reír Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation
reír — to laugh
The imperfect subjunctive riera is used for past emotions or 'if' scenarios regarding laughter.
reír Imperfect Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Imperfect Subjunctive
Use this in 'if' clauses (e.g., 'If I laughed...') or after past expressions of emotion.
Notes on reír in the Imperfect Subjunctive
This tense is based on the third-person plural of the preterite (rieron), resulting in the stem 'rie-'.
Example Sentences
Si me riera ahora, sería grosero.
If I laughed now, it would be rude.
yo
Quería que todos rieran.
I wanted everyone to laugh.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Si nos riéramos, nos meteríamos en problemas.
If we laughed, we would get in trouble.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'reiera' with an extra 'e'.
Correct: riera
Why: The stem follows the preterite 'ri-'. There is no 'e' after the 'i'.
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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.
Imperfect
yo: reía
The imperfect reía is used for ongoing or habitual laughing in the past.
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.
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.