Introduction
Learning to conjugate renacer — “to be reborn” — 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, renacer is one of the verbs that carries those sentences, especially when the topic is in spring. On this page you will find the full conjugation of renacer 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. renacer is a irregular -er verb; the gerund is renaciendo and the past participle is renacido, and both appear in the tables and examples below. For example: “La ciudad renace en primavera todos los días.” — “The city is reborn in spring.” Read the tables first, then the notes, and finish with the quiz to check what you have learned.
Quick facts
| Infinitive | renacer |
| English | to be reborn |
| Verb type | Irregular -er verb |
| Gerund | renaciendo |
| Past participle | renacido |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
Gerund: renaciendo · Past participle: renacido
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | renazco |
| tú | renaces |
| él/ella/Ud. | renace |
| nosotros/as | renacemos |
| vosotros/as | renacéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | renacen |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For renacer, the yo form is renazco, as in “La ciudad renace en primavera.” — “The city is reborn in spring.”
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | renací |
| tú | renaciste |
| él/ella/Ud. | renació |
| nosotros/as | renacimos |
| vosotros/as | renacisteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | renacieron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For renacer, the yo form is renací, as in “La ciudad renació en primavera.” — “The city was reborn in spring.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | renacía |
| tú | renacías |
| él/ella/Ud. | renacía |
| nosotros/as | renacíamos |
| vosotros/as | renacíais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | renacían |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For renacer, the yo form is renacía, as in “La ciudad renacía en primavera.” — “The city used to be reborn in spring.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | renaceré |
| tú | renacerás |
| él/ella/Ud. | renacerá |
| nosotros/as | renaceremos |
| vosotros/as | renaceréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | renacerán |
The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For renacer, the yo form is renaceré, as in “La ciudad renacerá en primavera.” — “The city will be reborn in spring.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | renacería |
| tú | renacerías |
| él/ella/Ud. | renacería |
| nosotros/as | renaceríamos |
| vosotros/as | renaceríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | renacerían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For renacer, the yo form is renacería, as in “La ciudad renacería en primavera.” — “The city would be reborn in spring.”
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he renacido |
| tú | has renacido |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha renacido |
| nosotros/as | hemos renacido |
| vosotros/as | habéis renacido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han renacido |
The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For renacer, the yo form is he renacido, as in “La ciudad ha renacido en primavera.” — “The city has been reborn in spring.”
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había renacido |
| tú | habías renacido |
| él/ella/Ud. | había renacido |
| nosotros/as | habíamos renacido |
| vosotros/as | habíais renacido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían renacido |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For renacer, the yo form is había renacido, as in “La ciudad había renacido en primavera.” — “The city had been reborn in spring.”
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré renacido |
| tú | habrás renacido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá renacido |
| nosotros/as | habremos renacido |
| vosotros/as | habréis renacido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán renacido |
The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For renacer, the yo form is habré renacido, as in “La ciudad habrá renacido en primavera.” — “The city will have been reborn in spring.”
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría renacido |
| tú | habrías renacido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría renacido |
| nosotros/as | habríamos renacido |
| vosotros/as | habríais renacido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían renacido |
The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For renacer, the yo form is habría renacido, as in “La ciudad habría renacido en primavera.” — “The city would have been reborn in spring.”
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | renazca |
| tú | renazcas |
| él/ella/Ud. | renazca |
| nosotros/as | renazcamos |
| vosotros/as | renacáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | renazcan |
The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For renacer, the yo form is renazca, as in “Espero que la ciudad renazca en primavera.” — “I hope that the city is reborn in spring.”
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | renaciera |
| tú | renacieras |
| él/ella/Ud. | renaciera |
| nosotros/as | renaciéramos |
| vosotros/as | renacierais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | renacieran |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For renacer, the yo form is renaciera, as in “Si la ciudad renaciera en primavera, ...” — “If The city was reborn in spring, ...”
The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: renaciera becomes renaciese, 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 | renace |
| Ud. | renazca |
| nosotros/as | renazcamos |
| vosotros/as | renaced |
| Uds. | renazcan |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | renazcas |
| Ud. | renazca |
| nosotros/as | renazcamos |
| vosotros/as | renacáis |
| Uds. | renazcan |
The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is renace, as in “¡Renace en primavera” — “Be reborn in spring” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no renazcas. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with renacer.
Example sentences
Here are ten sentences with renacer, 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.
- “La ciudad renace en primavera cada día.” — “The city is reborn in spring.”
- “La ciudad renace en primavera todos los días.” — “The city is reborn in spring.”
- “La ciudad renació en primavera ayer.” — “The city was reborn in spring.”
- “La ciudad renació en primavera ayer.” — “The city was reborn in spring.”
- “La ciudad renacía en primavera cuando era joven.” — “The city used to be reborn in spring.”
- “La ciudad renacerá en primavera mañana.” — “The city will be reborn in spring.”
- “Si pudiera, la ciudad renacería en primavera.” — “If I could, the city would be reborn in spring.”
- “La ciudad ha renacido en primavera hoy.” — “The city has been reborn in spring.”
- “Espero que la ciudad renazca en primavera.” — “I hope that the city is reborn in spring.”
- “La ciudad está renaciendo en primavera ahora mismo.” — “The city is being reborn in spring.”
Common mistakes
Using the unchanged stem
Learners often write renaco for the yo form, keeping the infinitive stem unchanged. The correct form is renazco. Because renacer changes its stem vowel, the change appears in the stressed syllables of the present: say the correct form out loud a few times — yo renazco en primavera — until the changed stem feels natural.
Forgetting the accent in the preterite
The yo preterite form is renací, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — renaci — 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 renacer.
Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses
Spanish perfect tenses always use haber, never ser: yo he renacido en primavera. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy renacido is not the present perfect of renacer — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.
Confusing renacer with rendirse
renacer and rendirse 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 renacer — be reborn — the sentence needs renacer; if it needs the meaning of rendirse, use that verb instead.
Using the indicative after "espero que"
After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo renazca en primavera. Using the indicative — Espero que yo renazco — is one of the most frequent learner errors with renacer. 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 renacer in the present?
- A. renaces
- B. renace
- C. renacemos
- D. renazco
2. What is the tu form of renacer in the preterite?
- A. renacimos
- B. renaciste
- C. renací
- D. renació
3. What is the el form of renacer in the imperfect?
- A. renacías
- B. renacíamos
- C. renacíais
- D. renacía
4. What is the nosotros form of renacer in the future?
- A. renacerá
- B. renaceremos
- C. renaceré
- D. renacerás
5. What is the vosotros form of renacer in the present perfect?
- A. he renacido
- B. has renacido
- C. ha renacido
- D. habéis renacido
6. What is the ellos form of renacer in the present subjunctive?
- A. renazca
- B. renazcan
- C. renazca
- D. renazcas
7. What is the yo form of renacer in the preterite?
- A. renaciste
- B. renació
- C. renacimos
- D. renací
8. What is the tu form of renacer in the imperfect?
- A. renacíamos
- B. renacías
- C. renacía
- D. renacía
9. What is the el form of renacer in the future?
- A. renaceré
- B. renacerás
- C. renaceremos
- D. renacerá
10. What is the nosotros form of renacer in the conditional?
- A. renacería
- B. renaceríamos
- C. renacería
- D. renacerías
Answer key
- renazco — The present table gives yo = renazco.
- renaciste — The preterite table gives tu = renaciste.
- renacía — The imperfect table gives el = renacía.
- renaceremos — The future table gives nosotros = renaceremos.
- habéis renacido — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis renacido.
- renazcan — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = renazcan.
- renací — The preterite table gives yo = renací.
- renacías — The imperfect table gives tu = renacías.
- renacerá — The future table gives el = renacerá.
- renaceríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = renaceríamos.
Frequently asked questions
Is renacer regular or irregular?
renacer is a irregular -er 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 renacer?
The past participle of renacer is renacido. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he renacido, había renacido, habré renacido — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund renaciendo and you have the two non-finite forms covered.
What is the gerund of renacer?
The gerund of renacer is renaciendo. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy renaciendo, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle renacido, which belongs with haber, not with estar.
What is the yo form of renacer in the present?
The yo form is renazco — “La ciudad renace en primavera.” means “The city is reborn in spring.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú renaces, él renace, nosotros renacemos, ellos renacen.
What is the difference between renacer and rendirse?
renacer means “to be reborn”, while rendirse means “to give up, to surrender”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to be reborn”, use renacer; if it is about the meaning of rendirse, use rendirse instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.
Related links
- renacer in the present tense — the full present-tense page for this verb.
- renacer examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a second quiz.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub with every verb on VerbFlow.
- Spanish irregular verbs — the full list of irregular verbs, grouped by pattern.
- rendirse conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- renunciar conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- repartir conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- Verb conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb instantly.
- Verb quiz — practise conjugations with timed questions.