Reír Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

Introduction

reír means "to laugh" in English, and it is a verb you will use constantly once you start speaking Spanish for real. This page shows reír in everyday sentences, grouped by meaning, then puts it into two short conversations, lists the mistakes learners actually make, and finishes with a ten-question quiz and answers to the most common questions. Every sentence below uses a real form of reír, so you can copy the patterns and change the person, the tense and the complement to make your own versions. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then try the quiz without looking back.

Example sentences with reír

Laughing at something funny

Reír means to laugh: río con el chiste. It is the verb for the sound and the feeling of laughter, and it takes con or de before the cause.

  1. Cada día, yo río con el chiste de mi amigo. — "Every day, I laugh at my friend's joke."
  2. Hoy, él / ella ríe a carcajadas en el cine. — "Today, he / she laughs out loud in the cinema."
  3. Ayer, yo reí de la situación absurda. — "Yesterday, I laughed at the absurd situation."
  4. Antes, yo reía mucho en la fiesta. — "Before, I used to laugh a lot at the party."
  5. Mañana, yo reiré con el chiste de mi amigo. — "Tomorrow, I will laugh at my friend's joke."
  6. Hoy, yo he reído a carcajadas en el cine. — "Today, I have laughed out loud in the cinema."

Laughing out loud

Reír a carcajadas means to laugh out loud. It is the strongest form of laughter, and it appears in stories about films, parties and jokes.

  1. Cada día, yo río de la situación absurda. — "Every day, I laugh at the absurd situation."
  2. Hoy, él / ella ríe mucho en la fiesta. — "Today, he / she laughs a lot at the party."
  3. Ayer, yo reí con el chiste de mi amigo. — "Yesterday, I laughed at my friend's joke."
  4. Antes, yo reía a carcajadas en el cine. — "Before, I used to laugh out loud in the cinema."
  5. Mañana, yo reiré de la situación absurda. — "Tomorrow, I will laugh at the absurd situation."
  6. Hoy, yo he reído mucho en la fiesta. — "Today, I have laughed a lot at the party."

Reír in conversation

The two dialogues below show reír in natural conversation. The first is about laughing at something funny, and the second is about laughing out loud. Read both parts aloud, then try to continue each dialogue with a sentence of your own.

Dialogue 1

  • ¿Tú ríes con el chiste de mi amigo? — "Do you laugh at my friend's joke?"
  • Sí, yo río con el chiste de mi amigo cada día. — "Yes, I laugh at my friend's joke every day."
  • ¿Y ayer? ¿Tú reíste a carcajadas en el cine? — "And yesterday? Did you laugh out loud in the cinema?"
  • Sí, ayer yo reí a carcajadas en el cine. — "Yes, yesterday I laughed out loud in the cinema."
  • Mañana yo reiré de la situación absurda también. — "Tomorrow I will laugh at the absurd situation too."

Dialogue 2

  • ¿Vosotros reís de la situación absurda? — "Do you laugh at the absurd situation?"
  • Sí, nosotros reímos de la situación absurda los fines de semana. — "Yes, we laugh at the absurd situation at the weekends."
  • ¿Y ellos? ¿Ellos ríen mucho en la fiesta? — "And them? Do they laugh a lot at the party?"
  • Sí, ellos ríen mucho en la fiesta también. — "Yes, they laugh a lot at the party too."
  • Mañana nosotros reiremos de la situación absurda otra vez. — "Tomorrow we will laugh at the absurd situation again."

Common mistakes with reír in everyday use

Mistake 1

  • Wrong: Ayer yo reíste con el chiste.
  • Right: Ayer yo reí con el chiste.
  • Why: The yo form of the preterite is reí. Reíste is the tú form: tú reíste con el chiste.

Mistake 2

  • Wrong: Yo río del chiste, pero no me río.
  • Right: Yo río con el chiste.
  • Why: The second clause contradicts the first. Reír means you laugh, so do not add that you do not laugh.

Mistake 3

  • Wrong: Reír es lo mismo que sonreír.
  • Right: Reír means to laugh; sonreír means to smile.
  • Why: Reír is loud and audible. Sonreír is quiet and visible. You reír at a joke; you sonreír at a friend.

Mistake 4

  • Wrong: Cada día, yo reí con el chiste de mi amigo.
  • Right: Cada día, yo río con el chiste de mi amigo.
  • Why: Cada día means every day, so the action is a habit and needs the present tense. The preterite is for one finished action, not for routines.

Mistake 5

  • Wrong: Yo río con el chiste de mi amigo ayer por la mañana.
  • Right: Ayer por la mañana yo reí con el chiste de mi amigo.
  • Why: Ayer por la mañana means yesterday morning, so the action is finished and needs the preterite, not the present.

Quiz: reír in use

Ten questions on reír across the tenses. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.

1. What is the i form of reír in the present tense?

  • (a) ríe
  • (b) reímos
  • (c) río
  • (d) ríes

Answer: (c) río. The i form in the present is río.

2. What is the he / she form of reír in the present tense?

  • (a) reímos
  • (b) ríe
  • (c) río
  • (d) ríes

Answer: (b) ríe. The he / she form in the present is ríe.

3. What is the he / she form of reír in the preterite tense?

  • (a) rió
  • (b) reí
  • (c) reíste
  • (d) reímos

Answer: (a) rió. The he / she form in the preterite is rió.

4. What is the i form of reír in the imperfect tense?

  • (a) río
  • (b) reí
  • (c) reiré
  • (d) reía

Answer: (d) reía. The i form in the imperfect is reía. The other options are the same person in the present, preterite and future.

5. What is the i form of reír in the future tense?

  • (a) reirá
  • (b) reiremos
  • (c) reiré
  • (d) reirás

Answer: (c) reiré. The i form in the future is reiré.

6. Which is the correct present perfect form for i?

  • (a) reí
  • (b) reía
  • (c) río
  • (d) he reído

Answer: (d) he reído. The present perfect is haber + the past participle: he reído.

7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ con el chiste de mi amigo.

  • (a) reía
  • (b) ría
  • (c) ríe
  • (d) rió

Answer: (b) ría. After espero que, Spanish needs the present subjunctive: ría. The indicative form would be wrong here.

8. What is the we form of reír in the present tense?

  • (a) río
  • (b) ríes
  • (c) ríe
  • (d) reímos

Answer: (d) reímos. The we form in the present is reímos.

9. What is the i form of reír in the preterite tense?

  • (a) rió
  • (b) reímos
  • (c) reí
  • (d) reíste

Answer: (c) reí. The i form in the preterite is reí.

10. What is the they form of reír in the present tense?

  • (a) ríe
  • (b) ríen
  • (c) río
  • (d) ríes

Answer: (b) ríen. The they form in the present is ríen.

Frequently asked questions about reír

Is the preterite of reír regular?

No. The third person forms change the vowel: él rió, ellos rieron, and the gerund is riendo. The yo form is reí, with an accent on the í.

What is the gerund of reír?

Riendo. The progressive is estar + gerund: estoy riendo. The past participle is reído: he reído mucho.

What is the difference between reír and sonreír?

Reír is to laugh out loud. Sonreír is to smile quietly. A joke makes you reír; a kind word makes you sonreír.

How can I practise reír?

Start with the examples above: say each sentence aloud, then change the person and the complement. Then take the quiz, and finish with the Verb Quiz and the Conjugation Practice tools, which test the same forms in a different order. A few minutes a day with one verb is worth more than an hour once a week.

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