Introduction

Learning to conjugate reinar — “to reign” — 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, reinar is one of the verbs that carries those sentences, especially when the topic is in the country. On this page you will find the full conjugation of reinar 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. reinar is a regular -ar verb; the gerund is reinando and the past participle is reinado, and both appear in the tables and examples below. For example: “El rey reina en el país todos los días.” — “The king reigns in the country.” Read the tables first, then the notes, and finish with the quiz to check what you have learned.

Quick facts
Infinitive reinar
English to reign
Verb type Regular -ar verb
Gerund reinando
Past participle reinado
Auxiliary verb haber

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: reinando · Past participle: reinado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo reino
tú reinas
él/ella/Ud. reina
nosotros/as reinamos
vosotros/as reináis
ellos/ellas/Uds. reinan

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For reinar, the yo form is reino, as in “El rey reina en el país.” — “The king reigns in the country.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo reiné
tú reinaste
él/ella/Ud. reinó
nosotros/as reinamos
vosotros/as reinasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. reinaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For reinar, the yo form is reiné, as in “El rey reinó en el país.” — “The king reigned in the country.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo reinaba
tú reinabas
él/ella/Ud. reinaba
nosotros/as reinábamos
vosotros/as reinabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. reinaban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For reinar, the yo form is reinaba, as in “El rey reinaba en el país.” — “The king used to reign in the country.”

Future

Person Form
yo reinaré
tú reinarás
él/ella/Ud. reinará
nosotros/as reinaremos
vosotros/as reinaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. reinarán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For reinar, the yo form is reinaré, as in “El rey reinará en el país.” — “The king will reign in the country.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo reinaría
tú reinarías
él/ella/Ud. reinaría
nosotros/as reinaríamos
vosotros/as reinaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. reinarían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For reinar, the yo form is reinaría, as in “El rey reinaría en el país.” — “The king would reign in the country.”

Present Perfect

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

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For reinar, the yo form is he reinado, as in “El rey ha reinado en el país.” — “The king has reigned in the country.”

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For reinar, the yo form is había reinado, as in “El rey había reinado en el país.” — “The king had reigned in the country.”

Future Perfect

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

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For reinar, the yo form is habré reinado, as in “El rey habrá reinado en el país.” — “The king will have reigned in the country.”

Conditional Perfect

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

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For reinar, the yo form is habría reinado, as in “El rey habría reinado en el país.” — “The king would have reigned in the country.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo reine
tú reines
él/ella/Ud. reine
nosotros/as reinemos
vosotros/as reinéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. reinen

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For reinar, the yo form is reine, as in “Espero que el rey reine en el país.” — “I hope that the king reigns in the country.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo reinara
tú reinaras
él/ella/Ud. reinara
nosotros/as reináramos
vosotros/as reinarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. reinaran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For reinar, the yo form is reinara, as in “Si el rey reinara en el país, ...” — “If The king reigned in the country, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: reinara becomes reinase, 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 reina
Ud. reine
nosotros/as reinemos
vosotros/as reinad
Uds. reinen

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú reines
Ud. reine
nosotros/as reinemos
vosotros/as reinéis
Uds. reinen

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is reina, as in “¡Reina en el país” — “Reign in the country” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no reines. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with reinar.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with reinar, 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. “El rey reina en el país cada día.” — “The king reigns in the country.”
  2. “El rey reina en el país todos los días.” — “The king reigns in the country.”
  3. “El rey reinó en el país ayer.” — “The king reigned in the country.”
  4. “El rey reinó en el país ayer.” — “The king reigned in the country.”
  5. “El rey reinaba en el país cuando era joven.” — “The king used to reign in the country.”
  6. “El rey reinará en el país mañana.” — “The king will reign in the country.”
  7. “Si pudiera, el rey reinaría en el país.” — “If I could, the king would reign in the country.”
  8. “El rey ha reinado en el país hoy.” — “The king has reigned in the country.”
  9. “Espero que el rey reine en el país.” — “I hope that the king reigns in the country.”
  10. “El rey está reinando en el país ahora mismo.” — “The king is reigning in the country.”

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is reiné, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — reine — 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 reinar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For reinar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: reinamos. 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 reinado en el país. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy reinado is not the present perfect of reinar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing reinar with reirse

reinar and reirse 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 reinar — reign — the sentence needs reinar; if it needs the meaning of reirse, use that verb instead.

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo reine en el país. Using the indicative — Espero que yo reino — is one of the most frequent learner errors with reinar. 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 reinar in the present?

  • A. reinas
  • B. reina
  • C. reinamos
  • D. reino

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

  • A. reinamos
  • B. reinaste
  • C. reiné
  • D. reinó

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

  • A. reinabas
  • B. reinábamos
  • C. reinabais
  • D. reinaba

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

  • A. reinará
  • B. reinaremos
  • C. reinaré
  • D. reinarás

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

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

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

  • A. reine
  • B. reinen
  • C. reine
  • D. reines

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

  • A. reinaste
  • B. reinó
  • C. reinamos
  • D. reiné

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

  • A. reinábamos
  • B. reinabas
  • C. reinaba
  • D. reinaba

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

  • A. reinaré
  • B. reinarás
  • C. reinaremos
  • D. reinará

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

  • A. reinaría
  • B. reinaríamos
  • C. reinaría
  • D. reinarías

Answer key

  1. reino — The present table gives yo = reino.
  2. reinaste — The preterite table gives tu = reinaste.
  3. reinaba — The imperfect table gives el = reinaba.
  4. reinaremos — The future table gives nosotros = reinaremos.
  5. habéis reinado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis reinado.
  6. reinen — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = reinen.
  7. reiné — The preterite table gives yo = reiné.
  8. reinabas — The imperfect table gives tu = reinabas.
  9. reinará — The future table gives el = reinará.
  10. reinaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = reinaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

Is reinar regular or irregular?

reinar is a regular -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 reinar?

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

What is the gerund of reinar?

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

What is the yo form of reinar in the present?

The yo form is reino — “El rey reina en el país.” means “The king reigns in the country.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú reinas, él reina, nosotros reinamos, ellos reinan.

What is the difference between reinar and reirse?

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

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