Reiniciar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of reiniciar — “to restart” 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 reiniciar 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. Reiniciar means to restart, and it is the verb for turning a computer, a phone or a machine off and on again to fix a problem. It is used constantly in technology and office life, usually with the device as its object, and it is fully regular, so the forms are predictable. To see it in a real sentence: Reinicio el ordenador cuando se bloquea. — “I restart the computer when it freezes.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of reiniciar will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: reiniciar
Every person of reiniciar in the present tense. The gerund is reiniciando and the past participle is reiniciado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | reinicio |
| tú | reinicias |
| él/ella/Ud. | reinicia |
| nosotros/as | reiniciamos |
| vosotros/as | reiniciáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | reinician |
How the present indicative of reiniciar is formed
The present indicative of reiniciar is built from the stem plus the present indicative endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar 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 | reinicio |
| tú | -as | reinicias |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | reinicia |
| nosotros/as | -amos | reiniciamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | reiniciáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | reinician |
Reiniciar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the table above is completely regular. The stem is reinici- and the endings are the normal -ar endings, so once you know the pattern you can produce every form on this page.
The gerund of reiniciar is reiniciando and the past participle is reiniciado. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.
When to use the present tense of reiniciar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and reiniciar 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.
Routines and habits
Use the present for things you do regularly, every day or every week. The present is the tense of routine, and reiniciar fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo reinicio el ordenador cuando se bloquea todos los días.” — “I restart the computer when it freezes every day.”
General facts
Use the present for facts that are true in general, not just today. When you state how something is, the present is the tense to use.
“Él reinicia el móvil después de la actualización.” — “He/she restarts the phone after the update.”
What is happening right now
Use the present for what is happening at this moment. Spanish often uses the simple present where English uses the progressive, so reinicio can mean both “I restart” and “I am restarting”.
“Ahora mismo, yo reinicio el sistema antes de la reunión.” — “Right now, I restart the system before the meeting.”
Fixed plans in the near future
Use the present for a plan that is already fixed, such as something arranged for tomorrow. Spanish uses the present for near-future plans much more freely than English does.
“Mañana, yo reinicio el programa que no responde.” — “Tomorrow, I will restart the program that is not responding.”
Questions and negatives
Use the present to ask about habits and to say what does not happen. The question and the negative use exactly the same forms as the statement.
“¿Tú reinicias el ordenador cuando se bloquea?” — “Do you restart the computer when it freezes?”
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: Reinicia el móvil después de la actualización. — “He/she restarts the phone after the update.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Reinició el móvil después de la actualización. — the same idea, placed in the preterite.
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: Reinician el sistema antes de la reunión. — “They restart the system before the meeting.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Reiniciaban el sistema antes de la reunión. — the same idea, placed in the imperfect.
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: Reinicias el programa que no responde. — “You restart the program that is not responding.”
- Future — what will happen: Reiniciarás el programa que no responde. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: reiniciar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show reiniciar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo reinicio el ordenador cuando se bloquea. — “I restart the computer when it freezes.”
- Tú reinicias el móvil después de la actualización. — “You restart the phone after the update.”
- Él reinicia el sistema antes de la reunión. — “He restarts the system before the meeting.”
- Nosotros reiniciamos el programa que no responde. — “We restart the program that is not responding.”
- Vosotros reiniciáis el ordenador cuando se bloquea. — “You (plural) restart the computer when it freezes.”
- Ellos reinician el móvil después de la actualización. — “They restart the phone after the update.”
- ¿Tú reinicias el sistema antes de la reunión? — “Do you restart the system before the meeting?”
Common mistakes with reiniciar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with reiniciar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo reiniciar el ordenador cuando se bloquea. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo reinicio el ordenador cuando se bloquea.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of reiniciar is reinicio, not the infinitive reiniciar.
✗ Vosotros reiniciais el ordenador cuando se bloquea. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros reiniciáis el ordenador cuando se bloquea.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: reiniciáis, not reiniciais. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo reinicio el móvil después de la actualización. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo reinicié el móvil después de la actualización.
The present and the preterite are different tenses: reinicio is happening now, while reinicié is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
✗ Treating reiniciar and apagar as identical in every context. (confusing reiniciar with apagar).
✓ Correct: Reiniciar means to restart, while apagar means to turn off.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: reiniciar fits sentences such as Reinicio el ordenador cuando se bloquea, while apagar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: reiniciar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of reiniciar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
1. Which is the correct present tense form of reiniciar for tú?
- a) reinicias
- b) reinicio
- c) reinicia
- d) reinician
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el ordenador cuando se bloquea. — “I restart the computer when it freezes.”
- a) reinicia
- b) reiniciamos
- c) reinicias
- d) reinicio
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ el móvil después de la actualización. — “He/she restarts the phone after the update.” (present tense)
- a) reiniciaba
- b) reiniciará
- c) reinicia
- d) reinició
4. Which is the correct present tense form of reiniciar for nosotros?
- a) reinician
- b) reiniciamos
- c) reinicio
- d) reinicia
5. Which sentence uses reiniciar correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él reinició el móvil después de la actualización.
- b) Él reinicia el móvil después de la actualización.
- c) Él reiniciará el móvil después de la actualización.
- d) Ellos reinicia el móvil después de la actualización.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ el sistema antes de la reunión. — “They restart the system before the meeting.”
- a) reinicio
- b) reinicia
- c) reiniciamos
- d) reinician
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ el programa que no responde? — “Do you restart the program that is not responding?”
- a) reinicia
- b) reiniciarás
- c) reinicias
- d) reinicio
8. What is the gerund of reiniciar?
- a) reinicié
- b) reiniciando
- c) reiniciado
- d) reinicio
Answer key
a) reinicias — The tú form is reinicias. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; reinicio is yo, reinicia is él/ella and reinician is ellos/ellas.
d) reinicio — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: reinicio. The other options are the wrong person.
c) reinicia — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: reinicia. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) reiniciamos — Nosotros takes reiniciamos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem.
b) Él reinicia el móvil después de la actualización. — Él reinicia el móvil después de la actualización. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) reinician — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is reinician.
c) reinicias — The question needs the tú form in the present: reinicias.
b) reiniciando — The gerund is reiniciando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle reiniciado.
Frequently asked questions
Is reiniciar regular in the present tense?
Yes. Reiniciar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: reinicio, reinicias, reinicia, reiniciamos, reiniciáis and reinician.
What is the gerund and the past participle of reiniciar?
The gerund is reiniciando and the past participle is reiniciado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I restart” in Spanish?
Say reinicio. For example: Reinicio el ordenador cuando se bloquea. — “I restart the computer when it freezes.”
What is the difference between reiniciar and apagar?
Reiniciar means “to restart”, while apagar means “to turn off”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use reiniciar when you mean “to restart” and apagar when you mean “to turn off”. The full conjugation of reiniciar is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of reiniciar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- reiniciar 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.
- Escanear conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with reiniciar.
- Pausar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with reiniciar.
- Legislar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with reiniciar.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.