referir Preterite Conjugation
referir — to refer
Referir is mostly regular but has a 'slipper' stem change (e > i) in the third-person forms.
referir Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to describe a specific time someone mentioned or referred to something in the past.
Notes on referir in the Preterite
The third-person singular (él/ella) and plural (ellos/ellas) change the 'e' to 'i' (refirió, refirieron). All other forms are regular.
Example Sentences
El testigo se refirió al sospechoso.
The witness referred to the suspect.
él/ella/usted
Me referí a ese libro en mi ensayo.
I referred to that book in my essay.
yo
Ellos se refirieron a nosotros con mucho respeto.
They referred to us with a lot of respect.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Saying 'referió' instead of 'refirió'.
Correct: refirió
Why: -Ir verbs with an 'e' in the stem often change to 'i' in the third-person preterite.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: refiero
Referir is an e > ie stem-changing verb, except for the nosotros and vosotros forms.
Imperfect
yo: refería
Referir is completely regular in the imperfect: refería, referías, refería...
Future
yo: referiré
Referir is completely regular in the future tense: infinitive + endings.
Conditional
yo: referiría
Referir is regular in the conditional: infinitive + -ía, -ías, -ía...
Present Subjunctive
yo: refiera
Referir has a stem change (e > ie) and a special change in the nosotros/vosotros forms (e > i).
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: refiriera
The stem changes to 'refiri-' for all persons in this past-tense hypothetical form.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: refiere
The imperative uses the e > ie stem change for 'tú' and 'usted', but 'i' for 'nosotros'.
Negative Imperative
yo: no refieras
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive forms with 'no'.