Repetir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

repetir means "to repeat" in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Repetir means to repeat something: repetir la pregunta, repetir el ejercicio. It also means to have a second helping of food: repetir el plato de sopa. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by use, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of repetir; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the repetir present tense page.

repetir in everyday use: examples with translations

Everyday present uses

How the verb sounds in the present, the future and in hypotheticals — the forms you will use most often.

  1. Yo repito la pregunta dos veces — "I repeat the question twice"
  2. Mi amigo repite el ejercicio en clase — "My friend repeats the exercise in class"
  3. Mañana, tú repetirás la lección hasta aprenderla — "Tomorrow, you will repeat the lesson until he learns it"
  4. Yo repetiría su nombre despacio si pudiera — "I would repeat his name slowly if I could"

Talking about the past

The same verb in the past: one finished action, a habit, something that has just happened, and something that had already happened.

  1. Ayer, yo repetí la pregunta dos veces — "Yesterday, I repeated the question twice"
  2. Antes, nosotros repetíamos el ejercicio en clase — "Before, we used to repeat the exercise in class"
  3. Él ha repetido la lección hasta aprenderla — "He has repeated the lesson until he learns it"
  4. Yo ya había repetido su nombre despacio antes de salir — "I already had repeated his name slowly before leaving"

Wishes, conditions and commands

The verb after espero que, in si clauses, as a command — and in the conditional perfect, for what would have happened.

  1. Espero que él repita la pregunta dos veces — "I hope he repeats the question twice"
  2. Si yo repitiera el ejercicio en clase, todo cambiaría — "If I repeated the exercise in class, everything would change"
  3. Repite la lección hasta aprenderla. — "Repeat the lesson until he learns it."
  4. Yo habría repetido su nombre despacio con más tiempo — "I would have repeated his name slowly with more time"

repetir in conversation

Two short dialogues that use repetir the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

Two friends talk about it.

  • Lucía: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Lucía: Yo repito la pregunta dos veces — "I repeat the question twice"
  • Marcos: Él repite el ejercicio en clase — "He repeats the exercise in class"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo repetí la lección hasta aprenderla — "Yesterday, I repeated the lesson until he learns it"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú repetirás su nombre despacio — "Tomorrow, you will repeat his name slowly"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Repite el plato de sopa. — "Repeat the bowl of soup."
  • Lucía: Él ha repetido la pregunta dos veces — "He has repeated the question twice"
  • Marcos: Espero que él repita el ejercicio en clase — "I hope he repeats the exercise in class"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo repetía la lección hasta aprenderla — "Before, I used to repeat the lesson until he learns it"

Common mistakes with repetir

The errors learners actually make with repetir, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ *Yo repeto su nombre despacio.

✓ Correct: Yo repito su nombre despacio.

repetir is a stem-changing verb (e → i): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is repito, not repeto.

✗ *Espero que él repite su nombre despacio

✓ Correct: Espero que él repita su nombre despacio

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él repita su nombre despacio — not the indicative Espero que él repite su nombre despacio.

✗ *Ayer, yo repito el plato de sopa

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo repetí el plato de sopa

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo repetí el plato de sopa.

✗ *De niño, yo repetí la pregunta dos veces todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo repetía la pregunta dos veces todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo repetía la pregunta dos veces todos los días.

✗ *Yo repito en la lección hasta aprenderla.

✓ Correct: Yo repito la lección hasta aprenderla.

repetir takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo repito la lección hasta aprenderla.

Quiz: repetir in use

Ten questions on repetir — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ la pregunta dos veces — "I repeat the question twice" (present) A. repetimos B. repito C. repites D. repite

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ el ejercicio en clase — "Yesterday, I repeated the exercise in class" (preterite) A. repetiste B. repitió C. repetimos D. repetí

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ la lección hasta aprenderla — "Before, we used to repeat the lesson until he learns it" (imperfect) A. repetías B. repetíais C. repetíamos D. repetía

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ su nombre despacio — "Tomorrow, you will repeat his name slowly" (future) A. repetiré B. repetirá C. repetiremos D. repetirás

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el plato de sopa — "I would repeat the bowl of soup" (conditional) A. repetiríais B. repetiría C. repetirías D. repetiríamos

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ la pregunta dos veces — "He has repeated the question twice" (present perfect) A. has repetido B. hemos repetido C. ha repetido D. he repetido

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ el ejercicio en clase — "I hope he repeats the exercise in class" (present subjunctive) A. repitamos B. repitáis C. repita D. repitas

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ la lección hasta aprenderla. — "Repeat the lesson until he learns it." (affirmative imperative) A. repitamos B. repetid C. repite D. repita

  9. Which is the gerund of repetir, used with estar for the progressive? A. repetido B. repito C. repetí D. repitiendo

  10. What does repetir mean in English? A. to cross B. to repeat C. to reiterate D. to enjoy

Answer key

  1. repito — The present form for yo is repito.
  2. repetí — The preterite form for yo is repetí.
  3. repetíamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is repetíamos.
  4. repetirás — The future form for tú is repetirás.
  5. repetiría — The conditional form for yo is repetiría.
  6. ha repetido — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha repetido.
  7. repita — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is repita.
  8. repite — The affirmative imperative form is repite.
  9. repitiendo — The gerund of repetir is repitiendo: estoy repitiendo. The participle repetido is used with haber instead.
  10. to repeat — repetir means to repeat.

Frequently asked questions

What does repetir mean in English?

repetir means to repeat. For example: Yo repito la pregunta dos veces — "I repeat the question twice". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with repetir?

repetir takes its complement directly, with no preposition, as in the examples above. Adding an extra preposition is a common learner error.

Is repetir regular?

No. repetir is a stem-changing -ir verb (e → i). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: repito, repites, repite and repiten — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: repetimos, repetís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: repitió, repitieron, and the gerund is repitiendo.

How do I practise repetir?

Start with the present tense table on the full conjugation page, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure, and come back to the sentences above until you can say them without looking.

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