Regresar Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

regresar means to return, to come back, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Regresar means to return or to come back, and it is used for coming back home, returning to work after a holiday and returning a book to the library. It is a slightly more formal synonym of volver, and it is a fully regular -ar verb. This page puts regresar to work: twelve example sentences in different tenses and persons, grouped by use, then two short dialogues where the verb appears naturally, then the common mistakes to avoid, and finally a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every Spanish form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for regresar, and the full tables are on the regresar conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo regreso a casa después del trabajo. — I return home after work.
  2. Él regresa de las vacaciones el lunes. — He/she returns from holiday on Monday.
  3. Ayer, yo regresé al pueblo de mis abuelos. — Yesterday, I returned to my grandparents' village.
  4. Antes, nosotros regresábamos temprano por la noche. — Before, we used to return early in the evening.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú regresarás a casa después del trabajo. — Tomorrow, you will return home after work.
  2. Yo regresaría de las vacaciones el lunes. — I would return from holiday on Monday.
  3. Él ha regresado al pueblo de mis abuelos. — He/she has returned to my grandparents' village.
  4. Espero que él regrese temprano por la noche. — I hope he/she returns early in the evening.

With other people

  1. Nosotros regresamos a casa después del trabajo. — We return home after work.
  2. Vosotros regresáis de las vacaciones el lunes. — You all return from holiday on Monday.
  3. Antes, ellos regresaban al pueblo de mis abuelos. — Before, they used to return to my grandparents' village.
  4. Mañana, él regresará temprano por la noche. — Tomorrow, he/she will return early in the evening.

Regresar in context

Two short dialogues that use regresar the way people really use it. Read them aloud — the verb forms will stick much faster in a conversation than in a table.

Dialogue 1: today and yesterday

  • Ana: "Hola, ¿qué tal?" — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Luis: "Hoy regreso a casa después del trabajo." — "Today I return home after work."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, regresé al pueblo de mis abuelos." — "Yesterday I returned to my grandparents' village."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú regresarás de las vacaciones el lunes?" — "And tomorrow, will you will return from holiday on Monday?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros regresamos temprano por la noche." — "Tomorrow we return early in the evening."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo regresaría de las vacaciones el lunes si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would return from holiday on Monday if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él regrese a casa después del trabajo." — "I hope he returns home after work."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha regresado al pueblo de mis abuelos." — "Surely. He has already has returned to my grandparents' village."
  • Marta: "Vale, nos vemos mañana." — "OK, see you tomorrow."

Notice how the same verb changes with the tense: the present for the plan, the conditional for the wish, the subjunctive after espero que, and the present perfect for what has already happened. That is the whole point of learning a verb across its tenses, not just in one form.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo regresa a casa después del trabajo. — Right: Yo regreso a casa después del trabajo. — The person matters: regresa is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is regreso. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Vosotros regresais de las vacaciones el lunes. — Right: Vosotros regresáis de las vacaciones el lunes. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: regresáis, not regresais. The accent marks the stressed vowel.
  3. Wrong: Treating regresar and volver as identical in every context. — Right: Regresar means to return, to come back, while volver means to return, the more common synonym. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: regresar fits sentences such as Regreso a casa después del trabajo, while volver belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy regresado de las vacaciones el lunes. — Right: Yo he regresado de las vacaciones el lunes. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he regresado, has regresado, ha regresado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo regresé al pueblo de mis abuelos todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo regresaba al pueblo de mis abuelos todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (regresaba), not the preterite. The preterite (regresé) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on regresar: four on the forms, three on the meaning, and three on spotting the correct sentence. Check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a casa después del trabajo. (present tense) A. regreso B. regresas C. regresa D. regresamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ de las vacaciones el lunes. (preterite tense) A. regresé B. regresaste C. regresamos D. regresó

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ al pueblo de mis abuelos. (future tense) A. regresará B. regresaremos C. regresarás D. regresaré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ temprano por la noche. (imperfect tense) A. regresabais B. regresábamos C. regresaba D. regresabas

  5. What does "Yo regreso a casa después del trabajo." mean in English? A. I return home after work. B. I return from holiday on Monday. C. I return to my grandparents' village. D. I return early in the evening.

  6. What does "Él regresó de las vacaciones el lunes." mean in English? A. He/she returned home after work. B. He/she returned to my grandparents' village. C. He/she returned early in the evening. D. He/she returned from holiday on Monday.

  7. What does "Nosotros regresaremos al pueblo de mis abuelos." mean in English? A. We will return from holiday on Monday. B. We will return early in the evening. C. We will return to my grandparents' village. D. We will return home after work.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo regresan de las vacaciones el lunes. B. Yo regresa de las vacaciones el lunes. C. Yo regreso de las vacaciones el lunes.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él regresé al pueblo de mis abuelos. B. Él regresó al pueblo de mis abuelos. C. Él regresaron al pueblo de mis abuelos.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo regrese temprano por la noche. B. Yo regresen temprano por la noche. C. Yo regrese temprano por la noche.

Answer key

  1. regreso — The yo present form of regresar is regreso.
  2. regresó — The el preterite form of regresar is regresó.
  3. regresarás — The tu future form of regresar is regresarás.
  4. regresábamos — The nosotros imperfect form of regresar is regresábamos.
  5. I return home after work. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form regreso, so the English is "I return home after work." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she returned from holiday on Monday. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form regresó, so the English is "He/she returned from holiday on Monday." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will return to my grandparents' village. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form regresaremos, so the English is "We will return to my grandparents' village." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo regreso de las vacaciones el lunes. — The correct sentence is "Yo regreso de las vacaciones el lunes." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él regresó al pueblo de mis abuelos. — The correct sentence is "Él regresó al pueblo de mis abuelos." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo regrese temprano por la noche. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo regrese temprano por la noche." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

What does regresar mean, and when do I use it?

Regresar means to return, to come back. Regresar means to return or to come back, and it is used for coming back home, returning to work after a holiday and returning a book to the library. It is a slightly more formal synonym of volver, and it is a fully regular -ar verb. A good first sentence to remember is Yo regreso a casa después del trabajo. — "I return home after work."

What is the difference between regresar and volver?

Regresar means to return, to come back, while volver means to return, the more common synonym. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use regresar when you mean to return, to come back, as in Yo regreso de las vacaciones el lunes., and use volver for to return, the more common synonym.

How do I say "I return" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo regresé de las vacaciones el lunes.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo regresaba al pueblo de mis abuelos.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he regresado de las vacaciones el lunes..

How do I practise regresar?

Start with the regresar conjugation page for the full tables, then the regresar in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Regresar is fully regular: regresé, regresaba, regresaré. Volver is more common in speech, but regresar is never wrong.

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