Retraer Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Retraer means “to retract”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Retraer means to retract, and it is used for retracting a statement, withdrawing an offer and pulling back a part of the body. It follows the pattern of traer, with the present retraigo, the preterite retraje, the gerund retrayendo and the participle retraído. This page shows retraer 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 present-tense form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo retraigo sus palabras después del debate.” — I retract his words after the debate.
Retraer in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how retraer 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 retraer in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Retraigo sus palabras después del debate.” — I retract his words after the debate.
“¿Tú retraes la oferta antes de firmar?” — Do you retract the offer before signing?
“Retrae la mano con cuidado.” — He/she retracts my hand carefully.
“Retraemos la denuncia en el juzgado.” — We retract the complaint in court.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show retraer in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo retraje sus palabras después del debate.” — Yesterday, I retracted his words after the debate. (preterite)
“Él retraía la oferta antes de firmar todos los días.” — He used to retract the offer before signing every day. (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 retraer stays the same.
“Nosotros retraeremos la mano con cuidado mañana.” — We will retract my hand carefully tomorrow. (future)
“¿Tú has retraído la denuncia en el juzgado?” — Have you retracted the complaint in court? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Retraéis sus palabras después del debate.” — You retract his words after the debate.
“Retraen la oferta antes de firmar.” — They retract the offer before signing.
“Retraigo la mano con cuidado.” — I retract my hand carefully.
“Retrae la denuncia en el juzgado.” — He/she retracts the complaint in court.
Retraer 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 retraer appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú retraes sus palabras después del debate?” — Do you retract his words after the debate?
Carlos: “Sí, yo retraigo sus palabras después del debate.” — Yes, I retract his words after the debate.
Lucía: “Nosotros retraemos la oferta antes de firmar.” — We retract the offer before signing.
Carlos: “Y ellos retraen la mano con cuidado.” — And they retract my hand carefully.
Lucía: “Vosotros retraéis la denuncia en el juzgado.” — You retract the complaint in court.
Carlos: “Sí, y él retrae la oferta antes de firmar.” — Yes, and he retracts the offer before signing.
A short paragraph
Lucía retrae sus palabras después del debate, y Carlos retrae la oferta antes de firmar. Nosotros retraemos la mano con cuidado, y ellos retraen la denuncia en el juzgado. Yo retraigo la mano con cuidado, y mi padre retrae la denuncia en el juzgado. Retraer is part of everyday life, because to retract is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with retraer
These are the errors learners actually make with retraer. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo retrae sus palabras después del debate.” Right: “Yo retraigo sus palabras después del debate.” Why: The person matters: retrae is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is retraigo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
Wrong: “Ayer yo retraí la oferta antes de firmar.” Right: “Ayer yo retraje la oferta antes de firmar.” Why: Retraer has an irregular preterite: the correct first-person form is retraje, not the regular retraí. Learn the preterite forms in the table as a set.
Wrong: “Treating retraer and retirar as identical in every context.” Right: “Retraer means to retract, while retirar means to withdraw.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: retraer fits sentences such as Retraigo sus palabras después del debate, while retirar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy retraído la oferta antes de firmar.” Right: “Yo he retraído la oferta antes de firmar.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he retraído, has retraído, ha retraído. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo retraje la mano con cuidado todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo retraía la mano con cuidado todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (retraía), not the preterite. The preterite (retraje) is for one finished action.
Quiz: retraer in use
Ten questions on retraer in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ sus palabras después del debate.” (His words after the debate.)
- (a) retraéis
- (b) retraigo
- (c) retraes
Answer: retraéis — The vosotros/as form of retraer in the present is retraéis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ la oferta antes de firmar.” (The offer before signing.)
- (a) retraigo
- (b) retraes
- (c) retraen
Answer: retraen — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of retraer in the present is retraen.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ sus palabras después del debate.” (His words after the debate.)
- (a) retrajo
- (b) retraje
- (c) retrajiste
Answer: retraje — The yo form of retraer in the preterite is retraje.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ la oferta antes de firmar.” (The offer before signing.)
- (a) retraía
- (b) retraías
- (c) retraíamos
Answer: retraía — The él/ella/Ud. form of retraer in the imperfect is retraía.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ la mano con cuidado.” (My hand carefully.)
- (a) retraeré
- (b) retraerás
- (c) retraeremos
Answer: retraeremos — The nosotros/as form of retraer in the future is retraeremos.
6. What does retraer mean in English?
- (a) to extract
- (b) to retract
- (c) to withdraw
Answer: to retract — Retraer means “to retract”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo retraigo sus palabras después del debate.
- (b) Ellos retrae sus palabras después del debate.
- (c) Yo retraigo la oferta antes de firmar ayer.
Answer: Yo retraigo sus palabras después del debate. — “Yo retraigo sus palabras después del debate.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I retract his words after the debate.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo retraen sus palabras después del debate.
- (b) Yo retraje sus palabras después del debate.
- (c) Yo retraigo sus palabras después del debate.
Answer: Yo retraigo sus palabras después del debate. — “Yo retraigo sus palabras después del debate.” is the correct translation. The second option uses the wrong person's form, and the third uses the preterite.
9. What is the nosotros form of retraer in the present tense?
- (a) retraes
- (b) retraemos
- (c) retraigo
Answer: retraemos — The nosotros form is retraemos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo retraje sus palabras después del debate.
- (b) Nosotros retraeremos sus palabras después del debate mañana.
- (c) Yo retraigo sus palabras después del debate.
Answer: Yo retraigo sus palabras después del debate. — “Yo retraigo sus palabras después del debate.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I retract' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo retraigo sus palabras después del debate'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo retraigo sus palabras después del debate todos los días'.
How do you say 'I retract' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo retraje la oferta antes de firmar'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo retraía la oferta antes de firmar todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo he retraído la oferta antes de firmar'.
What is the difference between retraer and retirar?
Retraer means to retract, while retirar means to withdraw. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use retraer when you mean to retract, as in Retraigo sus palabras después del debate.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of retraer — every tense of retraer in one place.
- Retraer in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on retraer and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of retraer until they are automatic.