Introduction

retirar means “to withdraw, to remove”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to withdraw, to remove” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows retirar in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo retiro el dinero del banco por la mañana.” — “I withdraw the money from the bank.”

retirar in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how retirar is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.

In the present: everyday use

These sentences use {verb} in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.

  1. “Yo retiro el dinero del banco cada día.” — “I withdraw the money from the bank.”
  2. “Tú retiras el dinero del banco cada día.” — “you withdraw the money from the bank.”
  3. “Él retira el dinero del banco siempre.” — “He withdraws the money from the bank.”
  4. “Nosotros retiramos el dinero del banco todos los días.” — “We withdraw the money from the bank.”

Talking about the past

The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show {verb} in the past, so you can talk about what already happened. 5. “Yo retiré el dinero del banco ayer.” — “I withdrew the money from the bank.” (preterite) 6. “Él retiró el dinero del banco ayer.” — “He withdrew the money from the bank.” (preterite) 7. “Yo retiraba el dinero del banco cuando era joven.” — “I used to withdraw the money from the bank.” (imperfect)

Plans and things already done

These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of {verb} stays the same. 8. “Nosotros retiraremos el dinero del banco mañana.” — “We will withdraw the money from the bank.” (future) 9. “Tú has retirado el dinero del banco hoy.” — “you have withdrawn the money from the bank.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo retire el dinero del banco.” — “I hope that I withdraw the money from the bank.” (present-subjunctive)

More everyday uses

Two more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action. 11. “Vosotros retiráis el dinero del banco cada semana.” — “You withdraw the money from the bank.” 12. “Ellos retiran el dinero del banco normalmente.” — “They withdraw the money from the bank.”

retirar in context

Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how retirar appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.

Dialogue on the phone

Lucía: “¿Tú retiras el dinero del banco?” — Do you withdraw the money from the bank?

Pedro: “Sí, yo retiro el dinero del banco cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I withdraw the money from the bank every day. It is part of my routine.

Lucía: “¿Y ayer? ¿También retiras el dinero del banco?” — And yesterday? Did you withdraw the money from the bank too?

Pedro: “Sí, ayer yo retiré el dinero del banco. Mañana nosotros retiraremos el dinero del banco otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I withdrew the money from the bank. Tomorrow we will withdraw the money from the bank again.

A short paragraph

Él retira el dinero del banco cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how retirar works in real Spanish: who does it, when, and with what. Around it you can build a whole paragraph: what happened yesterday, what is happening now, and what will happen tomorrow, all with the same verb. When you write your own paragraph, start with the present — yo retiro el dinero del banco — then add one past sentence and one future sentence, and you have practised three tenses with one verb. That is the fastest way to make retirar yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is retiré, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — retire — 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 retirar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For retirar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: retiramos. 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 retirado el dinero del banco. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy retirado is not the present perfect of retirar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing retirar with retirarse

retirar and retirarse 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 retirar — withdraw — the sentence needs retirar; if it needs the meaning of retirarse, use that verb instead.

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo retire el dinero del banco. Using the indicative — Espero que yo retiro — is one of the most frequent learner errors with retirar. 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 retirar in the present?

  • A. retiras
  • B. retira
  • C. retiramos
  • D. retiro

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

  • A. retiramos
  • B. retiraste
  • C. retiré
  • D. retiró

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

  • A. retirabas
  • B. retirábamos
  • C. retirabais
  • D. retiraba

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

  • A. retirará
  • B. retiraremos
  • C. retiraré
  • D. retirarás

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

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

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

  • A. retire
  • B. retiren
  • C. retire
  • D. retires

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

  • A. retiraste
  • B. retiró
  • C. retiramos
  • D. retiré

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

  • A. retirábamos
  • B. retirabas
  • C. retiraba
  • D. retiraba

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

  • A. retiraré
  • B. retirarás
  • C. retiraremos
  • D. retirará

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

  • A. retiraría
  • B. retiraríamos
  • C. retiraría
  • D. retirarías

Answer key

  1. retiro — The present table gives yo = retiro.
  2. retiraste — The preterite table gives tu = retiraste.
  3. retiraba — The imperfect table gives el = retiraba.
  4. retiraremos — The future table gives nosotros = retiraremos.
  5. habéis retirado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis retirado.
  6. retiren — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = retiren.
  7. retiré — The preterite table gives yo = retiré.
  8. retirabas — The imperfect table gives tu = retirabas.
  9. retirará — The future table gives el = retirará.
  10. retiraríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = retiraríamos.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use retirar in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo retiro el dinero del banco.” — “I withdraw the money from the bank.” Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

What is the most useful form of retirar to learn first?

Learn the present yo form retiro first, then the preterite yo form retiré and the participle retirado. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund retirando next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is retirar reflexive?

No — retirar is not reflexive. It takes a direct object, not a reflexive pronoun: yo retiro el dinero del banco. Do not add me or se to it unless the sentence genuinely needs a pronoun for another reason.

Where can I see the full conjugation of retirar?

On the main conjugation page for retirar, which has every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, plus notes, examples and a quiz. The present-tense page covers one tense in depth if that is what you need right now.

Related links