Introduction

Learning to conjugate reflejar — “to reflect” — 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, reflejar is one of the verbs that carries those sentences, especially when the topic is the light. On this page you will find the full conjugation of reflejar 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. reflejar is a regular -ar verb; the gerund is reflejando and the past participle is reflejado, and both appear in the tables and examples below. For example: “Yo reflejo la luz todos los días.” — “I reflect the light.” Read the tables first, then the notes, and finish with the quiz to check what you have learned.

Quick facts
Infinitive reflejar
English to reflect
Verb type Regular -ar verb
Gerund reflejando
Past participle reflejado
Auxiliary verb haber

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: reflejando · Past participle: reflejado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo reflejo
tú reflejas
él/ella/Ud. refleja
nosotros/as reflejamos
vosotros/as reflejáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. reflejan

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For reflejar, the yo form is reflejo, as in “Yo reflejo la luz.” — “I reflect the light.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo reflejé
tú reflejaste
él/ella/Ud. reflejó
nosotros/as reflejamos
vosotros/as reflejasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. reflejaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For reflejar, the yo form is reflejé, as in “Yo reflejé la luz.” — “I reflected the light.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo reflejaba
tú reflejabas
él/ella/Ud. reflejaba
nosotros/as reflejábamos
vosotros/as reflejabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. reflejaban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For reflejar, the yo form is reflejaba, as in “Yo reflejaba la luz.” — “I used to reflect the light.”

Future

Person Form
yo reflejaré
tú reflejarás
él/ella/Ud. reflejará
nosotros/as reflejaremos
vosotros/as reflejaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. reflejarán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For reflejar, the yo form is reflejaré, as in “Yo reflejaré la luz.” — “I will reflect the light.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo reflejaría
tú reflejarías
él/ella/Ud. reflejaría
nosotros/as reflejaríamos
vosotros/as reflejaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. reflejarían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For reflejar, the yo form is reflejaría, as in “Yo reflejaría la luz.” — “I would reflect the light.”

Present Perfect

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

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For reflejar, the yo form is he reflejado, as in “Yo he reflejado la luz.” — “I have reflected the light.”

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For reflejar, the yo form is había reflejado, as in “Yo había reflejado la luz.” — “I had reflected the light.”

Future Perfect

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

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For reflejar, the yo form is habré reflejado, as in “Yo habré reflejado la luz.” — “I will have reflected the light.”

Conditional Perfect

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

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For reflejar, the yo form is habría reflejado, as in “Yo habría reflejado la luz.” — “I would have reflected the light.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo refleje
tú reflejes
él/ella/Ud. refleje
nosotros/as reflejemos
vosotros/as reflejéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. reflejen

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For reflejar, the yo form is refleje, as in “Espero que yo refleje la luz.” — “I hope that I reflect the light.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo reflejara
tú reflejaras
él/ella/Ud. reflejara
nosotros/as reflejáramos
vosotros/as reflejarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. reflejaran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For reflejar, the yo form is reflejara, as in “Si yo reflejara la luz, ...” — “If I reflected the light, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: reflejara becomes reflejase, 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 refleja
Ud. refleje
nosotros/as reflejemos
vosotros/as reflejad
Uds. reflejen

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú reflejes
Ud. refleje
nosotros/as reflejemos
vosotros/as reflejéis
Uds. reflejen

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is refleja, as in “¡Refleja la luz” — “Reflect the light” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no reflejes. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with reflejar.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with reflejar, 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 reflejo la luz cada día.” — “I reflect the light.”
  2. “Él refleja la luz todos los días.” — “He reflects the light.”
  3. “Yo reflejé la luz ayer.” — “I reflected the light.”
  4. “Él reflejó la luz ayer.” — “He reflected the light.”
  5. “Yo reflejaba la luz cuando era joven.” — “I used to reflect the light.”
  6. “Nosotros reflejaremos la luz mañana.” — “We will reflect the light.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo reflejaría la luz.” — “If I could, i would reflect the light.”
  8. “Yo he reflejado la luz hoy.” — “I have reflected the light.”
  9. “Espero que yo refleje la luz.” — “I hope that I reflect the light.”
  10. “estoy reflejando la luz ahora mismo.” — “I am reflecting the light.”

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

Is reflejar regular or irregular?

reflejar is a regular -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 reflejar?

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

What is the gerund of reflejar?

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

What is the yo form of reflejar in the present?

The yo form is reflejo — “Yo reflejo la luz.” means “I reflect the light.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú reflejas, él refleja, nosotros reflejamos, ellos reflejan.

What is the difference between reflejar and reflexionar?

reflejar means “to reflect”, while reflexionar means “to reflect”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to reflect”, use reflejar; if it is about the meaning of reflexionar, use reflexionar instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.

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