfect of reflejar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing reflejar with reflexionar

reflejar and reflexionar 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 reflejar — reflect — the sentence needs reflejar; if it needs the meaning of reflexionar, use that verb instead.

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo refleje la luz. Using the indicative — Espero que yo reflejo — is one of the most frequent learner errors with reflejar. 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 reflejar in the present?

  • A. reflejas
  • B. refleja
  • C. reflejamos
  • D. reflejo

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

  • A. reflejamos
  • B. reflejaste
  • C. reflejé
  • D. reflejó

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

  • A. reflejabas
  • B. reflejábamos
  • C. reflejabais
  • D. reflejaba

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

  • A. reflejará
  • B. reflejaremos
  • C. reflejaré
  • D. reflejarás

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

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

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

  • A. refleje
  • B. reflejen
  • C. refleje
  • D. reflejes

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

  • A. reflejaste
  • B. reflejó
  • C. reflejamos
  • D. reflejé

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

  • A. reflejábamos
  • B. reflejabas
  • C. reflejaba
  • D. reflejaba

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

  • A. reflejaré
  • B. reflejarás
  • C. reflejaremos
  • D. reflejará

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

  • A. reflejaría
  • B. reflejaríamos
  • C. reflejaría
  • D. reflejarías

Answer key

  1. reflejo — The present table gives yo = reflejo.
  2. reflejaste — The preterite table gives tu = reflejaste.
  3. reflejaba — The imperfect table gives el = reflejaba.
  4. reflejaremos — The future table gives nosotros = reflejaremos.
  5. habéis reflejado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis reflejado.
  6. reflejen — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = reflejen.
  7. reflejé — The preterite table gives yo = reflejé.
  8. reflejabas — The imperfect table gives tu = reflejabas.
  9. reflejará — The future table gives el = reflejará.
  10. reflejaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = reflejaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use reflejar in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo reflejo la luz.” — “I reflect the light.” Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

What is the most useful form of reflejar to learn first?

Learn the present yo form reflejo first, then the preterite yo form reflejé and the participle reflejado. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund reflejando next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is reflejar reflexive?

No — reflejar is not reflexive. It takes a direct object, not a reflexive pronoun: yo reflejo la luz. Do not add me or se to it unless the sentence genuinely needs a pronoun for another reason.

Where can I see the full conjugation of reflejar?

On the main conjugation page for reflejar, which has every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, plus notes, examples and a quiz. The present-tense page covers one tense in depth if that is what you need right now.

Related links