
regir Preterite Conjugation
regir — to rule
Regir is a third-conjugation (-ir) verb with a stem change (e to i) only in the third-person forms.
regir Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to talk about a specific period of time when a law was in effect or when a certain leader ruled a country.
Notes on regir in the Preterite
As an -ir verb with a stem change, it only changes e to i in the third-person singular (rigió) and plural (rigieron).
Example Sentences
El rey rigió el país durante treinta años.
The king ruled the country for thirty years.
él/ella/usted
Esas normas rigieron la industria el año pasado.
Those norms governed the industry last year.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Yo regí el departamento de finanzas por un mes.
I headed the finance department for a month.
yo
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'regió' instead of 'rigió'.
Correct: rigió
Why: Stem-changing -ir verbs always change e to i in the third-person preterite.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'regir' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: rijo
Regir has a spelling change (g to j) in the 'yo' form and a stem change (e to i) in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Imperfect
yo: regía
Regir is completely regular in the imperfect: regía, regías, regía, regíamos, regíais, regían.
Future
yo: regiré
The future of regir is regular: regiré, regirás, regirá, regiremos, regiréis, regirán.
Conditional
yo: regiría
The conditional of regir is regular: regiría, regirías, regiría, regiríamos, regiríais, regirían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: rija
The present subjunctive uses the 'j' from 'rijo' across all forms: rija, rijas, rija, rijamos, rijáis, rijan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: rigiera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'rigier-' stem: rigiera, rigieras, rigiera, rigiéramos, rigierais, rigieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: rige
Commands use 'rige' (tú) and 'rija' (usted/ustedes/nosotros).
Negative Imperative
yo: no rijas
Negative commands are identical to the present subjunctive: no rijas, no rija, no rijamos, no rijáis, no rijan.