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SPANISH VERB

recoger

to pick up

  • #195 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Gerund: recogiendo
  • Past participle: recogido

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use recoger

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

  1. Present

    Recojo a los niños de la escuela a las dos.

    I pick up the kids from school at two.

  2. Past

    Recogí el paquete en la oficina de correos.

    I picked up the package at the post office.

  3. Imperfect

    Mi papá nos recogía en la estación los viernes.

    My dad used to pick us up at the station on Fridays.

  4. Future

    Te recogeré en el aeropuerto a las seis.

    I'll pick you up at the airport at six.

  5. Conditional

    Yo recogería la ropa, pero la tintorería ya cerró.

    I'd pick up the clothes, but the dry cleaner's already closed.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Necesito que recojas tus juguetes antes de cenar.

    I need you to pick up your toys before dinner.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Si recogieras la basura, el parque estaría limpio.

    If you picked up the trash, the park would be clean.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Recoge tu cuarto antes de salir a jugar!

    Tidy your room before going out to play!

Good to know

  • "Recoger" is also to tidy up: "Recoge tu cuarto."

Where you hear recoger

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

Spanish · Beginner Level 3

  • Te recojo a las seis. I'll pick you up at six.
  • Recogí a Valeria en el aeropuerto. I picked Valeria up at the airport.
  • Te voy a recoger en la terminal. I'm going to pick you up at the bus station.

Spanish · Intermediate Level 3

  • Yo siempre recojo el arroz después de una boda. I always pick up the rice after a wedding.
  • Sarah recogió el lazo en un segundo. Sarah picked up the cord in a second.
  • Mañana vamos a recoger los regalos. Tomorrow we're going to pick up the presents.
8
I'll Take You

Beginner Level 3 · Te recojo. · me recoges

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I Wanted Everything to Be Perfect

Intermediate Level 3 · recógelo

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Verbs like this one

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