Introduction

resistir means “to resist”. It belongs to the group of Spanish verbs that express “to resist”, and once you can conjugate it you can say a surprising amount with a single verb. This page is the complete reference for resistir: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, with notes on usage, real example sentences, common mistakes, a quiz and frequently asked questions. resistir is a regular -ir verb. If it is irregular in a tense, the note under that table says so plainly, and the forms in the table are the correct ones — copy them, do not guess them from the infinitive. A first example to fix the verb in your mind: “Yo resisto la presión todos los días.” — “I resist the pressure.”

Quick facts
Infinitive resistir
English to resist
Verb type Regular -ir verb
Gerund resistiendo
Past participle resistido
Auxiliary verb haber

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: resistiendo · Past participle: resistido

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo resisto
tú resistes
él/ella/Ud. resiste
nosotros/as resistimos
vosotros/as resistís
ellos/ellas/Uds. resisten

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For resistir, the yo form is resisto, as in “Yo resisto la presión.” — “I resist the pressure.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo resistí
tú resististe
él/ella/Ud. resistió
nosotros/as resistimos
vosotros/as resististeis
ellos/ellas/Uds. resistieron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For resistir, the yo form is resistí, as in “Yo resistí la presión.” — “I resisted the pressure.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo resistía
tú resistías
él/ella/Ud. resistía
nosotros/as resistíamos
vosotros/as resistíais
ellos/ellas/Uds. resistían

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For resistir, the yo form is resistía, as in “Yo resistía la presión.” — “I used to resist the pressure.”

Future

Person Form
yo resistiré
tú resistirás
él/ella/Ud. resistirá
nosotros/as resistiremos
vosotros/as resistiréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. resistirán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For resistir, the yo form is resistiré, as in “Yo resistiré la presión.” — “I will resist the pressure.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo resistiría
tú resistirías
él/ella/Ud. resistiría
nosotros/as resistiríamos
vosotros/as resistiríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. resistirían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For resistir, the yo form is resistiría, as in “Yo resistiría la presión.” — “I would resist the pressure.”

Present Perfect

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

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For resistir, the yo form is he resistido, as in “Yo he resistido la presión.” — “I have resisted the pressure.”

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For resistir, the yo form is había resistido, as in “Yo había resistido la presión.” — “I had resisted the pressure.”

Future Perfect

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

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For resistir, the yo form is habré resistido, as in “Yo habré resistido la presión.” — “I will have resisted the pressure.”

Conditional Perfect

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

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For resistir, the yo form is habría resistido, as in “Yo habría resistido la presión.” — “I would have resisted the pressure.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo resista
tú resistas
él/ella/Ud. resista
nosotros/as resistamos
vosotros/as resistáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. resistan

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For resistir, the yo form is resista, as in “Espero que yo resista la presión.” — “I hope that I resist the pressure.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo resistiera
tú resistieras
él/ella/Ud. resistiera
nosotros/as resistiéramos
vosotros/as resistierais
ellos/ellas/Uds. resistieran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For resistir, the yo form is resistiera, as in “Si yo resistiera la presión, ...” — “If I resisted the pressure, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: resistiera becomes resistiese, and the same change applies to every person. Both variants mean the same thing; -ra is more common in everyday speech.

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú resiste
Ud. resista
nosotros/as resistamos
vosotros/as resistid
Uds. resistan

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú resistas
Ud. resista
nosotros/as resistamos
vosotros/as resistáis
Uds. resistan

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is resiste, as in “¡Resiste la presión” — “Resist the pressure” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no resistas. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with resistir.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with resistir, covering different tenses and persons. Read each one out loud, then read the translation, and notice how the verb form changes while the meaning stays the same.

  1. “Yo resisto la presión cada día.” — “I resist the pressure.”
  2. “Él resiste la presión todos los días.” — “He resists the pressure.”
  3. “Yo resistí la presión ayer.” — “I resisted the pressure.”
  4. “Él resistió la presión ayer.” — “He resisted the pressure.”
  5. “Yo resistía la presión cuando era joven.” — “I used to resist the pressure.”
  6. “Nosotros resistiremos la presión mañana.” — “We will resist the pressure.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo resistiría la presión.” — “If I could, i would resist the pressure.”
  8. “Yo he resistido la presión hoy.” — “I have resisted the pressure.”
  9. “Espero que yo resista la presión.” — “I hope that I resist the pressure.”
  10. “estoy resistiendo la presión ahora mismo.” — “I am resisting the pressure.”

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is resistí, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — resisti — is a spelling error, and in speech the stress lands in the wrong place. Preterite yo forms that end in a vowel carry that accent, so check it every time you write the preterite of resistir.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For resistir, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: resistimos. Only the context tells you which tense is meant, so pay attention to the time words around it — cada día points to the present, ayer points to the preterite. Do not invent a different form for one of the tenses.

Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses

Spanish perfect tenses always use haber, never ser: yo he resistido la presión. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy resistido is not the present perfect of resistir — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing resistir with resultar

resistir and resultar look similar, and learners mix them up. They are different verbs with different meanings, so check which one the sentence needs before you conjugate. If you can substitute the English meaning of resistir — resist — the sentence needs resistir; if it needs the meaning of resultar, use that verb instead.

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo resista la presión. Using the indicative — Espero que yo resisto — is one of the most frequent learner errors with resistir. Whenever the main clause expresses a wish, doubt or emotion, switch to the subjunctive.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the best answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the yo form of resistir in the present?

  • A. resistes
  • B. resiste
  • C. resistimos
  • D. resisto

2. What is the tu form of resistir in the preterite?

  • A. resistimos
  • B. resististe
  • C. resistí
  • D. resistió

3. What is the el form of resistir in the imperfect?

  • A. resistías
  • B. resistíamos
  • C. resistíais
  • D. resistía

4. What is the nosotros form of resistir in the future?

  • A. resistirá
  • B. resistiremos
  • C. resistiré
  • D. resistirás

5. What is the vosotros form of resistir in the present perfect?

  • A. he resistido
  • B. has resistido
  • C. ha resistido
  • D. habéis resistido

6. What is the ellos form of resistir in the present subjunctive?

  • A. resista
  • B. resistan
  • C. resista
  • D. resistas

7. What is the yo form of resistir in the preterite?

  • A. resististe
  • B. resistió
  • C. resistimos
  • D. resistí

8. What is the tu form of resistir in the imperfect?

  • A. resistíamos
  • B. resistías
  • C. resistía
  • D. resistía

9. What is the el form of resistir in the future?

  • A. resistiré
  • B. resistirás
  • C. resistiremos
  • D. resistirá

10. What is the nosotros form of resistir in the conditional?

  • A. resistiría
  • B. resistiríamos
  • C. resistiría
  • D. resistirías

Answer key

  1. resisto — The present table gives yo = resisto.
  2. resististe — The preterite table gives tu = resististe.
  3. resistía — The imperfect table gives el = resistía.
  4. resistiremos — The future table gives nosotros = resistiremos.
  5. habéis resistido — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis resistido.
  6. resistan — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = resistan.
  7. resistí — The preterite table gives yo = resistí.
  8. resistías — The imperfect table gives tu = resistías.
  9. resistirá — The future table gives el = resistirá.
  10. resistiríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = resistiríamos.

Frequently asked questions

Is resistir regular or irregular?

resistir is a regular -ir verb. It follows the regular patterns for its ending in every tense. The tables on this page show the correct form for every person, so use them rather than guessing.

What is the past participle of resistir?

The past participle of resistir is resistido. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he resistido, había resistido, habré resistido — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund resistiendo and you have the two non-finite forms covered.

What is the gerund of resistir?

The gerund of resistir is resistiendo. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy resistiendo, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle resistido, which belongs with haber, not with estar.

What is the yo form of resistir in the present?

The yo form is resisto — “Yo resisto la presión.” means “I resist the pressure.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú resistes, él resiste, nosotros resistimos, ellos resisten.

What is the difference between resistir and resultar?

resistir means “to resist”, while resultar means “to turn out, to result”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to resist”, use resistir; if it is about the meaning of resultar, use resultar instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.

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