Skip to content
fluentbyear

SPANISH VERB

recibir

to receive

  • #47 most used
  • Regular -ir verb
  • Gerund: recibiendo
  • Past participle: recibido

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I receive
  2. tú you receive
  3. usted, él, ella he/she receives
  4. nosotros we receive
  5. vosotros Spain you all receive
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they receive

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I received
  2. tú you received
  3. usted, él, ella he/she received
  4. nosotros we received
  5. vosotros Spain you all received
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they received

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to receive
  2. tú you used to receive
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to receive
  4. nosotros we used to receive
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to receive
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to receive

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will receive
  2. tú you will receive
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will receive
  4. nosotros we will receive
  5. vosotros Spain you all will receive
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will receive

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would receive
  2. tú you would receive
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would receive
  4. nosotros we would receive
  5. vosotros Spain you all would receive
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would receive

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I receive
  2. tú (that) you receive
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she receive
  4. nosotros (that) we receive
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all receive
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they receive

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I received
  2. tú (if) you received
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she received
  4. nosotros (if) we received
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all received
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they received

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú receive!
  2. usted receive! (formal)
  3. nosotros receive! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain receive! (all of you)
  5. ustedes receive! (all of you)

How to use recibir

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Recibo muchos correos de publicidad todos los días.

    I get a lot of advertising emails every day.

  2. Past

    ¿Recibiste el paquete que te mandé la semana pasada?

    Did you receive the package I sent you last week?

  3. Imperfect

    Cada Navidad recibíamos una carta de la tía Rosa.

    Every Christmas we got a letter from Aunt Rosa.

  4. Future

    Recibirás un mensaje cuando tu pedido esté listo.

    You'll get a message when your order is ready.

  5. Conditional

    Con ese puesto recibiría un sueldo mucho mejor.

    With that position I would get a much better salary.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Avísame cuando recibas la confirmación del vuelo.

    Let me know when you get the flight confirmation.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Esperaba que recibieran la invitación a tiempo.

    I hoped you would receive the invitation in time.

  8. Imperative

    Reciban un fuerte abrazo de toda la familia.

    Receive a big hug from the whole family.

Where you hear recibir

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Spanish · Intermediate Level 1

  • Recibo mensajes de mi mamá. I receive messages from my mom.
  • Recibí las fotos ayer. I received the photos yesterday.
  • Vas a recibir muchas visitas. You're going to get a lot of visitors.

Spanish · Intermediate Level 2

  • Aquí recibimos a muchos bebés. We deliver a lot of babies here.
  • Recibí a mi primera bebé en mayo. I delivered my first baby in May.
  • En dos años, habrán recibido más de cien bebés. In two years, you'll have delivered more than a hundred babies.
17
The Neighbours

Intermediate Level 1 · que hayas recibido

Needs a subscription 4
It's a Girl!

Intermediate Level 2 · recibí

Needs a subscription 14
She Said She Would

Intermediate Level 2 · había recibido

Needs a subscription 21
By Then I'll Have Finished

Intermediate Level 2 · habrán recibido · recibió

Needs a subscription 14
He Says to Ask You

Intermediate Level 3 · si recibiste su regalo

Needs a subscription 13
It Was Written in Oaxaca

Advanced Level 1 · recibía

Needs a subscription 23
Midnight Mass

Advanced Level 1 · reciben regalos

Needs a subscription 14
Please Reply

Advanced Level 3 · he recibido la invitación

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -ir verb.