Reñir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of reñir — "to quarrel, to scold" in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for reñir with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Reñir a alguien means to scold someone: reñir a su hijo por las notas. With con it means to quarrel with someone: reñir con su hermano. The preposition changes the meaning. To see it in a real sentence: Yo riño a su hijo por las notas — "I scold his son about his grades".
Present tense conjugation table: reñir
Every person of reñir in the present tense. The gerund is riñiendo and the past participle is reñido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | riño |
| tú | riñes |
| él/ella/Ud. | riñe |
| nosotros/as | reñimos |
| vosotros/as | reñís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | riñen |
How the present of reñir is formed
The present of reñir is built from the stem reñ- plus the present endings for -ir verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ir ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.
| Person | Ending | Form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | riño |
| tú | -es | riñes |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | riñe |
| nosotros/as | -imos | reñimos |
| vosotros/as | -ís | reñís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | riñen |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: riño, riñes, riñe and riñen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: reñimos, reñís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: riñió, riñieron, and the gerund is riñiendo.
The gerund of reñir is riñiendo and the past participle is reñido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of reñir
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and reñir appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.
Habits and routines
The present describes things that happen regularly, as a habit or routine.
"Cada día, yo riño a su hijo por las notas" — "Every day, I scold his son about his grades"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo riñe a los alumnos por el desorden" — "My friend scolds the pupils about the mess"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo riño a su hermano por el coche" — "Right now, I scold his brother over the car"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros reñimos a su mujer por el dinero" — "Tomorrow, we scold his wife about money"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos riñen a su amigo por llegar tarde" — "They scold his friend for arriving late"
The present tense vs the closest tenses
Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion
The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.
- Present — habit or general fact: {'pre_es': 'Cada día, ', 'pre_en': 'Every day, '}yo riño a su hijo por las notas — "I scold his son about his grades"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo reñí a su hijo por las notas — "I scolded his son about his grades"
Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add "used to" in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.
- Present — now: {}tú riñes a los alumnos por el desorden — "You scold the pupils about the mess"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú reñías a los alumnos por el desorden — "You used to scold the pupils about the mess"
Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen
The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.
- Present — now or a fixed plan: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él riñe a su hermano por el coche — "He scolds his brother over the car"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él reñirá a su hermano por el coche — "He will scold his brother over the car"
Examples: reñir in the present tense
Seven sentences that show reñir in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo riño a su hijo por las notas — "I scold his son about his grades"
- Tú riñes a los alumnos por el desorden — "You scold the pupils about the mess"
- Él riñe a su hermano por el coche — "He scolds his brother over the car"
- Nosotros reñimos a su mujer por el dinero — "We scold his wife about money"
- Vosotros reñís a su amigo por llegar tarde — "You scold his friend for arriving late"
- Ellos riñen a su hijo por las notas — "They scold his son about his grades"
- Yo riño a los alumnos por el desorden — "I scold the pupils about the mess"
Common mistakes with reñir in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with reñir in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo reño a su hijo por las notas.
✓ Correct: Yo riño a su hijo por las notas.
reñir is a stem-changing verb (e → i): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is riño, not reño.
✗ *Tú riñe a los alumnos por el desorden.
✓ Correct: Tú riñes a los alumnos por el desorden.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes riñes, él takes riñe.
✗ *Cada día, yo reñí a su hermano por el coche
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo riño a su hermano por el coche
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros reñis a su mujer por el dinero.
✓ Correct: Vosotros reñís a su mujer por el dinero.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: reñís, not reñis.
Quiz: reñir in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of reñir. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of reñir for tú? A. reñimos B. riñes C. riño D. riñe
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a su hijo por las notas — "I scold his son about his grades" (present) A. riñes B. riñe C. reñimos D. riño
Complete the sentence: Él ______ a los alumnos por el desorden — "He scolds the pupils about the mess" (present) A. riño B. riñes C. reñimos D. riñe
Which is the correct present form of reñir for nosotros? A. reñimos B. riñes C. riñe D. riñen
Which sentence uses reñir correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo reñía a su hermano por el coche B. Mi amigo reñimos a su hermano por el coche C. Mi amigo riñe a su hermano por el coche D. Mi amigo riñes a su hermano por el coche
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ a su mujer por el dinero — "You scold his wife about money" (present) A. riñe B. reñís C. riño D. riñes
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ a su amigo por llegar tarde — "They scold his friend for arriving late" (present) A. riñen B. riño C. riñes D. riñe
What is the gerund of reñir? A. reñido B. riño C. reñí D. riñiendo
Answer key
- riñes — The tú form in the present is riñes.
- riño — The present form for yo is riño.
- riñe — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is riñe.
- reñimos — The nosotros form in the present is reñimos.
- Mi amigo riñe a su hermano por el coche — Mi amigo riñe a su hermano por el coche is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- reñís — The present form for vosotros/as is reñís.
- riñen — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is riñen.
- riñiendo — The gerund is riñiendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle reñido.
Frequently asked questions
Is reñir regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: riño, riñes, riñe and riñen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: reñimos, reñís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: riñió, riñieron, and the gerund is riñiendo. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of reñir?
The gerund is riñiendo and the past participle is reñido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I scold" in the present tense?
Say riño. For example: Yo riño a su hijo por las notas — "I scold his son about his grades".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of reñir?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo riño a su hijo por las notas — "I scold his son about his grades". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo reñí a su hijo por las notas — "Yesterday, I scolded his son about his grades". Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once.
Related links
- Full conjugation of reñir — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- reñir examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Present tense guide — how the present tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.