Reír Conjugation in Spanish
reír means "to laugh" in English, and it is one of the Spanish verbs you will use again and again in everyday conversation. It is used for talking about laughing — at jokes, with friends, and in all the moments that make life lighter, which makes it a practical verb to learn early and to use confidently. This page gives you the complete conjugation of reír in every tense and mood — present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, the four perfect tenses, both subjunctive tenses and the imperative — with all six persons, plus the gerund and the past participle. Every form below comes from VerbFlow's verified conjugation tables, so you can trust the accents and the irregular forms. Reír is a stem-changing (e → i) -ir verb verb, and the notes under each tense explain exactly where it follows the rules and where it breaks them. To hear it in a real sentence: Yo río mucho con mis amigos. — "I laugh a lot with my friends.". Work through the tables, read the notes, then test yourself with the quiz at the end of the page.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: reír
- English: to laugh
- Verb type: Stem-changing (e → i) -ir verb
- Gerund: riendo
- Past participle: reído
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all compound tenses use haber + reído)
- Stem change: e → i in the present, the present subjunctive and related forms (see the notes below).
Full conjugation table
Every tense of reír with all six persons. The gerund is riendo and the past participle is reído.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | río |
| tú | ríes |
| él/ella/Ud. | ríe |
| nosotros/as | reímos |
| vosotros/as | reís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ríen |
Preterite (past)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | reí |
| tú | reíste |
| él/ella/Ud. | rió |
| nosotros/as | reímos |
| vosotros/as | reísteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | rieron |
Imperfect (past)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | reía |
| tú | reías |
| él/ella/Ud. | reía |
| nosotros/as | reíamos |
| vosotros/as | reíais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | reían |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | reiré |
| tú | reirás |
| él/ella/Ud. | reirá |
| nosotros/as | reiremos |
| vosotros/as | reiréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | reirán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | reiría |
| tú | reirías |
| él/ella/Ud. | reiría |
| nosotros/as | reiríamos |
| vosotros/as | reiríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | reirían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he reído |
| tú | has reído |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha reído |
| nosotros/as | hemos reído |
| vosotros/as | habéis reído |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han reído |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había reído |
| tú | habías reído |
| él/ella/Ud. | había reído |
| nosotros/as | habíamos reído |
| vosotros/as | habíais reído |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían reído |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré reído |
| tú | habrás reído |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá reído |
| nosotros/as | habremos reído |
| vosotros/as | habréis reído |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán reído |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría reído |
| tú | habrías reído |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría reído |
| nosotros/as | habríamos reído |
| vosotros/as | habríais reído |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían reído |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ría |
| tú | rías |
| él/ella/Ud. | ría |
| nosotros/as | riamos |
| vosotros/as | riáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | rían |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | riera |
| tú | rieras |
| él/ella/Ud. | riera |
| nosotros/as | riéramos |
| vosotros/as | rierais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | rieran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | ríe |
| él/ella/Ud. | ría |
| nosotros/as | riamos |
| vosotros/as | reíd |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | rían |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | rías |
| él/ella/Ud. | ría |
| nosotros/as | riamos |
| vosotros/as | riáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | rían |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Gerund | riendo |
| Past participle | reído |
How to use each tense
Each tense below explains when to use it with reír, with one example sentence. The example forms are taken from the tables above.
Present indicative
The present tense talks about what happens now, habits, routines and general truths. It is the first tense every learner needs, because it covers daily life: what you do, what you like, where you live. For most verbs the present is also the base for the present subjunctive, so learning it well pays off twice.
reír is irregular in this tense, so memorise the forms in the table above instead of applying the regular endings.
Example: Yo río mucho.
Preterite (past)
The preterite talks about finished actions in the past — things that started and ended at a specific moment. Use it for events, for what happened yesterday, last year, or at a particular time. It answers the question "what happened?" and it is the tense of stories told as a sequence of events.
reír is irregular in this tense, so memorise the forms in the table above instead of applying the regular endings.
Example: Ayer yo reí mucho.
Imperfect (past)
The imperfect talks about the past as background: habits, repeated actions, descriptions, and things that were in progress when something else happened. Use it for "used to", for setting a scene, and for age, time and weather in the past. It answers "what was going on?" rather than "what happened?".
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: En aquella época, yo reía mucho.
Future
The future tense talks about what will happen: plans, predictions and promises. In everyday speech Spanish speakers often use "ir a + infinitive" instead, but the future tense is essential for formal writing, for promises, and for guessing about the present ("¿Dónde estará?").
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: Mañana yo reiré mucho.
Conditional
The conditional talks about what would happen: hypothetical situations, polite requests, and advice. It pairs with the imperfect subjunctive in "if" sentences ("Si pudiera, lo haría"). It is also the polite way to ask for things and to soften opinions.
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: Yo reiría mucho si pudiera.
Present perfect
The present perfect (haber + past participle) talks about the recent past and about experience: what you have done, what has just happened, what you have never tried. It connects the past to the present moment, so it often appears with "hoy", "esta semana", "ya" and "todavía no".
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: Yo ya he reído mucho.
Pluperfect
The pluperfect (había + past participle) talks about the past before the past: what had already happened when something else happened. Use it to order two past events — the pluperfect one comes first in time. It appears constantly in stories and explanations.
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: Yo ya había reído mucho antes.
Future perfect
The future perfect (habré + past participle) talks about something that will already be finished by a future moment: "Para mañana ya habré terminado". It is also used to guess about the past: "¿Dónde habrá ido?". It is less common in speech but regular in writing.
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: Para mañana yo ya habré reído mucho.
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect (habría + past participle) talks about what would have happened: the past of the conditional. It appears in "if" sentences about a past that did not happen ("Si hubiera sabido, habría venido") and in polite regrets and reproaches.
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: Yo habría reído mucho si hubiera podido.
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is the mood of wishes, doubts, emotions and influence: what you want, hope, doubt or demand. It appears after "quiero que", "espero que", "es posible que", "ojalá" and after verbs of emotion and doubt. It never stands alone — a trigger in the main clause calls for it.
reír is irregular in this tense, so memorise the forms in the table above instead of applying the regular endings.
Example: Espero que él ría mucho.
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
The imperfect subjunctive is the past of the subjunctive: it follows past-tense triggers ("Quería que vinieras") and it is the tense of "if" clauses about unlikely or impossible situations ("Si tuviera dinero, viajaría"). The -ra forms shown here are the standard ones; -se forms exist too but -ra is far more common in speech.
reír is irregular in this tense, so memorise the forms in the table above instead of applying the regular endings.
Example: Si él riera mucho, sería perfecto.
Imperative (affirmative)
Affirmative commands tell someone to do something: "¡Ven aquí!", "¡Siéntate!". The tú and vosotros forms are the ones you will use most, and they are also the ones that break the regular pattern most often — the tú affirmative command comes from the él/ella present form, not from the infinitive.
reír is irregular in this tense, so memorise the forms in the table above instead of applying the regular endings.
Example: ¡Ríe mucho!
Imperative (negative)
Negative commands tell someone not to do something: "¡No hables!", "¡No te vayas!". Unlike affirmative commands, negative commands always use the subjunctive forms, for every person. If you know the present subjunctive, you already know the negative imperative.
reír is irregular in this tense, so memorise the forms in the table above instead of applying the regular endings.
Example: No rías mucho.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with reír, covering different tenses and persons. Read the Spanish first, then check the English.
- Yo río mucho con mis amigos. — "I laugh a lot with my friends."
- ¿Tú ríes mucho en las fiestas? — "Do you laugh a lot at parties?"
- Ayer reí mucho con el chiste. — "Yesterday I laughed a lot at the joke."
- Ella reía mucho cuando era niña. — "She used to laugh a lot when she was a child."
- Mañana reiré mucho en el teatro. — "Tomorrow I will laugh a lot at the theatre."
- Yo reiría mucho si vinieras. — "I would laugh a lot if you came."
- Ya he reído mucho hoy. — "I have already laughed a lot today."
- Espero que ría mucho esta noche. — "I hope he laughs a lot tonight."
Common mistakes
The errors learners actually make with reír — and how to fix them.
- Wrong: *Yo río mucho — learners often write rio without the accent. → Right: Yo río mucho.. The present yo form is río, with an accent on the i. The same accent appears in ríes, ríe and ríen. Without it, rio is the preterite of reír in some regions and a different word entirely.
- Wrong: *Ellos ríen mucho — learners sometimes write reien without the accent or the stem change. → Right: Ellos ríen mucho.. Reír is stem-changing (e → i): río, ríes, ríe, ríen. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the e: reímos, reís.
- Wrong: *Él rió mucho — learners often write rio without the accent. → Right: Él rió mucho.. The preterite third person is rió, with an accent. The preterite also changes the stem: reí, reíste, rió, reímos, reísteis, rieron.
- Wrong: *El gerundio es reiendo — the gerund changes too. → Right: Está riendo mucho.. The gerund is riendo, with the e-to-i change: riendo, not reiendo. The same change appears in the preterite third person.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on reír. Answers are at the end, with a short explanation for each.
What is the yo form of reír in the present indicative?
- a) río
- b) ríe
- c) ríes
- d) reímos
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of reír in the preterite (past)?
- a) reíste
- b) rió
- c) reímos
- d) reí
What is the nosotros/as form of reír in the imperfect (past)?
- a) reías
- b) reíamos
- c) reía
- d) reía
What is the tú form of reír in the future?
- a) reirás
- b) reiremos
- c) reiré
- d) reirá
What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of reír in the conditional?
- a) reirían
- b) reirías
- c) reiría
- d) reiría
What is the yo form of reír in the present subjunctive?
- a) riamos
- b) ría
- c) rías
- d) ría
What is the gerund of reír?
- a) riendo
- b) ríe
- c) reído
- d) reír
What is the past participle of reír?
- a) riendo
- b) río
- c) he reído
- d) reído
What does reír mean in English?
- a) to improve, to get better
- b) to get sick
- c) to laugh
- d) to promise
The form reí belongs to which tense?
- a) Future
- b) Preterite
- c) Imperfect
- d) Present
Answer key
- río — The yo form in the present indicative is río — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- rió — The él/ella/Ud. form in the preterite (past) is rió — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- reíamos — The nosotros/as form in the imperfect (past) is reíamos — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- reirás — The tú form in the future is reirás — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- reirían — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form in the conditional is reirían — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- ría — The yo form in the present subjunctive is ría — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- riendo — The gerund is riendo — it is the form used with estar for the progressive (estoy riendo). The past participle is reído.
- reído — The past participle is reído — it is the form used after haber in the perfect tenses (he reído).
- to laugh — reír means "to laugh".
- Preterite — reí is the yo form of the preterite of reír — a finished past action. The imperfect yo form is reía.
Frequently asked questions
Is reír regular?
No. Reír is a stem-changing verb (e → i): río, ríes, ríe, reímos, reís, ríen. It also changes in the preterite third person (rió, rieron), the gerund (riendo) and the subjunctive (ría, rías). The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the regular stem.
Why does reír have accents in the present tense?
Because the i carries the stress next to the vowel o in the infinitive stem: rí-o, rí-es, rí-e. Spanish writes the accent to show that the i is a separate syllable with the stress. The same rule gives us reímos and reí in the preterite.
What is the past participle of reír?
Reído — spelled with an accent on the i: he reído, has reído, ha reído. It is used in the perfect tenses, for example: Nunca he reído tanto.
What is the difference between reír and reírse?
Reír means to laugh; reírse (de algo o alguien) means to laugh at something or someone: Se ríe de mí means "He laughs at me". The reflexive form adds the target of the laughter, often mockingly.
Related pages
- Reír in the preterite tense — the preterite tense of reír in depth, with its own examples and quiz.
- Reír examples and quiz — more everyday sentences with reír and a second quiz.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub: every verb, every tense guide and every tool in one place.
- Complete list of Spanish irregular verbs — where reír sits among the irregular verbs, grouped by pattern.
- Sonreír conjugation — another verb in the same family as reír.
- Llorar conjugation — another verb in the same family as reír.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise reír with this tool.
- Stem Change Finder — practise reír with this tool.
- Present tense guide — how the present tense works for regular and irregular verbs.