Introduction

Learning to conjugate refugiarse — “to take refuge” — 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, refugiarse is one of the verbs that carries those sentences, especially when the topic is in the mountains. On this page you will find the full conjugation of refugiarse 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. refugiarse is a reflexive -ar verb; the gerund is refugiando and the past participle is refugiado, and both appear in the tables and examples below. For example: “Yo me refugio en la montaña todos los días.” — “I take refuge in the mountains.” Read the tables first, then the notes, and finish with the quiz to check what you have learned.

Quick facts
Infinitive refugiarse
English to take refuge
Verb type Reflexive -ar verb
Gerund refugiando
Past participle refugiado
Auxiliary verb haber
  • Reflexive: yes — always use it with the reflexive pronouns me, te, se, nos, os, se.

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: refugiando · Past participle: refugiado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo refugio
tú refugias
él/ella/Ud. refugia
nosotros/as refugiamos
vosotros/as refugiáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. refugian

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For refugiarse, the yo form is refugio, as in “Yo me refugio en la montaña.” — “I take refuge in the mountains.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo refugié
tú refugiaste
él/ella/Ud. refugió
nosotros/as refugiamos
vosotros/as refugiasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. refugiaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For refugiarse, the yo form is refugié, as in “Yo me refugié en la montaña.” — “I took refuge in the mountains.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo refugiaba
tú refugiabas
él/ella/Ud. refugiaba
nosotros/as refugiábamos
vosotros/as refugiabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. refugiaban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For refugiarse, the yo form is refugiaba, as in “Yo me refugiaba en la montaña.” — “I used to take refuge in the mountains.”

Future

Person Form
yo refugiaré
tú refugiarás
él/ella/Ud. refugiará
nosotros/as refugiaremos
vosotros/as refugiaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. refugiarán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For refugiarse, the yo form is refugiaré, as in “Yo me refugiaré en la montaña.” — “I will take refuge in the mountains.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo refugiaría
tú refugiarías
él/ella/Ud. refugiaría
nosotros/as refugiaríamos
vosotros/as refugiaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. refugiarían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For refugiarse, the yo form is refugiaría, as in “Yo me refugiaría en la montaña.” — “I would take refuge in the mountains.”

Present Perfect

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

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For refugiarse, the yo form is he refugiado, as in “Yo me he refugiado en la montaña.” — “I have taken refuge in the mountains.”

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For refugiarse, the yo form is había refugiado, as in “Yo me había refugiado en la montaña.” — “I had taken refuge in the mountains.”

Future Perfect

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

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For refugiarse, the yo form is habré refugiado, as in “Yo me habré refugiado en la montaña.” — “I will have taken refuge in the mountains.”

Conditional Perfect

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

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For refugiarse, the yo form is habría refugiado, as in “Yo me habría refugiado en la montaña.” — “I would have taken refuge in the mountains.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo refugie
tú refugies
él/ella/Ud. refugie
nosotros/as refugiemos
vosotros/as refugiéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. refugien

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For refugiarse, the yo form is refugie, as in “Espero que yo me refugie en la montaña.” — “I hope that I take refuge in the mountains.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo refugiara
tú refugiaras
él/ella/Ud. refugiara
nosotros/as refugiáramos
vosotros/as refugiarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. refugiaran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For refugiarse, the yo form is refugiara, as in “Si yo me refugiara en la montaña, ...” — “If I took refuge in the mountains, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: refugiara becomes refugiase, 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 refugia
Ud. refugie
nosotros/as refugiemos
vosotros/as refugiad
Uds. refugien

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú refugies
Ud. refugie
nosotros/as refugiemos
vosotros/as refugiéis
Uds. refugien

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is refugia, as in “No te refugies en la montaña” — “Do not take refuge in the mountains” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no refugies. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with refugiarse.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with refugiarse, 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 me refugio en la montaña cada día.” — “I take refuge in the mountains.”
  2. “Él se refugia en la montaña todos los días.” — “He takes refuge in the mountains.”
  3. “Yo me refugié en la montaña ayer.” — “I took refuge in the mountains.”
  4. “Él se refugió en la montaña ayer.” — “He took refuge in the mountains.”
  5. “Yo me refugiaba en la montaña cuando era joven.” — “I used to take refuge in the mountains.”
  6. “Nosotros nos refugiaremos en la montaña mañana.” — “We will take refuge in the mountains.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo me refugiaría en la montaña.” — “If I could, i would take refuge in the mountains.”
  8. “Yo me he refugiado en la montaña hoy.” — “I have taken refuge in the mountains.”
  9. “Espero que yo me refugie en la montaña.” — “I hope that I take refuge in the mountains.”
  10. “Me estoy refugiando en la montaña ahora mismo.” — “I am taking refuge in the mountains.”

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is refugié, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — refugie — 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 refugiarse.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For refugiarse, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: refugiamos. 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.

Dropping the reflexive pronoun

Because refugiarse is reflexive, it always needs its pronoun: yo me refugio en la montaña, not yo refugio en la montaña. Without me, the sentence either means something else or means nothing at all. The pronouns are me, te, se, nos, os, se — learn them with the verb, not as an afterthought.

Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses

Spanish perfect tenses always use haber, never ser: yo he refugiado en la montaña. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy refugiado is not the present perfect of refugiarse — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing refugiarse with reflexionar

refugiarse 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 refugiarse — take refuge — the sentence needs refugiarse; 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 refugie en la montaña. Using the indicative — Espero que yo refugio — is one of the most frequent learner errors with refugiarse. 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 refugiarse in the present?

  • A. refugias
  • B. refugia
  • C. refugiamos
  • D. refugio

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

  • A. refugiamos
  • B. refugiaste
  • C. refugié
  • D. refugió

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

  • A. refugiabas
  • B. refugiábamos
  • C. refugiabais
  • D. refugiaba

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

  • A. refugiará
  • B. refugiaremos
  • C. refugiaré
  • D. refugiarás

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

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

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

  • A. refugie
  • B. refugien
  • C. refugie
  • D. refugies

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

  • A. refugiaste
  • B. refugió
  • C. refugiamos
  • D. refugié

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

  • A. refugiábamos
  • B. refugiabas
  • C. refugiaba
  • D. refugiaba

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

  • A. refugiaré
  • B. refugiarás
  • C. refugiaremos
  • D. refugiará

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

  • A. refugiaría
  • B. refugiaríamos
  • C. refugiaría
  • D. refugiarías

Answer key

  1. refugio — The present table gives yo = refugio.
  2. refugiaste — The preterite table gives tu = refugiaste.
  3. refugiaba — The imperfect table gives el = refugiaba.
  4. refugiaremos — The future table gives nosotros = refugiaremos.
  5. habéis refugiado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis refugiado.
  6. refugien — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = refugien.
  7. refugié — The preterite table gives yo = refugié.
  8. refugiabas — The imperfect table gives tu = refugiabas.
  9. refugiará — The future table gives el = refugiará.
  10. refugiaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = refugiaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

Is refugiarse regular or irregular?

refugiarse is a reflexive -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 refugiarse?

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

What is the gerund of refugiarse?

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

What is the yo form of refugiarse in the present?

The yo form is refugio — “Yo me refugio en la montaña.” means “I take refuge in the mountains.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú refugias, él refugia, nosotros refugiamos, ellos refugian.

What is the difference between refugiarse and reflexionar?

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

Do I always need the pronoun with refugiarse?

Yes. refugiarse is reflexive, so the pronoun is part of the verb: me, te, se, nos, os, se. You say yo me refugio, tú te refugias, él se refugia. Leaving the pronoun out changes the meaning or makes the sentence wrong, so learn the pronoun together with each form.

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