Introduction

regañar means “to scold”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to scold” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows regañar 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 regaño a los niños por la mañana.” — “I scold the children.”

regañar in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how regañar 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 regaño a los niños cada día.” — “I scold the children.”
  2. “Tú regañas a los niños cada día.” — “you scold the children.”
  3. “Él regaña a los niños siempre.” — “He scolds the children.”
  4. “Nosotros regañamos a los niños todos los días.” — “We scold the children.”

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 regañé a los niños ayer.” — “I scolded the children.” (preterite) 6. “Él regañó a los niños ayer.” — “He scolded the children.” (preterite) 7. “Yo regañaba a los niños cuando era joven.” — “I used to scold the children.” (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 regañaremos a los niños mañana.” — “We will scold the children.” (future) 9. “Tú has regañado a los niños hoy.” — “you have scolded the children.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo regañe a los niños.” — “I hope that I scold the children.” (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 regañáis a los niños cada semana.” — “You scold the children.” 12. “Ellos regañan a los niños normalmente.” — “They scold the children.”

regañar 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 regañar appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.

Dialogue on the phone

Lucía: “¿Tú regañas a los niños?” — Do you scold the children?

Pedro: “Sí, yo regaño a los niños cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I scold the children every day. It is part of my routine.

Lucía: “¿Y ayer? ¿También regañas a los niños?” — And yesterday? Did you scold the children too?

Pedro: “Sí, ayer yo regañé a los niños. Mañana nosotros regañaremos a los niños otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I scolded the children. Tomorrow we will scold the children again.

A short paragraph

Él regaña a los niños cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how regañar 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 regaño a los niños — 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 regañar yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is regañé, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — regañe — 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 regañar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For regañar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: regañamos. 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 regañado a los niños. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy regañado is not the present perfect of regañar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing regañar with regular

regañar and regular 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 regañar — scold — the sentence needs regañar; if it needs the meaning of regular, use that verb instead.

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo regañe a los niños. Using the indicative — Espero que yo regaño — is one of the most frequent learner errors with regañar. 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 regañar in the present?

  • A. regañas
  • B. regaña
  • C. regañamos
  • D. regaño

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

  • A. regañamos
  • B. regañaste
  • C. regañé
  • D. regañó

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

  • A. regañabas
  • B. regañábamos
  • C. regañabais
  • D. regañaba

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

  • A. regañará
  • B. regañaremos
  • C. regañaré
  • D. regañarás

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

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

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

  • A. regañe
  • B. regañen
  • C. regañe
  • D. regañes

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

  • A. regañaste
  • B. regañó
  • C. regañamos
  • D. regañé

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

  • A. regañábamos
  • B. regañabas
  • C. regañaba
  • D. regañaba

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

  • A. regañaré
  • B. regañarás
  • C. regañaremos
  • D. regañará

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

  • A. regañaría
  • B. regañaríamos
  • C. regañaría
  • D. regañarías

Answer key

  1. regaño — The present table gives yo = regaño.
  2. regañaste — The preterite table gives tu = regañaste.
  3. regañaba — The imperfect table gives el = regañaba.
  4. regañaremos — The future table gives nosotros = regañaremos.
  5. habéis regañado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis regañado.
  6. regañen — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = regañen.
  7. regañé — The preterite table gives yo = regañé.
  8. regañabas — The imperfect table gives tu = regañabas.
  9. regañará — The future table gives el = regañará.
  10. regañaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = regañaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use regañar in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo regaño a los niños.” — “I scold the children.” Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

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

Learn the present yo form regaño first, then the preterite yo form regañé and the participle regañado. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund regañando next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is regañar reflexive?

No — regañar is not reflexive. It takes a direct object, not a reflexive pronoun: yo regaño a los niños. 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 regañar?

On the main conjugation page for regañar, 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