Introduction

rendirse means “to give up, to surrender”. It belongs to the group of Spanish verbs that express “to give up, to surrender”, and once you can conjugate it you can say a surprising amount with a single verb. This page is the complete reference for rendirse: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, with notes on usage, real example sentences, common mistakes, a quiz and frequently asked questions. rendirse is a reflexive -ir verb. If it is irregular in a tense, the note under that table says so plainly, and the forms in the table are the correct ones — copy them, do not guess them from the infinitive. A first example to fix the verb in your mind: “Yo me rindo ante el enemigo todos los días.” — “I give up to the enemy.”

Quick facts
Infinitive rendirse
English to give up, to surrender
Verb type Reflexive -ir verb
Gerund rindiendo
Past participle rendido
Auxiliary verb haber
  • Reflexive: yes — always use it with the reflexive pronouns me, te, se, nos, os, se.

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: rindiendo · Past participle: rendido

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo rindo
tú rindes
él/ella/Ud. rinde
nosotros/as rendimos
vosotros/as rendís
ellos/ellas/Uds. rinden

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For rendirse, the yo form is rindo, as in “Yo me rindo ante el enemigo.” — “I give up to the enemy.” This is one of the tenses where rendirse does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.

Preterite

Person Form
yo rendí
tú rendiste
él/ella/Ud. rindió
nosotros/as rendimos
vosotros/as rendisteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. rindieron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For rendirse, the yo form is rendí, as in “Yo me rendí ante el enemigo.” — “I gave up to the enemy.” This is one of the tenses where rendirse does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.

Imperfect

Person Form
yo rendía
tú rendías
él/ella/Ud. rendía
nosotros/as rendíamos
vosotros/as rendíais
ellos/ellas/Uds. rendían

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For rendirse, the yo form is rendía, as in “Yo me rendía ante el enemigo.” — “I used to give up to the enemy.”

Future

Person Form
yo rendiré
tú rendirás
él/ella/Ud. rendirá
nosotros/as rendiremos
vosotros/as rendiréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. rendirán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For rendirse, the yo form is rendiré, as in “Yo me rendiré ante el enemigo.” — “I will give up to the enemy.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo rendiría
tú rendirías
él/ella/Ud. rendiría
nosotros/as rendiríamos
vosotros/as rendiríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. rendirían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For rendirse, the yo form is rendiría, as in “Yo me rendiría ante el enemigo.” — “I would give up to the enemy.”

Present Perfect

Person Form
yo he rendido
tú has rendido
él/ella/Ud. ha rendido
nosotros/as hemos rendido
vosotros/as habéis rendido
ellos/ellas/Uds. han rendido

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For rendirse, the yo form is he rendido, as in “Yo me he rendido ante el enemigo.” — “I have given up to the enemy.”

Pluperfect

Person Form
yo había rendido
tú habías rendido
él/ella/Ud. había rendido
nosotros/as habíamos rendido
vosotros/as habíais rendido
ellos/ellas/Uds. habían rendido

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For rendirse, the yo form is había rendido, as in “Yo me había rendido ante el enemigo.” — “I had given up to the enemy.”

Future Perfect

Person Form
yo habré rendido
tú habrás rendido
él/ella/Ud. habrá rendido
nosotros/as habremos rendido
vosotros/as habréis rendido
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán rendido

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For rendirse, the yo form is habré rendido, as in “Yo me habré rendido ante el enemigo.” — “I will have given up to the enemy.”

Conditional Perfect

Person Form
yo habría rendido
tú habrías rendido
él/ella/Ud. habría rendido
nosotros/as habríamos rendido
vosotros/as habríais rendido
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrían rendido

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For rendirse, the yo form is habría rendido, as in “Yo me habría rendido ante el enemigo.” — “I would have given up to the enemy.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo rinda
tú rindas
él/ella/Ud. rinda
nosotros/as rindamos
vosotros/as rindáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. rindan

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For rendirse, the yo form is rinda, as in “Espero que yo me rinda ante el enemigo.” — “I hope that I give up to the enemy.” This is one of the tenses where rendirse does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo rindiera
tú rindieras
él/ella/Ud. rindiera
nosotros/as rindiéramos
vosotros/as rindierais
ellos/ellas/Uds. rindieran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For rendirse, the yo form is rindiera, as in “Si yo me rindiera ante el enemigo, ...” — “If I gave up to the enemy, ...” Watch out: the past participle of rendirse is irregular — rendido, not the regular form — and that irregular participle appears in every perfect tense.

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: rindiera becomes rindiese, 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 rinde
Ud. rinda
nosotros/as rindamos
vosotros/as rendid
Uds. rindan

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú rindas
Ud. rinda
nosotros/as rindamos
vosotros/as rindáis
Uds. rindan

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is rinde, as in “No te rindas ante el enemigo” — “Do not give up to the enemy” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no rindas. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with rendirse. This is one of the tenses where rendirse does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with rendirse, 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.

  1. “Yo me rindo ante el enemigo cada día.” — “I give up to the enemy.”
  2. “Él se rinde ante el enemigo todos los días.” — “He gives up to the enemy.”
  3. “Yo me rendí ante el enemigo ayer.” — “I gave up to the enemy.”
  4. “Él se rindió ante el enemigo ayer.” — “He gave up to the enemy.”
  5. “Yo me rendía ante el enemigo cuando era joven.” — “I used to give up to the enemy.”
  6. “Nosotros nos rendiremos ante el enemigo mañana.” — “We will give up to the enemy.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo me rendiría ante el enemigo.” — “If I could, i would give up to the enemy.”
  8. “Yo me he rendido ante el enemigo hoy.” — “I have given up to the enemy.”
  9. “Espero que yo me rinda ante el enemigo.” — “I hope that I give up to the enemy.”
  10. “Me estoy rindiendo ante el enemigo ahora mismo.” — “I am giving up to the enemy.”

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.

Confusing rendirse with renacer

rendirse and renacer 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 rendirse — give up — the sentence needs rendirse; if it needs the meaning of renacer, use that verb instead.

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

Is rendirse regular or irregular?

rendirse is a reflexive -ir verb. It changes its stem (e → i) in several tenses, so the stem in the table is not always the infinitive stem. It is irregular in these tenses: present, present-subjunctive, preterite, imperfect-subjunctive, gerund, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The tables on this page show the correct form for every person, so use them rather than guessing.

What is the past participle of rendirse?

The past participle of rendirse is rendido. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he rendido, había rendido, habré rendido — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund rindiendo and you have the two non-finite forms covered.

What is the gerund of rendirse?

The gerund of rendirse is rindiendo. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy rindiendo, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. For this verb the gerund shows the stem change, so do not build it from the infinitive by habit. Keep it distinct from the past participle rendido, which belongs with haber, not with estar.

What is the yo form of rendirse in the present?

The yo form is rindo — “Yo me rindo ante el enemigo.” means “I give up to the enemy.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú rindes, él rinde, nosotros rendimos, ellos rinden.

What is the difference between rendirse and renacer?

rendirse means “to give up, to surrender”, while renacer means “to be reborn”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to give up, to surrender”, use rendirse; if it is about the meaning of renacer, use renacer instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.

Do I always need the pronoun with rendirse?

Yes. rendirse is reflexive, so the pronoun is part of the verb: me, te, se, nos, os, se. You say yo me rindo, tú te rindes, él se rinde. Leaving the pronoun out changes the meaning or makes the sentence wrong, so learn the pronoun together with each form.

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