Regir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of regir — "to govern, to rule" in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for regir with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Regir means to govern or rule a country, a company or a set of rules. It is a formal verb, and in grammar it also means for a verb to govern a preposition: regir una preposición. To see it in a real sentence: Yo rijo el país con mano firme — "I govern the country with a firm hand".
Present tense conjugation table: regir
Every person of regir in the present tense. The gerund is rigiendo and the past participle is regido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | rijo |
| tú | riges |
| él/ella/Ud. | rige |
| nosotros/as | regimos |
| vosotros/as | regís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | rigen |
How the present of regir is formed
The present of regir is built from the stem reg- plus the present endings for -ir verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ir ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.
| Person | Ending | Form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | rijo |
| tú | -es | riges |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | rige |
| nosotros/as | -imos | regimos |
| vosotros/as | -ís | regís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | rigen |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: rijo, riges, rige and rigen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: regimos, regís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: rigió, rigieron, and the gerund is rigiendo.
The gerund of regir is rigiendo and the past participle is regido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of regir
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and regir appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.
Habits and routines
The present describes things that happen regularly, as a habit or routine.
"Cada día, yo rijo el país con mano firme" — "Every day, I govern the country with a firm hand"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo rige la empresa desde Madrid" — "My friend governs the company from Madrid"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo rijo las normas del concurso" — "Right now, I govern the rules of the contest"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros regimos el destino de la nación" — "Tomorrow, we govern the nation's destiny"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos rigen la vida de sus súbditos" — "They govern his subjects' lives"
The present tense vs the closest tenses
Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion
The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.
- Present — habit or general fact: {'pre_es': 'Cada día, ', 'pre_en': 'Every day, '}yo rijo el país con mano firme — "I govern the country with a firm hand"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo regí el país con mano firme — "I governed the country with a firm hand"
Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add "used to" in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.
- Present — now: {}tú riges la empresa desde Madrid — "You govern the company from Madrid"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú regías la empresa desde Madrid — "You used to govern the company from Madrid"
Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen
The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.
- Present — now or a fixed plan: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él rige las normas del concurso — "He governs the rules of the contest"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él regirá las normas del concurso — "He will govern the rules of the contest"
Examples: regir in the present tense
Seven sentences that show regir in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo rijo el país con mano firme — "I govern the country with a firm hand"
- Tú riges la empresa desde Madrid — "You govern the company from Madrid"
- Él rige las normas del concurso — "He governs the rules of the contest"
- Nosotros regimos el destino de la nación — "We govern the nation's destiny"
- Vosotros regís la vida de sus súbditos — "You govern his subjects' lives"
- Ellos rigen el país con mano firme — "They govern the country with a firm hand"
- Yo rijo la empresa desde Madrid — "I govern the company from Madrid"
Common mistakes with regir in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with regir in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo rego el país con mano firme.
✓ Correct: Yo rijo el país con mano firme.
regir is a stem-changing verb (e → i): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is rijo, not rego.
✗ *Tú rige la empresa desde Madrid.
✓ Correct: Tú riges la empresa desde Madrid.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes riges, él takes rige.
✗ *Cada día, yo regí las normas del concurso
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo rijo las normas del concurso
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros regis el destino de la nación.
✓ Correct: Vosotros regís el destino de la nación.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: regís, not regis.
Quiz: regir in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of regir. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of regir for tú? A. rijo B. rige C. regimos D. riges
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el país con mano firme — "I govern the country with a firm hand" (present) A. rige B. regimos C. rijo D. riges
Complete the sentence: Él ______ la empresa desde Madrid — "He governs the company from Madrid" (present) A. rige B. rijo C. riges D. regimos
Which is the correct present form of regir for nosotros? A. rige B. rigen C. regimos D. riges
Which sentence uses regir correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo rige las normas del concurso B. Mi amigo riges las normas del concurso C. Mi amigo regía las normas del concurso D. Mi amigo regimos las normas del concurso
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ el destino de la nación — "You govern the nation's destiny" (present) A. rige B. regís C. rijo D. riges
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ la vida de sus súbditos — "They govern his subjects' lives" (present) A. rige B. rigen C. rijo D. riges
What is the gerund of regir? A. regí B. rigiendo C. regido D. rijo
Answer key
- riges — The tú form in the present is riges.
- rijo — The present form for yo is rijo.
- rige — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is rige.
- regimos — The nosotros form in the present is regimos.
- Mi amigo rige las normas del concurso — Mi amigo rige las normas del concurso is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- regís — The present form for vosotros/as is regís.
- rigen — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is rigen.
- rigiendo — The gerund is rigiendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle regido.
Frequently asked questions
Is regir regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: rijo, riges, rige and rigen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: regimos, regís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: rigió, rigieron, and the gerund is rigiendo. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of regir?
The gerund is rigiendo and the past participle is regido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I govern" in the present tense?
Say rijo. For example: Yo rijo el país con mano firme — "I govern the country with a firm hand".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of regir?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo rijo el país con mano firme — "I govern the country with a firm hand". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo regí el país con mano firme — "Yesterday, I governed the country with a firm hand". Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once.
Related links
- Full conjugation of regir — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- regir examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Present tense guide — how the present tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.