Introduction
refrescar means “to refresh, to cool” in English, and it is a verb you will meet again and again once you start reading and speaking Spanish. It is used whenever you need to talk about the house — at home, at work, and in everyday conversation — which makes it a practical verb to learn early and to use confidently. This page gives you the complete conjugation of refrescar in every tense and mood, with all six persons, plus the gerund and the past participle, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. Every form below comes from VerbFlow's verified conjugation tables, so you can trust the accents and the irregular forms. refrescar is a irregular -ar verb, and the notes under each tense explain exactly where it follows the rules and where it breaks them. To hear it in a real sentence: “Yo refresco la casa todos los días.” — “I refresh the house.” Work through the tables, read the notes, then test yourself with the quiz at the end of the page.
Quick facts
| Infinitive | refrescar |
| English | to refresh, to cool |
| Verb type | Irregular -ar verb |
| Gerund | refrescando |
| Past participle | refrescado |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
Gerund: refrescando · Past participle: refrescado
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | refresco |
| tú | refrescas |
| él/ella/Ud. | refresca |
| nosotros/as | refrescamos |
| vosotros/as | refrescáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | refrescan |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For refrescar, the yo form is refresco, as in “Yo refresco la casa.” — “I refresh the house.”
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | refresqué |
| tú | refrescaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | refrescó |
| nosotros/as | refrescamos |
| vosotros/as | refrescasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | refrescaron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For refrescar, the yo form is refresqué, as in “Yo refresqué la casa.” — “I refreshed the house.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | refrescaba |
| tú | refrescabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | refrescaba |
| nosotros/as | refrescábamos |
| vosotros/as | refrescabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | refrescaban |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For refrescar, the yo form is refrescaba, as in “Yo refrescaba la casa.” — “I used to refresh the house.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | refrescaré |
| tú | refrescarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | refrescará |
| nosotros/as | refrescaremos |
| vosotros/as | refrescaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | refrescarán |
The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For refrescar, the yo form is refrescaré, as in “Yo refrescaré la casa.” — “I will refresh the house.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | refrescaría |
| tú | refrescarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | refrescaría |
| nosotros/as | refrescaríamos |
| vosotros/as | refrescaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | refrescarían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For refrescar, the yo form is refrescaría, as in “Yo refrescaría la casa.” — “I would refresh the house.”
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he refrescado |
| tú | has refrescado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha refrescado |
| nosotros/as | hemos refrescado |
| vosotros/as | habéis refrescado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han refrescado |
The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For refrescar, the yo form is he refrescado, as in “Yo he refrescado la casa.” — “I have refreshed the house.”
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había refrescado |
| tú | habías refrescado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había refrescado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos refrescado |
| vosotros/as | habíais refrescado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían refrescado |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For refrescar, the yo form is había refrescado, as in “Yo había refrescado la casa.” — “I had refreshed the house.”
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré refrescado |
| tú | habrás refrescado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá refrescado |
| nosotros/as | habremos refrescado |
| vosotros/as | habréis refrescado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán refrescado |
The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For refrescar, the yo form is habré refrescado, as in “Yo habré refrescado la casa.” — “I will have refreshed the house.”
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría refrescado |
| tú | habrías refrescado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría refrescado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos refrescado |
| vosotros/as | habríais refrescado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían refrescado |
The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For refrescar, the yo form is habría refrescado, as in “Yo habría refrescado la casa.” — “I would have refreshed the house.”
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | refresque |
| tú | refresques |
| él/ella/Ud. | refresque |
| nosotros/as | refresquemos |
| vosotros/as | refresquéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | refresquen |
The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For refrescar, the yo form is refresque, as in “Espero que yo refresque la casa.” — “I hope that I refresh the house.”
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | refrescara |
| tú | refrescaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | refrescara |
| nosotros/as | refrescáramos |
| vosotros/as | refrescarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | refrescaran |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For refrescar, the yo form is refrescara, as in “Si yo refrescara la casa, ...” — “If I refreshed the house, ...”
The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: refrescara becomes refrescase, 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 | refresca |
| Ud. | refresque |
| nosotros/as | refresquemos |
| vosotros/as | refrescad |
| Uds. | refresquen |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | refresques |
| Ud. | refresque |
| nosotros/as | refresquemos |
| vosotros/as | refresquéis |
| Uds. | refresquen |
The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is refresca, as in “¡Refresca la casa” — “Refresh the house” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no refresques. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with refrescar.
Example sentences
Here are ten sentences with refrescar, 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 refresco la casa cada día.” — “I refresh the house.”
- “Él refresca la casa todos los días.” — “He refreshes the house.”
- “Yo refresqué la casa ayer.” — “I refreshed the house.”
- “Él refrescó la casa ayer.” — “He refreshed the house.”
- “Yo refrescaba la casa cuando era joven.” — “I used to refresh the house.”
- “Nosotros refrescaremos la casa mañana.” — “We will refresh the house.”
- “Si pudiera, yo refrescaría la casa.” — “If I could, i would refresh the house.”
- “Yo he refrescado la casa hoy.” — “I have refreshed the house.”
- “Espero que yo refresque la casa.” — “I hope that I refresh the house.”
- “estoy refrescando la casa ahora mismo.” — “I am refreshing the house.”
Common mistakes
Forgetting the accent in the preterite
The yo preterite form is refresqué, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — refresque — 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 refrescar.
Mixing up present and preterite nosotros
For refrescar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: refrescamos. 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 refrescado la casa. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy refrescado is not the present perfect of refrescar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.
Confusing refrescar with reflexionar
refrescar 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 refrescar — refresh — the sentence needs refrescar; 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 refresque la casa. Using the indicative — Espero que yo refresco — is one of the most frequent learner errors with refrescar. 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 refrescar in the present?
- A. refrescas
- B. refresca
- C. refrescamos
- D. refresco
2. What is the tu form of refrescar in the preterite?
- A. refrescamos
- B. refrescaste
- C. refresqué
- D. refrescó
3. What is the el form of refrescar in the imperfect?
- A. refrescabas
- B. refrescábamos
- C. refrescabais
- D. refrescaba
4. What is the nosotros form of refrescar in the future?
- A. refrescará
- B. refrescaremos
- C. refrescaré
- D. refrescarás
5. What is the vosotros form of refrescar in the present perfect?
- A. he refrescado
- B. has refrescado
- C. ha refrescado
- D. habéis refrescado
6. What is the ellos form of refrescar in the present subjunctive?
- A. refresque
- B. refresquen
- C. refresque
- D. refresques
7. What is the yo form of refrescar in the preterite?
- A. refrescaste
- B. refrescó
- C. refrescamos
- D. refresqué
8. What is the tu form of refrescar in the imperfect?
- A. refrescábamos
- B. refrescabas
- C. refrescaba
- D. refrescaba
9. What is the el form of refrescar in the future?
- A. refrescaré
- B. refrescarás
- C. refrescaremos
- D. refrescará
10. What is the nosotros form of refrescar in the conditional?
- A. refrescaría
- B. refrescaríamos
- C. refrescaría
- D. refrescarías
Answer key
- refresco — The present table gives yo = refresco.
- refrescaste — The preterite table gives tu = refrescaste.
- refrescaba — The imperfect table gives el = refrescaba.
- refrescaremos — The future table gives nosotros = refrescaremos.
- habéis refrescado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis refrescado.
- refresquen — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = refresquen.
- refresqué — The preterite table gives yo = refresqué.
- refrescabas — The imperfect table gives tu = refrescabas.
- refrescará — The future table gives el = refrescará.
- refrescaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = refrescaríamos.
Frequently asked questions
Is refrescar regular or irregular?
refrescar is a irregular -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 refrescar?
The past participle of refrescar is refrescado. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he refrescado, había refrescado, habré refrescado — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund refrescando and you have the two non-finite forms covered.
What is the gerund of refrescar?
The gerund of refrescar is refrescando. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy refrescando, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle refrescado, which belongs with haber, not with estar.
What is the yo form of refrescar in the present?
The yo form is refresco — “Yo refresco la casa.” means “I refresh the house.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú refrescas, él refresca, nosotros refrescamos, ellos refrescan.
What is the difference between refrescar and reflexionar?
refrescar means “to refresh, to cool”, while reflexionar means “to reflect”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to refresh, to cool”, use refrescar; if it is about the meaning of reflexionar, use reflexionar instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.
Related links
- refrescar in the present tense — the full present-tense page for this verb.
- refrescar examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a second quiz.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub with every verb on VerbFlow.
- Spanish irregular verbs — the full list of irregular verbs, grouped by pattern.
- reflexionar conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- reformar conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- referirse conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- Verb conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb instantly.
- Verb quiz — practise conjugations with timed questions.