Introduction

rendirse means “to give up, to surrender”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to give up, to surrender” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows rendirse in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo me rindo ante el enemigo por la mañana.” — “I give up to the enemy.”

rendirse in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how rendirse is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.

In the present: everyday use

These sentences use {verb} in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.

  1. “Yo me rindo ante el enemigo cada día.” — “I give up to the enemy.”
  2. “Tú te rindes ante el enemigo cada día.” — “you give up to the enemy.”
  3. “Él se rinde ante el enemigo siempre.” — “He gives up to the enemy.”
  4. “Nosotros nos rendimos ante el enemigo todos los días.” — “We give up to the enemy.”

Talking about the past

The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show {verb} in the past, so you can talk about what already happened. 5. “Yo me rendí ante el enemigo ayer.” — “I gave up to the enemy.” (preterite) 6. “Él se rindió ante el enemigo ayer.” — “He gave up to the enemy.” (preterite) 7. “Yo me rendía ante el enemigo cuando era joven.” — “I used to give up to the enemy.” (imperfect)

Plans and things already done

These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of {verb} stays the same. 8. “Nosotros nos rendiremos ante el enemigo mañana.” — “We will give up to the enemy.” (future) 9. “Tú te has rendido ante el enemigo hoy.” — “you have given up to the enemy.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo me rinda ante el enemigo.” — “I hope that I give up to the enemy.” (present-subjunctive)

More everyday uses

Two more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action. 11. “Vosotros os rendís ante el enemigo cada semana.” — “You give up to the enemy.” 12. “Ellos se rinden ante el enemigo normalmente.” — “They give up to the enemy.”

rendirse in context

Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how rendirse appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.

Dialogue in a café

Sofía: “¿Tú te rindes ante el enemigo?” — Do you give up to the enemy?

Diego: “Sí, yo me rindo ante el enemigo cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I give up to the enemy every day. It is part of my routine.

Sofía: “¿Y ayer? ¿También te rindes ante el enemigo?” — And yesterday? Did you give up to the enemy too?

Diego: “Sí, ayer yo me rendí ante el enemigo. Mañana nosotros rendiremos ante el enemigo otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I gave up to the enemy. Tomorrow we will give up to the enemy again.

A short paragraph

Él se rinde ante el enemigo cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how rendirse works in real Spanish: who does it, when, and with what. Around it you can build a whole paragraph: what happened yesterday, what is happening now, and what will happen tomorrow, all with the same verb. When you write your own paragraph, start with the present — yo rindo ante el enemigo — then add one past sentence and one future sentence, and you have practised three tenses with one verb. That is the fastest way to make rendirse yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

Common mistakes

Using the unchanged stem

Learners often write rendo for the yo form, keeping the infinitive stem unchanged. The correct form is rindo. Because rendirse changes its stem vowel, the change appears in the stressed syllables of the present: say the correct form out loud a few times — yo rindo ante el enemigo — until the changed stem feels natural.

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is rendí, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — rendi — 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 rendirse.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For rendirse, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: rendimos. 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.

Dropping the reflexive pronoun

Because rendirse is reflexive, it always needs its pronoun: yo me rindo ante el enemigo, not yo rindo ante el enemigo. Without me, the sentence either means something else or means nothing at all. The pronouns are me, te, se, nos, os, se — learn them with the verb, not as an afterthought.

Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses

Spanish perfect tenses always use haber, never ser: yo he rendido ante el enemigo. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy rendido is not the present perfect of rendirse — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the best answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the yo form of rendirse in the present?

  • A. rindes
  • B. rinde
  • C. rendimos
  • D. rindo

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

  • A. rendimos
  • B. rendiste
  • C. rendí
  • D. rindió

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

  • A. rendías
  • B. rendíamos
  • C. rendíais
  • D. rendía

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

  • A. rendirá
  • B. rendiremos
  • C. rendiré
  • D. rendirás

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

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

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

  • A. rinda
  • B. rindan
  • C. rinda
  • D. rindas

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

  • A. rendiste
  • B. rindió
  • C. rendimos
  • D. rendí

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

  • A. rendíamos
  • B. rendías
  • C. rendía
  • D. rendía

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

  • A. rendiré
  • B. rendirás
  • C. rendiremos
  • D. rendirá

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

  • A. rendiría
  • B. rendiríamos
  • C. rendiría
  • D. rendirías

Answer key

  1. rindo — The present table gives yo = rindo.
  2. rendiste — The preterite table gives tu = rendiste.
  3. rendía — The imperfect table gives el = rendía.
  4. rendiremos — The future table gives nosotros = rendiremos.
  5. habéis rendido — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis rendido.
  6. rindan — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = rindan.
  7. rendí — The preterite table gives yo = rendí.
  8. rendías — The imperfect table gives tu = rendías.
  9. rendirá — The future table gives el = rendirá.
  10. rendiríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = rendiríamos.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use rendirse in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo me rindo ante el enemigo.” — “I give up to the enemy.” Do not forget the reflexive pronoun: it goes before the verb. Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

What is the most useful form of rendirse to learn first?

Learn the present yo form rindo first, then the preterite yo form rendí and the participle rendido. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund rindiendo next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is rendirse reflexive?

Yes — rendirse is reflexive, so it always takes me, te, se, nos, os or se. You say yo me rindo, never just yo rindo. The pronoun goes before the conjugated verb, or attached to the infinitive and gerund.

Where can I see the full conjugation of rendirse?

On the main conjugation page for rendirse, which has every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, plus notes, examples and a quiz. The present-tense page covers one tense in depth if that is what you need right now.

Related links