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SPANISH VERB

retirarse

to leave; to withdraw

  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: retirándose
  • Past participle: retirado

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use retirarse

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

  1. Present

    El torero se retira este año tras treinta temporadas.

    The bullfighter is retiring this year after thirty seasons.

  2. Past

    Nos retiramos pronto porque madrugábamos al día siguiente.

    We left early because we were getting up early the next day.

  3. Imperfect

    Mi abuelo se retiraba a dormir a las diez en punto.

    My grandad went off to bed at ten sharp.

  4. Future

    El equipo se retirará del torneo por las lesiones.

    The team will withdraw from the tournament because of injuries.

  5. Conditional

    Yo me retiraría ya, mañana hay que trabajar.

    I'd head off now, we have to work tomorrow.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Es mejor que te retires antes de cansarte.

    It's better you call it a night before you get tired.

  7. Past subjunctive

    El médico le aconsejó que se retirara del fútbol.

    The doctor advised him to retire from football.

  8. Imperative

    Retírese a descansar, don Manuel, ya es tarde.

    Go and rest, don Manuel, it's late now.

Good to know

  • Retirarse is also to retire from a sport; from a job, Spain says jubilarse.

Where you hear retirarse

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

Spanish · Advanced Level 3

  • Me retiro a las doce. I'm leaving at midnight.
  • El profesor se retiró antes que nosotros. The professor left before us.
  • Me voy a retirar después del brindis. I'm going to leave after the toast.

Verbs like this one

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