Introduction

Learning to conjugate retirarse — “to retire, to withdraw” — opens up a whole set of sentences you will use in real Spanish. Whether you are talking about what you do every day, what happened yesterday, or what you plan to do tomorrow, retirarse is one of the verbs that carries those sentences, especially when the topic is at sixty. On this page you will find the full conjugation of retirarse in all thirteen tenses, notes on when to use each one, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. retirarse is a reflexive -ar verb; the gerund is retirando and the past participle is retirado, and both appear in the tables and examples below. For example: “Yo me retiro a los sesenta años todos los días.” — “I retire at sixty.” Read the tables first, then the notes, and finish with the quiz to check what you have learned.

Quick facts
Infinitive retirarse
English to retire, to withdraw
Verb type Reflexive -ar verb
Gerund retirando
Past participle retirado
Auxiliary verb haber
  • Reflexive: yes — always use it with the reflexive pronouns me, te, se, nos, os, se.

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: retirando · Past participle: retirado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo retiro
tú retiras
él/ella/Ud. retira
nosotros/as retiramos
vosotros/as retiráis
ellos/ellas/Uds. retiran

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For retirarse, the yo form is retiro, as in “Yo me retiro a los sesenta años.” — “I retire at sixty.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo retiré
tú retiraste
él/ella/Ud. retiró
nosotros/as retiramos
vosotros/as retirasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. retiraron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For retirarse, the yo form is retiré, as in “Yo me retiré a los sesenta años.” — “I retired at sixty.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo retiraba
tú retirabas
él/ella/Ud. retiraba
nosotros/as retirábamos
vosotros/as retirabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. retiraban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For retirarse, the yo form is retiraba, as in “Yo me retiraba a los sesenta años.” — “I used to retire at sixty.”

Future

Person Form
yo retiraré
tú retirarás
él/ella/Ud. retirará
nosotros/as retiraremos
vosotros/as retiraréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. retirarán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For retirarse, the yo form is retiraré, as in “Yo me retiraré a los sesenta años.” — “I will retire at sixty.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo retiraría
tú retirarías
él/ella/Ud. retiraría
nosotros/as retiraríamos
vosotros/as retiraríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. retirarían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For retirarse, the yo form is retiraría, as in “Yo me retiraría a los sesenta años.” — “I would retire at sixty.”

Present Perfect

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

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For retirarse, the yo form is he retirado, as in “Yo me he retirado a los sesenta años.” — “I have retired at sixty.”

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For retirarse, the yo form is había retirado, as in “Yo me había retirado a los sesenta años.” — “I had retired at sixty.”

Future Perfect

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

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For retirarse, the yo form is habré retirado, as in “Yo me habré retirado a los sesenta años.” — “I will have retired at sixty.”

Conditional Perfect

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

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For retirarse, the yo form is habría retirado, as in “Yo me habría retirado a los sesenta años.” — “I would have retired at sixty.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo retire
tú retires
él/ella/Ud. retire
nosotros/as retiremos
vosotros/as retiréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. retiren

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For retirarse, the yo form is retire, as in “Espero que yo me retire a los sesenta años.” — “I hope that I retire at sixty.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo retirara
tú retiraras
él/ella/Ud. retirara
nosotros/as retiráramos
vosotros/as retirarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. retiraran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For retirarse, the yo form is retirara, as in “Si yo me retirara a los sesenta años, ...” — “If I retired at sixty, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: retirara becomes retirase, 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 retira
Ud. retire
nosotros/as retiremos
vosotros/as retirad
Uds. retiren

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú retires
Ud. retire
nosotros/as retiremos
vosotros/as retiréis
Uds. retiren

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is retira, as in “No te retires a los sesenta años” — “Do not retire at sixty” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no retires. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with retirarse.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with retirarse, 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 me retiro a los sesenta años cada día.” — “I retire at sixty.”
  2. “Él se retira a los sesenta años todos los días.” — “He retires at sixty.”
  3. “Yo me retiré a los sesenta años ayer.” — “I retired at sixty.”
  4. “Él se retiró a los sesenta años ayer.” — “He retired at sixty.”
  5. “Yo me retiraba a los sesenta años cuando era joven.” — “I used to retire at sixty.”
  6. “Nosotros nos retiraremos a los sesenta años mañana.” — “We will retire at sixty.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo me retiraría a los sesenta años.” — “If I could, i would retire at sixty.”
  8. “Yo me he retirado a los sesenta años hoy.” — “I have retired at sixty.”
  9. “Espero que yo me retire a los sesenta años.” — “I hope that I retire at sixty.”
  10. “Me estoy retirando a los sesenta años ahora mismo.” — “I am retiring at sixty.”

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 retirarse.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For retirarse, 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.

Dropping the reflexive pronoun

Because retirarse is reflexive, it always needs its pronoun: yo me retiro a los sesenta años, not yo retiro a los sesenta años. Without me, the sentence either means something else or means nothing at all. The pronouns are me, te, se, nos, os, se — learn them with the verb, not as an afterthought.

Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses

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

Confusing retirarse with retirar

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

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo retire a los sesenta años. Using the indicative — Espero que yo retiro — is one of the most frequent learner errors with retirarse. 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 retirarse in the present?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. What is the nosotros form of retirarse 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

Is retirarse regular or irregular?

retirarse is a reflexive -ar 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 retirarse?

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

What is the gerund of retirarse?

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

What is the yo form of retirarse in the present?

The yo form is retiro — “Yo me retiro a los sesenta años.” means “I retire at sixty.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú retiras, él retira, nosotros retiramos, ellos retiran.

What is the difference between retirarse and retirar?

retirarse means “to retire, to withdraw”, while retirar means “to withdraw, to remove”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to retire, to withdraw”, use retirarse; if it is about the meaning of retirar, use retirar instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.

Do I always need the pronoun with retirarse?

Yes. retirarse is reflexive, so the pronoun is part of the verb: me, te, se, nos, os, se. You say yo me retiro, tú te retiras, él se retira. Leaving the pronoun out changes the meaning or makes the sentence wrong, so learn the pronoun together with each form.

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