Rodear Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb rodear means to surround, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Rodear is a regular -ar verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of rodear 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. For example, in the present tense you say Yo rodeo la casa — "I surround the house" — and in the preterite you say Yo rodeé el jardín — "I surrounded the garden". Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: rodear
- English: to surround
- Verb type: regular -ar verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: rodeando
- Past participle: rodeado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + rodeado)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for rodear, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for rodear. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.
Gerund: rodeando · Past participle: rodeado
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | rodeo |
| tú | rodeas |
| él/ella/Ud. | rodea |
| nosotros/as | rodeamos |
| vosotros/as | rodeáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | rodean |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | rodeé |
| tú | rodeaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | rodeó |
| nosotros/as | rodeamos |
| vosotros/as | rodeasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | rodearon |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | rodeaba |
| tú | rodeabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | rodeaba |
| nosotros/as | rodeábamos |
| vosotros/as | rodeabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | rodeaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | rodearé |
| tú | rodearás |
| él/ella/Ud. | rodeará |
| nosotros/as | rodearemos |
| vosotros/as | rodearéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | rodearán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | rodearía |
| tú | rodearías |
| él/ella/Ud. | rodearía |
| nosotros/as | rodearíamos |
| vosotros/as | rodearíais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | rodearían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he rodeado |
| tú | has rodeado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha rodeado |
| nosotros/as | hemos rodeado |
| vosotros/as | habéis rodeado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han rodeado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había rodeado |
| tú | habías rodeado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había rodeado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos rodeado |
| vosotros/as | habíais rodeado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían rodeado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré rodeado |
| tú | habrás rodeado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá rodeado |
| nosotros/as | habremos rodeado |
| vosotros/as | habréis rodeado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán rodeado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría rodeado |
| tú | habrías rodeado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría rodeado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos rodeado |
| vosotros/as | habríais rodeado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían rodeado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | rodee |
| tú | rodees |
| él/ella/Ud. | rodee |
| nosotros/as | rodeemos |
| vosotros/as | rodeéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | rodeen |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | rodeara |
| tú | rodearas |
| él/ella/Ud. | rodeara |
| nosotros/as | rodeáramos |
| vosotros/as | rodearais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | rodearan |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | rodea |
| él/ella/Ud. | rodee |
| nosotros/as | rodeemos |
| vosotros/as | rodead |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | rodeen |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | rodees |
| él/ella/Ud. | rodee |
| nosotros/as | rodeemos |
| vosotros/as | rodeéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | rodeen |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | rodeando | with estar for the progressive: estoy rodeando |
| Past participle | rodeado | with haber for the perfect tenses: he rodeado |
How to use each tense
Present indicative
Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. It is the tense you will use most often in everyday conversation, for habits with words like todos los días and for statements that are true in general. For rodear, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo rodeo el jardín — "I surround the garden". Learn the present indicative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Preterite
Use the preterite for finished actions in the past — things that started and ended, often with time words like ayer, anoche or la semana pasada. The preterite moves a story forward, one completed event at a time. For rodear, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Yo rodeé la ciudad — "I surrounded the city". Learn the preterite forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperfect
Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with words like antes, de niño or mientras. It describes how things used to be, not one finished event. For rodear, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo rodeaba la casa — "I used to surround the house". Learn the imperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Future
Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. It talks about what will happen, not what is happening now. For rodear, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Yo rodearé el jardín — "I will surround the garden". Learn the future forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Conditional
Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often in si clauses. It softens a request and describes imagined situations. For rodear, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo rodearía la ciudad — "I would surround the city". Learn the conditional forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Present perfect
Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. It connects the past with the present moment. For rodear, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo he rodeado la casa — "I have surrounded the house". Learn the present perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Pluperfect
Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. It is the past of the past, and it usually appears with antes de or ya. For rodear, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo había rodeado el jardín — "I had surrounded the garden". Learn the pluperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Future perfect
Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time, often with para mañana or para el viernes. For rodear, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habré rodeado la ciudad — "I will have surrounded the city". Learn the future perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Conditional perfect
Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. It looks back at a past that never happened. For rodear, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría rodeado la casa — "I would have surrounded the house". Learn the conditional perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Present subjunctive
Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. The subjunctive does not state a fact; it states an attitude towards the action. For rodear, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él rodee el jardín — "I hope he surrounds the garden". Learn the present subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past, and note the -ra forms shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For rodear, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo rodeara la ciudad, todo cambiaría — "If I surrounded the city, everything would change". Learn the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperative (affirmative)
Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. It tells someone to do something, and it has no yo form. For rodear, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Rodee la casa — "Let him surround the house". Learn the imperative (affirmative) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperative (negative)
Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. It uses the subjunctive forms, so it looks different from the affirmative commands. For rodear, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No rodees el jardín — "Don't surround the garden". Learn the imperative (negative) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with rodear, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.
- Yo rodeo la ciudad — "I surround the city"
- Él rodea la casa — "He surrounds the house"
- Yo rodeé el jardín — "I surrounded the garden"
- Yo rodeaba la ciudad — "I used to surround the city"
- Tú rodearás la casa — "You will surround the house"
- Yo rodearía el jardín — "I would surround the garden"
- Él ha rodeado la ciudad — "He has surrounded the city"
- Espero que él rodee la casa — "I hope he surrounds the house"
- Yo había rodeado el jardín — "I had surrounded the garden"
- Ellos rodeaban la ciudad — "They used to surround the city"
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Ellos rodea la casa — Right: Ellos rodean la casa — Ellos needs the ellos form rodean. The singular rodea belongs with él, ella or a singular noun.
- Wrong: Ayer, yo rodeo — Right: Ayer, yo rodeé — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to rodeé.
- Wrong: De niño, yo rodeé todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo rodeaba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (rodeaba), not the preterite. The preterite (rodeé) is for one finished action.
- Wrong: Yo soy rodeado el jardín. — Right: Yo he rodeado el jardín. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he rodeado, has rodeado, ha rodeado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
- Wrong: Espero que él rodea la casa. — Right: Espero que él rodee la casa. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: rodee. The indicative rodea is wrong here.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on rodear. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la casa. (present tense) A. rodeo B. rodead C. rodeas D. rodean
Complete the sentence: Él ___ la casa. (preterite) A. rodeáis B. rodeabas C. rodeó D. rodeaste
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ la casa. (imperfect) A. rodeen B. rodead C. rodearemos D. rodeábamos
Complete the sentence: Tú ___ la casa. (future) A. rodearás B. rodearía C. rodeabais D. rodearías
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la casa. (conditional) A. has rodeado B. rodeé C. rodearon D. rodearía
Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ la casa. (present subjunctive) A. rodee B. rodearéis C. rodearás D. rodearemos
Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ la casa, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. rodearán B. habrá rodeado C. rodearais D. rodeara
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ la casa. (present perfect) A. he rodeado B. hemos rodeado C. rodearían D. ha rodeado
Complete the command: No ___ la casa. (negative imperative, tú) A. rodees B. rodeemos C. rodee D. rodeéis
Which is the gerund of rodear, used with estar for the progressive? A. rodearé B. rodeando C. rodeo D. rodeé
Answer key
- rodeo — The yo present tense of rodear is rodeo.
- rodeó — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of rodear is rodeó.
- rodeábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of rodear is rodeábamos.
- rodearás — The tú future of rodear is rodearás.
- rodearía — The yo conditional of rodear is rodearía.
- rodee — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of rodear is rodee.
- rodeara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of rodear is rodeara.
- hemos rodeado — The nosotros/as present perfect of rodear is hemos rodeado.
- rodees — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: rodees.
- rodeando — The gerund of rodear is rodeando: estoy rodeando. The participle rodeado is used with haber instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does rodear mean in English?
Rodear means to surround. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo rodeo la casa. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.
Is rodear regular?
Yes. Rodear is a regular -ar verb: rodeo, rodeas, rodea. The only thing to learn is the pattern of endings, which is the same for every regular -ar verb.
What is the gerund and the past participle of rodear?
The gerund is rodeando, used with estar for the progressive: estoy rodeando. The past participle is rodeado, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he rodeado.
How do I say “I surround” in the past?
It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo rodeé el jardín. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo rodeaba la ciudad. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he rodeado la casa.
How do I practise rodear?
Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the rodear examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related links
- Rodear in the present tense — the full present-tense table for rodear.
- Rodear examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for rodear.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Roncar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with rodear.
- Rozar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with rodear.
- Sacrificar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with rodear.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.
- Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.