Repetir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of repetir — "to repeat" 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 repetir 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. 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. To see it in a real sentence: Yo repito la pregunta dos veces — "I repeat the question twice".
Present tense conjugation table: repetir
Every person of repetir in the present tense. The gerund is repitiendo and the past participle is repetido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | repito |
| tú | repites |
| él/ella/Ud. | repite |
| nosotros/as | repetimos |
| vosotros/as | repetís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | repiten |
How the present of repetir is formed
The present of repetir is built from the stem repet- 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 | repito |
| tú | -es | repites |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | repite |
| nosotros/as | -imos | repetimos |
| vosotros/as | -ís | repetís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | repiten |
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.
The gerund of repetir is repitiendo and the past participle is repetido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of repetir
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and repetir 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 repito la pregunta dos veces" — "Every day, I repeat the question twice"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo repite el ejercicio en clase" — "My friend repeats the exercise in class"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo repito la lección hasta aprenderla" — "Right now, I repeat the lesson until he learns it"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros repetimos su nombre despacio" — "Tomorrow, we repeat his name slowly"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos repiten el plato de sopa" — "They repeat the bowl of soup"
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 repito la pregunta dos veces — "I repeat the question twice"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo repetí la pregunta dos veces — "I repeated the question twice"
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 repites el ejercicio en clase — "You repeat the exercise in class"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú repetías el ejercicio en clase — "You used to repeat the exercise in class"
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 repite la lección hasta aprenderla — "He repeats the lesson until he learns it"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él repetirá la lección hasta aprenderla — "He will repeat the lesson until he learns it"
Examples: repetir in the present tense
Seven sentences that show repetir in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo repito la pregunta dos veces — "I repeat the question twice"
- Tú repites el ejercicio en clase — "You repeat the exercise in class"
- Él repite la lección hasta aprenderla — "He repeats the lesson until he learns it"
- Nosotros repetimos su nombre despacio — "We repeat his name slowly"
- Vosotros repetís el plato de sopa — "You repeat the bowl of soup"
- Ellos repiten la pregunta dos veces — "They repeat the question twice"
- Yo repito el ejercicio en clase — "I repeat the exercise in class"
Common mistakes with repetir in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with repetir in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo repeto la pregunta dos veces.
✓ Correct: Yo repito la pregunta dos veces.
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.
✗ *Tú repite el ejercicio en clase.
✓ Correct: Tú repites el ejercicio en clase.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes repites, él takes repite.
✗ *Cada día, yo repetí la lección hasta aprenderla
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo repito la lección hasta aprenderla
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros repetis su nombre despacio.
✓ Correct: Vosotros repetís su nombre despacio.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: repetís, not repetis.
Quiz: repetir in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of repetir. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of repetir for tú? A. repetimos B. repites C. repito D. repite
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ la pregunta dos veces — "I repeat the question twice" (present) A. repetimos B. repito C. repites D. repite
Complete the sentence: Él ______ el ejercicio en clase — "He repeats the exercise in class" (present) A. repites B. repetimos C. repite D. repito
Which is the correct present form of repetir for nosotros? A. repetimos B. repites C. repite D. repiten
Which sentence uses repetir correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo repetía la lección hasta aprenderla B. Mi amigo repetimos la lección hasta aprenderla C. Mi amigo repite la lección hasta aprenderla D. Mi amigo repites la lección hasta aprenderla
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ su nombre despacio — "You repeat his name slowly" (present) A. repetís B. repito C. repites D. repite
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ el plato de sopa — "They repeat the bowl of soup" (present) A. repito B. repites C. repite D. repiten
What is the gerund of repetir? A. repetido B. repito C. repetí D. repitiendo
Answer key
- repites — The tú form in the present is repites.
- repito — The present form for yo is repito.
- repite — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is repite.
- repetimos — The nosotros form in the present is repetimos.
- Mi amigo repite la lección hasta aprenderla — Mi amigo repite la lección hasta aprenderla is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- repetís — The present form for vosotros/as is repetís.
- repiten — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is repiten.
- repitiendo — The gerund is repitiendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle repetido.
Frequently asked questions
Is repetir regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: 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. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of repetir?
The gerund is repitiendo and the past participle is repetido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I repeat" in the present tense?
Say repito. For example: Yo repito la pregunta dos veces — "I repeat the question twice".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of repetir?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo repito la pregunta dos veces — "I repeat the question twice". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo repetí la pregunta dos veces — "Yesterday, I repeated the question twice". 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 repetir — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- repetir 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.