reír Imperfect Conjugation
reír — to laugh
The imperfect reía is used for ongoing or habitual laughing in the past.
reír Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use this to describe a period in the past when you used to laugh a lot, or to describe someone laughing in the background of a story.
Notes on reír in the Imperfect
Reír is regular in the imperfect, following the standard -ir verb pattern (-ía, -ías, -ía, etc.).
Example Sentences
De niño, me reía por cualquier tontería.
As a child, I used to laugh at any silly thing.
yo
Ustedes siempre se reían en la oficina.
You all were always laughing in the office.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Nos reíamos mientras caminábamos.
We were laughing while we were walking.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Confusing 'reía' (I was laughing) with 'reí' (I laughed).
Correct: reía vs reí
Why: Use reía for a habit or background action; use reí for a specific, completed instance.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: río
In the present, reír adds an accent to the 'í' in all forms except nosotros and vosotros to keep the 'i' sound strong.
Preterite
yo: reí
Reír is highly irregular in the preterite, featuring stem changes (e to i) and accent marks on 'í' for most forms.
Future
yo: reiré
The future tense of reír is regular: take the infinitive and add the standard endings.
Conditional
yo: reiría
The conditional reiría expresses what someone 'would' laugh at under certain conditions.
Present Subjunctive
yo: ría
The present subjunctive ría is used after expressions of emotion, doubt, or desire.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: riera
The imperfect subjunctive riera is used for past emotions or 'if' scenarios regarding laughter.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: ríe
Use the imperative ríe or rían to tell someone to laugh or cheer up.
Negative Imperative
yo: no rías
The negative imperative uses 'no' plus the present subjunctive forms: no te rías.