Reunirse Preterite Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb reunirse means to meet, to gather, and this page covers it in the preterite tense — the tense for actions that started and finished in the past. If you want the whole picture, start with the full reunirse conjugation, which has every tense on one page. Here we go deep on one tense only: the full table, how it is formed, when to use it, how it differs from the closest tense, examples, the mistakes learners actually make, a quiz and answers to the questions people ask most. One example to start: Yo me reuní con la familia en Navidad. — "I met with the family at Christmas."

No pronunciation is given on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for reunirse, so no pronunciation is shown rather than an invented one. All the forms below come from the verified conjugation tables, so you can trust every form you see here.

reunirse is reflexive, so every form below is shown with its reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se). The pronoun is part of the verb, not an optional extra.

The reunirse preterite tense table

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for reunirse. The gerund is reuniendo and the past participle is reunido.

Person Pronoun Form
yo me reuní
tú te reuniste
él/ella/Ud. se reunió
nosotros/as nos reunimos
vosotros/as os reunisteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se reunieron

The gerund reuniendo is used with estar for the progressive (estoy reuniendo, I am meeting), and the past participle reunido is used with haber for the perfect tenses (he reunido, I have met).

How the preterite tense of reunirse is formed

Start with the infinitive reunir. Take off the -ir ending and you are left with the stem reun-. Then add the preterite endings for -ir verbs: -í (yo), -iste (tú), -ió (él/ella/Ud.), -imos (nosotros/as), -isteis (vosotros/as) and -ieron (ellos/ellas/Uds.). The preterite endings are stressed, which is why most of them carry a written accent: reuní, reunió, reunieron.

reunirse is regular in the preterite: every form is exactly the stem plus the ending above, with no stem change and no spelling change. If you know the stem and the six endings, you can build the whole tense without memorising anything extra.

reunirse is reflexive, so every form needs its reflexive pronoun in front of it: me, te, se, nos, os, se, matching the person. In the table above the pronoun is shown in its own column, and in a sentence it goes before the conjugated verb: Me reuní con la familia en Navidad.. Do not drop the pronoun: without it, you are talking about a different verb. In the infinitive the pronoun is attached to the end (reunirse), and in the gerund it can go before the auxiliary or attached to the gerund: estoy reuniendo or reuniéndome.

When to use the preterite tense of reunirse

A completed action

The preterite is the tense of actions that started and finished. Talking about family gatherings: Christmas, Sundays, birthdays, everyone together.

  • Yo me reuní con la familia en Navidad. — "I met with the family at Christmas."
  • Tú te reuniste en el salón. — "you met in the living room."

A sequence of actions

When several things happened one after another, the preterite carries the story forward. Talking about meeting as a group at work or at school.

  • Él se reunió cada domingo. — "he/she met every Sunday."
  • Nosotros nos reunimos para cenar. — "we met for dinner."

An action at a specific time

The preterite pairs naturally with time expressions that pin an action down: ayer, anoche, el año pasado, la semana pasada. Talking about planned meetings, not chance encounters.

  • Vosotros os reunisteis en el trabajo. — "you (all) met at work."
  • Ellos se reunieron con los amigos del colegio. — "they met with school friends."

A sudden change or interruption

The preterite also marks a sudden change or an action that interrupted something else. It is the tense that moves a story from one event to the next.

  • Él se reunió cada domingo. — "he/she met every Sunday."
  • Nosotros nos reunimos para cenar. — "we met for dinner."

Reunirse preterite vs imperfect

The preterite and the imperfect are the two past tenses, and choosing between them is one of the biggest challenges in Spanish. The preterite is for a single finished action. The imperfect is for a repeated, habitual or background action, with no clear end. Compare the three pairs below: the first sentence in each pair is one finished event, the second is a habit from the past.

  • Preterite (one finished action): Yo me reuní ayer con la familia en Navidad. — "I met with the family at Christmas yesterday."

  • Imperfect (a habit): De niño, yo me reunía con la familia en Navidad. — "I used to meet with the family at Christmas as a child."

  • Preterite (one finished action): Tú te reuniste anoche en el salón. — "you met in the living room last night."

  • Imperfect (a habit): Todos los días, tú te reunías en el salón. — "you used to meet in the living room every day."

  • Preterite (one finished action): Él se reunió la semana pasada para cenar. — "he/she met for dinner last week."

  • Imperfect (a habit): Cuando era joven, él se reunía para cenar. — "he/she used to meet for dinner when I was young."

A useful rule: if you can add "yesterday" or "last night" and the sentence still makes sense, you probably want the preterite. If you can add "used to" or "every day back then", you probably want the imperfect. For more practice with this choice, try the preterite vs imperfect tool.

Examples of reunirse in the preterite

Eight sentences in the preterite tense, so you can see the forms in real use. Read the Spanish first, guess the meaning, then check the translation.

  1. Me reúno con la familia en Navidad. — "I meet with the family at Christmas."
  2. Mis padres se reúnen en el salón cada domingo. — "My parents meet in the living room every Sunday."
  3. Ayer nos reunimos para cenar en casa. — "Yesterday we met for dinner at home."
  4. De niño, me reunía con los amigos del colegio en el parque. — "As a child, I used to meet with my school friends in the park."
  5. Mañana nos reuniremos en el trabajo para hablar del proyecto. — "Tomorrow we will meet at work to talk about the project."
  6. Si pudiéramos, nos reuniríamos todos los domingos. — "If we could, we would meet every Sunday."
  7. Él se reunió en el trabajo. — "he/she met at work."
  8. Nosotros nos reunimos con los amigos del colegio. — "we met with school friends."

Common mistakes with reunirse in the preterite

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why it is wrong.

1. Yo reúno con la familia.

Wrong: Yo reúno con la familia.

Right: Yo me reúno con la familia.

Reunirse is reflexive: the pronoun me is part of the verb. Reúno on its own means to gather or collect things, not people meeting.

2. Nos reunimos con la familia is wrong because reunirse is singular.

Wrong: Nos reunimos con la familia is wrong because reunirse is singular.

Right: Nos reunimos con la familia.

No, the first sentence is correct: nos reunimos is the nosotros form of reunirse, and it is exactly how you say we meet up.

3. Using the imperfect for a single finished action

Wrong: Ayer yo me reunía con la familia en Navidad.

Right: Ayer yo me reuní con la familia en Navidad.

Ayer points to one finished action, so the preterite is right: me reuní. The imperfect me reunía would describe a repeated or background action, not a single completed event.

Quiz: test yourself on reunirse in the preterite

Choose the right form for each sentence. The answers are at the end of this section, with an explanation for every question.

  1. Yo ___ con la familia en Navidad
    • a) me reuní
    • b) te reuniste
    • c) se reunió
    • d) nos reunimos
  2. Tú ___ en el salón
    • a) me reuní
    • b) se reunió
    • c) nos reunimos
    • d) te reuniste
  3. Él ___ cada domingo
    • a) te reuniste
    • b) nos reunimos
    • c) se reunió
    • d) me reuní
  4. Nosotros ___ para cenar
    • a) se reunió
    • b) nos reunimos
    • c) me reuní
    • d) te reuniste
  5. Vosotros ___ en el trabajo
    • a) os reunisteis
    • b) me reuní
    • c) te reuniste
    • d) se reunió
  6. Ellos ___ con los amigos del colegio
    • a) me reuní
    • b) te reuniste
    • c) se reunió
    • d) se reunieron
  7. Yo ___ con la familia en Navidad
    • a) se reunió
    • b) nos reunimos
    • c) me reuní
    • d) te reuniste
  8. Tú ___ en el salón
    • a) nos reunimos
    • b) te reuniste
    • c) me reuní
    • d) se reunió

Answers

  1. a) me reuní — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  2. d) te reuniste — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.
  3. c) se reunió — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form, because the subject is él/ella/Ud..
  4. b) nos reunimos — The sentence needs the nosotros/as form, because the subject is nosotros/as.
  5. a) os reunisteis — The sentence needs the vosotros/as form, because the subject is vosotros/as.
  6. d) se reunieron — The sentence needs the ellos/ellas/Uds. form, because the subject is ellos/ellas/Uds..
  7. c) me reuní — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  8. b) te reuniste — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.

Frequently asked questions about reunirse in the preterite

Why does the present tense of reunirse look odd?

The verified tables give the present of reunirse as reúno, reúnes, reúne, reunimos, reunís, reúnen, with the reflexive pronoun in front: me reúno, te reúnes, se reúne. Use those forms as shown in the table on this page.

Is reunirse regular?

Yes, apart from the reflexive pronoun. The preterite is regular too: me reuní, te reuniste, se reunió, nos reunimos, os reunisteis, se reunieron.

Is reunirse regular in the preterite?

Yes. reunirse is regular in the preterite: the six forms are the stem reun- plus the regular endings, with no stem change. The only thing to watch is the written accent on the stressed endings, for example reuní.

What are the gerund and the past participle of reunirse?

The gerund is reuniendo, used with estar for the progressive (estoy reuniendo), and the past participle is reunido, used with haber for the perfect tenses (he reunido).

How to remember reunirse

Four small habits will fix reunirse in your memory. First, say the present tense out loud, in order, three times: me reúno, te reúnes, se reúne, nos reunimos, os reunís, se reúnen. Saying the forms is far more effective than reading them silently, because you hear the endings and the stem at the same time. Second, write three sentences about your own life: one about today with the present (me reúno), one about yesterday with the preterite (me reuní), and one about tomorrow with the future (me reuniré). Personal sentences stick because they are about you, not about a textbook. Third, remember the difference from encontrarse: Reunirse is gathering as a group, usually planned; encontrarse is meeting, often by chance. Os reunís todos en Navidad, pero te encuentras con Ana por casualidad. Finally, learn the two key forms by heart: the gerund reuniendo and the past participle reunido. With those two and the present tense, you can already build the progressive (estoy reuniendo) and the present perfect (he reunido), which covers most everyday conversation.

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