Requerir Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb requerir means to require, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. 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. Like every Spanish verb, requerir 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 requiero mucha paciencia — "I require a lot of patience". 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: 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.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: requerir
  • English: to require
  • Verb type: stem-changing -ir verb (e → ie)
  • Ending: -ir
  • Gerund: requiriendo
  • Past participle: requerido
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + requerido)

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

Full conjugation tables

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

Present indicative

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | requiero | | tú | requieres | | él/ella/Ud. | requiere | | nosotros/as | requerimos | | vosotros/as | requerís | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | requieren |

Preterite

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | requerí | | tú | requeriste | | él/ella/Ud. | requirió | | nosotros/as | requerimos | | vosotros/as | requeristeis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | requirieron |

Imperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | requería | | tú | requerías | | él/ella/Ud. | requería | | nosotros/as | requeríamos | | vosotros/as | requeríais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | requerían |

Future

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | requeriré | | tú | requerirás | | él/ella/Ud. | requerirá | | nosotros/as | requeriremos | | vosotros/as | requeriréis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | requerirán |

Conditional

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | requeriría | | tú | requerirías | | él/ella/Ud. | requeriría | | nosotros/as | requeriríamos | | vosotros/as | requeriríais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | requerirían |

Present perfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Future perfect

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

Conditional perfect

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

Present subjunctive

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | requiera | | tú | requieras | | él/ella/Ud. | requiera | | nosotros/as | requiramos | | vosotros/as | requiráis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | requieran |

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | requiriera | | tú | requirieras | | él/ella/Ud. | requiriera | | nosotros/as | requiriéramos | | vosotros/as | requirierais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | requirieran |

Imperative (affirmative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | requiere | | él/ella/Ud. | requiera | | nosotros/as | requiramos | | vosotros/as | requerid | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | requieran |

Imperative (negative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | requieras | | él/ella/Ud. | requiera | | nosotros/as | requiramos | | vosotros/as | requiráis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | requieran |

Gerund and past participle

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

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: 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. For requerir, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo requiero mucha paciencia — "I require a lot of patience".

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: requirió, requirieron. The gerund changes too: requiriendo. For requerir, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, yo requerí una firma del director — "Yesterday, I required the director's signature".

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 requerir, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, yo requería atención inmediata — "As a child, I used to require immediate attention".

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 requerir, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, yo requeriré dos años de experiencia — "Tomorrow, I will require two years of experience".

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 requerir, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo requeriría mucha paciencia si pudiera — "I would require a lot of patience 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 requerir, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, yo he requerido una firma del director — "Today, I have required the director's signature".

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 requerir, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo ya había requerido atención inmediata antes de salir — "I already had required immediate attention 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 requerir, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, yo habré requerido dos años de experiencia — "By tomorrow, I will have required two years of experience".

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 requerir, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría requerido mucha paciencia con más tiempo — "I would have required a lot of patience 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: 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. For requerir, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él requiera una firma del director — "I hope he requires the director's signature".

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 requerir, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo requiriera atención inmediata, todo cambiaría — "If I required immediate attention, 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: 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. For requerir, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Requiere dos años de experiencia. — "Require two years of experience.".

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: 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. For requerir, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No requieras mucha paciencia. — "Do not require a lot of patience.".

Example sentences

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

  1. Yo requiero mucha paciencia — "I require a lot of patience"
  2. Mi amigo requiere una firma del director — "My friend requires the director's signature"
  3. Ayer, yo requerí atención inmediata — "Yesterday, I required immediate attention"
  4. Antes, nosotros requeríamos dos años de experiencia — "Before, we used to require two years of experience"
  5. Mañana, tú requerirás un permiso especial — "Tomorrow, you will require a special permit"
  6. Yo requeriría mucha paciencia si tuviera más tiempo — "I would require a lot of patience if I had more time"
  7. Él ha requerido una firma del director — "He has required the director's signature"
  8. Espero que él requiera atención inmediata — "I hope he requires immediate attention"
  9. Yo ya había requerido dos años de experiencia antes de salir — "I already had required two years of experience before leaving"
  10. Ellos requerían un permiso especial cuando eran jóvenes — "They used to require a special permit when they were young"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo requero una firma del director. — Right: Yo requiero una firma del director. — 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.
  2. Wrong: Espero que él requiere una firma del director — Right: Espero que él requiera una firma del director — After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él requiera una firma del director — not the indicative Espero que él requiere una firma del director.
  3. Wrong: Ayer, yo requiero atención inmediata — Right: Ayer, yo requerí atención inmediata — Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo requerí atención inmediata.
  4. Wrong: De niño, yo requerí dos años de experiencia todos los días — Right: De niño, yo requería dos años de experiencia todos los días — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo requería dos años de experiencia todos los días.
  5. Wrong: Yo requiero en mucha paciencia. — Right: Yo requiero mucha paciencia. — requerir takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo requiero mucha paciencia.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ mucha paciencia — "I require a lot of patience" (present) A. requiero B. requieres C. requiere D. requerimos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ______ una firma del director — "He required the director's signature" (preterite) A. requirió B. requerí C. requeriste D. requerimos

  3. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ atención inmediata — "We used to require immediate attention" (imperfect) A. requería B. requerías C. requeríais D. requeríamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú ______ dos años de experiencia — "You will require two years of experience" (future) A. requerirá B. requeriremos C. requerirás D. requeriré

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ un permiso especial — "I would require a special permit" (conditional) A. requeriría B. requerirías C. requeriríamos D. requeriríais

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ mucha paciencia — "I hope he requires a lot of patience" (present subjunctive) A. requiera B. requieras C. requiramos D. requiráis

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ______ una firma del director, todo cambiaría — "If I required the director's signature, everything would change" (imperfect subjunctive) A. requiriera B. requirieras C. requiriéramos D. requirierais

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ atención inmediata — "We have required immediate attention" (present perfect) A. hemos requerido B. he requerido C. has requerido D. ha requerido

  9. Complete the sentence: No ______ dos años de experiencia. — "Do not require two years of experience." (negative imperative) A. requiramos B. requiráis C. requieras D. requiera

  10. Which is the gerund of requerir, used with estar for the progressive? A. requerido B. requiero C. requerí D. requiriendo

Answer key

  1. requiero — The present form for yo is requiero.
  2. requirió — The preterite form for él/ella/Ud. is requirió.
  3. requeríamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is requeríamos.
  4. requerirás — The future form for tú is requerirás.
  5. requeriría — The conditional form for yo is requeriría.
  6. requiera — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is requiera.
  7. requiriera — The imperfect subjunctive form for yo is requiriera.
  8. hemos requerido — The present perfect form for nosotros/as is hemos requerido.
  9. requieras — The negative imperative form is requieras.
  10. requiriendo — The gerund of requerir is requiriendo: estoy requiriendo. The participle requerido is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does requerir mean in English?

requerir means to require. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo requiero mucha paciencia — "I require a lot of patience". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is requerir regular?

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

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 I say "I require" in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Ayer, yo requerí una firma del director — "Yesterday, I required the director's signature". For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: De niño, yo requería atención inmediata — "As a child, I used to require immediate attention". For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Hoy, yo he requerido una firma del director — "Today, I have required the director's signature".

What is the difference between requerir and necesitar?

Necesitar is the everyday verb for needing something. Requerir is formal and often appears in requirements and conditions. 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.

Related links