Unirse Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb unirse means to join, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Unirse means to join, and it is the reflexive partner of unir: you yourself join a group, a club or a cause. It takes a for the group: unirse al equipo, unirse a la protesta. It is a common verb for clubs, teams and movements. Like every Spanish verb, unirse changes its ending for each person and tense, and this page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say me uno al equipo de fútbol, and in the preterite you say me uní al club de lectura. 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: unirse
  • English: to join
  • Verb type: regular -ir verb, reflexive
  • Ending: -ir
  • Gerund: uniendo
  • Past participle: unido
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + unido)
  • Reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nos, os, se — one before every conjugated form, matching the person.

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for unirse, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Unirse takes a: me uno al equipo. The pronoun is what makes the joining your own.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for unirse. 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.

Present indicative

Person Pronoun Form
yo me uno
tú te unes
él/ella/Ud. se une
nosotros/as nos unimos
vosotros/as os unís
ellos/ellas/Uds. se unen

Preterite

Person Pronoun Form
yo me uní
tú te uniste
él/ella/Ud. se unió
nosotros/as nos unimos
vosotros/as os unisteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se unieron

Imperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me unía
tú te unías
él/ella/Ud. se unía
nosotros/as nos uníamos
vosotros/as os uníais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se unían

Future

Person Pronoun Form
yo me uniré
tú te unirás
él/ella/Ud. se unirá
nosotros/as nos uniremos
vosotros/as os uniréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se unirán

Conditional

Person Pronoun Form
yo me uniría
tú te unirías
él/ella/Ud. se uniría
nosotros/as nos uniríamos
vosotros/as os uniríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se unirían

Present perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me he unido
tú te has unido
él/ella/Ud. se ha unido
nosotros/as nos hemos unido
vosotros/as os habéis unido
ellos/ellas/Uds. se han unido

Pluperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me había unido
tú te habías unido
él/ella/Ud. se había unido
nosotros/as nos habíamos unido
vosotros/as os habíais unido
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habían unido

Future perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habré unido
tú te habrás unido
él/ella/Ud. se habrá unido
nosotros/as nos habremos unido
vosotros/as os habréis unido
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrán unido

Conditional perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habría unido
tú te habrías unido
él/ella/Ud. se habría unido
nosotros/as nos habríamos unido
vosotros/as os habríais unido
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrían unido

Present subjunctive

Person Pronoun Form
yo me una
tú te unas
él/ella/Ud. se una
nosotros/as nos unamos
vosotros/as os unáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se unan

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Pronoun Form
yo me uniera
tú te unieras
él/ella/Ud. se uniera
nosotros/as nos uniéramos
vosotros/as os unierais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se unieran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Pronoun Form
tú te une
él/ella/Ud. se una
nosotros/as nos unamos
vosotros/as os unid
ellos/ellas/Uds. se unan

Imperative (negative)

Person Pronoun Form
tú te unas
él/ella/Ud. se una
nosotros/as nos unamos
vosotros/as os unáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se unan

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund uniendo with estar for the progressive: estoy uniendo (or me estoy uniendo for this reflexive verb)
Past participle unido with haber for the perfect tenses: he unido

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For unirse, the present looks like this in a real sentence: Me uno al equipo de fútbol. Learn the present 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 with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For unirse, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, me uní a la protesta del barrio. 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 de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For unirse, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, me unía al club de lectura. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For unirse, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, me uniré a nosotros en la fiesta. 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 with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For unirse, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Me uniría al equipo de fútbol si pudiera. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For unirse, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, me he unido a la protesta del barrio. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For unirse, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Me había unido al club de lectura antes de salir. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For unirse, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, me habré unido a nosotros en la fiesta. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For unirse, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Me habría unido al equipo de fútbol con más tiempo. 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For unirse, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él se una a la protesta del barrio. 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 this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For unirse, the imperfect subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Si él se uniera al club de lectura, todo cambiaría. Learn the imperfect subjunctive 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For unirse, the affirmative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: Que se una a nosotros en la fiesta. Learn the affirmative imperative 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. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For unirse, the negative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: No te unas al equipo de fútbol. Learn the negative imperative 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 unirse, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Me uno al equipo de fútbol. — I join the football team.
  2. Se une a la protesta del barrio. — He/she joins the neighbourhood protest.
  3. Ayer, me uní al club de lectura. — Yesterday, I joined the reading club.
  4. Antes, nosotros nos uníamos a nosotros en la fiesta. — Before, we used to join us at the party.
  5. Mañana, tú te unirás al equipo de fútbol. — Tomorrow, you will join the football team.
  6. Yo me uniría a la protesta del barrio si tuviera más tiempo. — I would join the neighbourhood protest if I had more time.
  7. Él se ha unido al club de lectura. — He has joined the reading club.
  8. Espero que él se una a nosotros en la fiesta. — I hope he joins us at the party.
  9. Yo ya me había unido al equipo de fútbol antes de salir. — I had already joined the football team before leaving.
  10. Ellos se unían a la protesta del barrio cuando eran jóvenes. — They used to join the neighbourhood protest when they were young.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo uno al equipo de fútbol. — Right: Yo me uno al equipo de fútbol. — Unirse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required: without it the verb means something else, or nothing at all.
  2. Wrong: Ayer yo uno a la protesta del barrio. — Right: Ayer yo uní a la protesta del barrio. — The present and the preterite are different tenses: uno is happening now, while uní is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
  3. Wrong: Treating unirse and unir as identical in every context. — Right: Unirse means to join, while unir means to join things together. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: unirse fits sentences such as Me uno al equipo de fútbol, while unir belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy unido a la protesta del barrio. — Right: Yo he unido a la protesta del barrio. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he unido, has unido, ha unido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo uní al club de lectura todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo unía al club de lectura todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (unía), not the preterite. The preterite (uní) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on unirse. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ al equipo de fútbol. (present tense) A. me uno B. te unes C. se une D. nos unimos

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, él ___ a la protesta del barrio. (preterite) A. me uní B. te uniste C. nos unimos D. se unió

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ___ al club de lectura. (imperfect) A. te unías B. se unía C. nos uníamos D. me unía

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ___ a nosotros en la fiesta. (future) A. nos uniremos B. te unirás C. me uniré D. se unirá

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ al equipo de fútbol si pudiera. (conditional) A. me uniría B. te unirías C. se uniría D. nos uniríamos

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ a la protesta del barrio. (present subjunctive) A. me una B. te unas C. nos unamos D. se una

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ al club de lectura, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. se uniera B. nos uniéramos C. me uniera D. te unieras

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ a nosotros en la fiesta. (present perfect) A. se ha unido B. nos hemos unido C. me he unido D. te has unido

  9. Complete the command: No ___ al equipo de fútbol. (negative imperative, tú) A. te unas B. se una C. nos unamos D. os unáis

  10. Which is the gerund of unirse, used with estar for the progressive? A. unido B. uno C. uní D. uniendo

Answer key

  1. me uno — The yo present tense of unirse is me uno.
  2. se unió — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of unirse is se unió.
  3. nos uníamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of unirse is nos uníamos.
  4. te unirás — The tú future of unirse is te unirás.
  5. me uniría — The yo conditional of unirse is me uniría.
  6. se una — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of unirse is se una.
  7. me uniera — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of unirse is me uniera.
  8. nos hemos unido — The nosotros/as present perfect of unirse is nos hemos unido.
  9. te unas — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: te unas.
  10. uniendo — The gerund of unirse is uniendo: estoy uniendo. The participle unido is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does unirse mean in English?

Unirse means to join. It is used in everyday situations such as Me uno al equipo de fútbol. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is unirse a reflexive verb?

Yes. Unirse is reflexive, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun that matches the person: me, te, se, nos, os or se. For example, Me uno al equipo de fútbol and él se une a la protesta del barrio. If you leave the pronoun out, the verb changes meaning or stops making sense.

What is the difference between unirse and unir?

Unirse means to join, while unir means to join things together. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use unirse when you mean to join, as in Me uno al equipo de fútbol, and use unir for to join things together. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.

How do I say “I join” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: yo me uní a la protesta del barrio. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: yo me unía al club de lectura. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: yo me he unido a la protesta del barrio.

How do I practise unirse?

Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the unirse examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.

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