Requerir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of requerir — "to require" 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 requerir 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. Requerir is a formal verb meaning to require: el trabajo requiere paciencia, el trámite requiere una firma. It is common in job adverts and official documents. To see it in a real sentence: Yo requiero mucha paciencia — "I require a lot of patience".
Present tense conjugation table: requerir
Every person of requerir in the present tense. The gerund is requiriendo and the past participle is requerido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | requiero |
| tú | requieres |
| él/ella/Ud. | requiere |
| nosotros/as | requerimos |
| vosotros/as | requerís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | requieren |
How the present of requerir is formed
The present of requerir is built from the stem requer- 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 | requiero |
| tú | -es | requieres |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | requiere |
| nosotros/as | -imos | requerimos |
| vosotros/as | -ís | requerís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | requieren |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: requiero, requieres, requiere and requieren — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: requerimos, requerís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: requirió, requirieron, and the gerund is requiriendo.
The gerund of requerir is requiriendo and the past participle is requerido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of requerir
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and requerir 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 requiero mucha paciencia" — "Every day, I require a lot of patience"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo requiere una firma del director" — "My friend requires the director's signature"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo requiero atención inmediata" — "Right now, I require immediate attention"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros requerimos dos años de experiencia" — "Tomorrow, we require two years of experience"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos requieren un permiso especial" — "They require a special permit"
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 requiero mucha paciencia — "I require a lot of patience"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo requerí mucha paciencia — "I required a lot of patience"
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 requieres una firma del director — "You require the director's signature"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú requerías una firma del director — "You used to require the director's signature"
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 requiere atención inmediata — "He requires immediate attention"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él requerirá atención inmediata — "He will require immediate attention"
Examples: requerir in the present tense
Seven sentences that show requerir in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo requiero mucha paciencia — "I require a lot of patience"
- Tú requieres una firma del director — "You require the director's signature"
- Él requiere atención inmediata — "He requires immediate attention"
- Nosotros requerimos dos años de experiencia — "We require two years of experience"
- Vosotros requerís un permiso especial — "You require a special permit"
- Ellos requieren mucha paciencia — "They require a lot of patience"
- Yo requiero una firma del director — "I require the director's signature"
Common mistakes with requerir in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with requerir in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo requero mucha paciencia.
✓ Correct: Yo requiero mucha paciencia.
requerir is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is requiero, not requero.
✗ *Tú requiere una firma del director.
✓ Correct: Tú requieres una firma del director.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes requieres, él takes requiere.
✗ *Cada día, yo requerí atención inmediata
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo requiero atención inmediata
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros requeris dos años de experiencia.
✓ Correct: Vosotros requerís dos años de experiencia.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: requerís, not requeris.
Quiz: requerir in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of requerir. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of requerir for tú? A. requerimos B. requieres C. requiero D. requiere
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ mucha paciencia — "I require a lot of patience" (present) A. requiero B. requieres C. requiere D. requerimos
Complete the sentence: Él ______ una firma del director — "He requires the director's signature" (present) A. requiere B. requiero C. requieres D. requerimos
Which is the correct present form of requerir for nosotros? A. requerimos B. requieres C. requiere D. requieren
Which sentence uses requerir correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo requería atención inmediata B. Mi amigo requerimos atención inmediata C. Mi amigo requiere atención inmediata D. Mi amigo requieres atención inmediata
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ dos años de experiencia — "You require two years of experience" (present) A. requiero B. requieres C. requiere D. requerís
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ un permiso especial — "They require a special permit" (present) A. requieres B. requiere C. requieren D. requiero
What is the gerund of requerir? A. requerido B. requiero C. requerí D. requiriendo
Answer key
- requieres — The tú form in the present is requieres.
- requiero — The present form for yo is requiero.
- requiere — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is requiere.
- requerimos — The nosotros form in the present is requerimos.
- Mi amigo requiere atención inmediata — Mi amigo requiere atención inmediata is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- requerís — The present form for vosotros/as is requerís.
- requieren — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is requieren.
- requiriendo — The gerund is requiriendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle requerido.
Frequently asked questions
Is requerir regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: requiero, requieres, requiere and requieren — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: requerimos, requerís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: requirió, requirieron, and the gerund is requiriendo. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of requerir?
The gerund is requiriendo and the past participle is requerido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I require" in the present tense?
Say requiero. For example: Yo requiero mucha paciencia — "I require a lot of patience".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of requerir?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo requiero mucha paciencia — "I require a lot of patience". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo requerí mucha paciencia — "Yesterday, I required a lot of patience". 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 requerir — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- requerir 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.