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SPANISH VERB

referirse

to refer, to mean

  • #126 most used
  • Irregular -ir verb
  • Gerund: refiriéndose
  • Past participle: referido

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use referirse

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

  1. Present

    ¿A qué te refieres exactamente con eso?

    What exactly do you mean by that?

  2. Past

    El jefe se refirió a ti en la reunión.

    The boss referred to you in the meeting.

  3. Imperfect

    Cuando dije tarde, me refería a las diez.

    When I said late, I meant ten o'clock.

  4. Future

    El doctor se referirá a tus análisis en la cita.

    The doctor will go over your tests at the appointment.

  5. Conditional

    Nadie se referiría a ella de esa manera.

    Nobody would refer to her that way.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Que nadie se refiera a ese tema durante la cena.

    Let nobody bring up that subject during dinner.

  7. Past subjunctive

    No pensé que te refirieras a mi hermano.

    I didn't think you meant my brother.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Refiérete a los hechos, no a las personas!

    Stick to the facts, not the people!

Good to know

  • "¿A qué te refieres?" is "what do you mean?"; "referirse a" always takes "a".

Verbs like this one

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