Reñir Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb reñir means to quarrel, to scold, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. 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. Like every Spanish verb, reñir changes its ending for each person and tense, and this page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say Yo riño a su hijo por las notas — "I scold his son about his grades". Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.

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.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: reñir
  • English: to quarrel, to scold
  • Verb type: stem-changing -ir verb (e → i)
  • Ending: -ir
  • Gerund: riñiendo
  • Past participle: reñido
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + reñido)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for reñir, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for reñir. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem.

Present indicative

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | riño | | tú | riñes | | él/ella/Ud. | riñe | | nosotros/as | reñimos | | vosotros/as | reñís | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | riñen |

Preterite

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | reñí | | tú | reñiste | | él/ella/Ud. | riñió | | nosotros/as | reñimos | | vosotros/as | reñisteis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | riñieron |

Imperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | reñía | | tú | reñías | | él/ella/Ud. | reñía | | nosotros/as | reñíamos | | vosotros/as | reñíais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | reñían |

Future

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | reñiré | | tú | reñirás | | él/ella/Ud. | reñirá | | nosotros/as | reñiremos | | vosotros/as | reñiréis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | reñirán |

Conditional

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | reñiría | | tú | reñirías | | él/ella/Ud. | reñiría | | nosotros/as | reñiríamos | | vosotros/as | reñiríais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | reñirían |

Present perfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Future perfect

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

Conditional perfect

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

Present subjunctive

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | riña | | tú | riñas | | él/ella/Ud. | riña | | nosotros/as | riñamos | | vosotros/as | riñáis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | riñan |

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | riñiera | | tú | riñieras | | él/ella/Ud. | riñiera | | nosotros/as | riñiéramos | | vosotros/as | riñierais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | riñieran |

Imperative (affirmative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | riñe | | él/ella/Ud. | riña | | nosotros/as | riñamos | | vosotros/as | reñid | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | riñan |

Imperative (negative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | riñas | | él/ella/Ud. | riña | | nosotros/as | riñamos | | vosotros/as | riñáis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | riñan |

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund riñiendo with estar for the progressive: está riñiendo
Past participle reñido with haber for the perfect tenses: he reñido

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. 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. For reñir, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo riño a su hijo por las notas — "I scold his son about his grades".

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. In this tense the stem changes in the third person: riñió, riñieron. The gerund changes too: riñiendo. For reñir, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, yo reñí a los alumnos por el desorden — "Yesterday, I scolded the pupils about the mess".

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For reñir, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, yo reñía a su hermano por el coche — "As a child, I used to scold his brother over the car".

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For reñir, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, yo reñiré a su mujer por el dinero — "Tomorrow, I will scold his wife about money".

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For reñir, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo reñiría a su hijo por las notas si pudiera — "I would scold his son about his grades if I could".

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For reñir, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, yo he reñido a los alumnos por el desorden — "Today, I have scolded the pupils about the mess".

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For reñir, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo ya había reñido a su hermano por el coche antes de salir — "I already had scolded his brother over the car before leaving".

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For reñir, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, yo habré reñido a su mujer por el dinero — "By tomorrow, I will have scolded his wife about money".

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For reñir, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría reñido a su hijo por las notas con más tiempo — "I would have scolded his son about his grades with more time".

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. 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. For reñir, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él riña a los alumnos por el desorden — "I hope he scolds the pupils about the mess".

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past. The -ra forms are shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is irregular — see the table above. For reñir, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo riñiera a su hermano por el coche, todo cambiaría — "If I scolded his brother over the car, everything would change".

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. 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. For reñir, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Riñe a su mujer por el dinero. — "Scold his wife about money.".

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. 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. For reñir, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No riñas a su hijo por las notas. — "Do not scold his son about his grades.".

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with reñir, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Yo riño a su hijo por las notas — "I scold his son about his grades"
  2. Mi amigo riñe a los alumnos por el desorden — "My friend scolds the pupils about the mess"
  3. Ayer, yo reñí a su hermano por el coche — "Yesterday, I scolded his brother over the car"
  4. Antes, nosotros reñíamos a su mujer por el dinero — "Before, we used to scold his wife about money"
  5. Mañana, tú reñirás a su amigo por llegar tarde — "Tomorrow, you will scold his friend for arriving late"
  6. Yo reñiría a su hijo por las notas si tuviera más tiempo — "I would scold his son about his grades if I had more time"
  7. Él ha reñido a los alumnos por el desorden — "He has scolded the pupils about the mess"
  8. Espero que él riña a su hermano por el coche — "I hope he scolds his brother over the car"
  9. Yo ya había reñido a su mujer por el dinero antes de salir — "I already had scolded his wife about money before leaving"
  10. Ellos reñían a su amigo por llegar tarde cuando eran jóvenes — "They used to scold his friend for arriving late when they were young"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo reño a los alumnos por el desorden. — Right: Yo riño a los alumnos por el desorden. — 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.
  2. Wrong: Espero que él riñe a los alumnos por el desorden — Right: Espero que él riña a los alumnos por el desorden — After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él riña a los alumnos por el desorden — not the indicative Espero que él riñe a los alumnos por el desorden.
  3. Wrong: Ayer, yo riño a su hermano por el coche — Right: Ayer, yo reñí a su hermano por el coche — Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo reñí a su hermano por el coche.
  4. Wrong: De niño, yo reñí a su mujer por el dinero todos los días — Right: De niño, yo reñía a su mujer por el dinero todos los días — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo reñía a su mujer por el dinero todos los días.
  5. Wrong: Yo riño su hijo por las notas. — Right: Yo riño a su hijo por las notas. — reñir takes a before this complement: Yo riño a su hijo por las notas. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on reñir. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. 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

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ______ a los alumnos por el desorden — "He scolded the pupils about the mess" (preterite) A. reñiste B. reñimos C. riñió D. reñí

  3. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ a su hermano por el coche — "We used to scold his brother over the car" (imperfect) A. reñíais B. reñíamos C. reñía D. reñías

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú ______ a su mujer por el dinero — "You will scold his wife about money" (future) A. reñirás B. reñiré C. reñirá D. reñiremos

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a su amigo por llegar tarde — "I would scold his friend for arriving late" (conditional) A. reñiríamos B. reñiríais C. reñiría D. reñirías

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ a su hijo por las notas — "I hope he scolds his son about his grades" (present subjunctive) A. riñas B. riñamos C. riñáis D. riña

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ______ a los alumnos por el desorden, todo cambiaría — "If I scolded the pupils about the mess, everything would change" (imperfect subjunctive) A. riñiéramos B. riñierais C. riñiera D. riñieras

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ a su hermano por el coche — "We have scolded his brother over the car" (present perfect) A. ha reñido B. hemos reñido C. he reñido D. has reñido

  9. Complete the sentence: No ______ a su mujer por el dinero. — "Do not scold his wife about money." (negative imperative) A. riñas B. riña C. riñamos D. riñáis

  10. Which is the gerund of reñir, used with estar for the progressive? A. reñido B. riño C. reñí D. riñiendo

Answer key

  1. riño — The present form for yo is riño.
  2. riñió — The preterite form for él/ella/Ud. is riñió.
  3. reñíamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is reñíamos.
  4. reñirás — The future form for tú is reñirás.
  5. reñiría — The conditional form for yo is reñiría.
  6. riña — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is riña.
  7. riñiera — The imperfect subjunctive form for yo is riñiera.
  8. hemos reñido — The present perfect form for nosotros/as is hemos reñido.
  9. riñas — The negative imperative form is riñas.
  10. riñiendo — The gerund of reñir is riñiendo: estoy riñiendo. The participle reñido is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does reñir mean in English?

reñir means to quarrel, to scold. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo riño a su hijo por las notas — "I scold his son about his grades". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is reñir regular?

No. reñir is a stem-changing -ir verb (e → i). 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, which is the part learners most often get right by accident.

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 I say "I scold" in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Ayer, yo reñí a los alumnos por el desorden — "Yesterday, I scolded the pupils about the mess". For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: De niño, yo reñía a su hermano por el coche — "As a child, I used to scold his brother over the car". For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Hoy, yo he reñido a los alumnos por el desorden — "Today, I have scolded the pupils about the mess".

What is the difference between reñir and discutir?

Discutir is to argue or discuss something. Reñir is stronger — to scold someone, or to quarrel with them. 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.

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