renunciar Preterite Conjugation
renunciar — resign
Use 'renuncié' (yo), 'renunciaste' (tú), 'renunció' (él/ella/usted), 'renunciamos' (nosotros), 'renunciasteis' (vosotros), 'renunciaron' (ellos/ellas/ustedes) for completed past actions.
renunciar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
The preterite is for actions in the past that have a clear beginning and end. If someone resigned at a specific point in time or decided to give something up completely, use the preterite.
Notes on renunciar in the Preterite
Renunciar is regular in the preterite tense. The stem 'renunci-' takes the standard preterite endings for -ar verbs: -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron.
Example Sentences
Finalmente, renuncié a mi trabajo.
Finally, I resigned from my job.
yo
¿Renunciaste a la idea de comprar la casa?
Did you give up the idea of buying the house?
tú
El director renunció después de la reunión.
The director resigned after the meeting.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros renunciamos a la competencia el año pasado.
We withdrew from the competition last year.
nosotros
Ellos renunciaron a sus beneficios.
They gave up their benefits.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect ('renunciaba') for a single, completed act of resigning.
Correct: Use the preterite: 'Renuncié'.
Why: The preterite marks a specific, completed event, whereas the imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'renunció' (él/ella/usted).
Correct: The third-person singular preterite form is 'renunció', with an accent on the 'o'.
Why: This accent distinguishes it from the present tense 'renuncia' and indicates the stressed syllable.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'renunciar' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: renuncio
Use 'renuncio' (yo), 'renuncias' (tú), 'renuncia' (él/ella/usted), 'renunciamos' (nosotros), 'renunciáis' (vosotros), 'renuncian' (ellos/ellas/ustedes) for current actions, habits, or general truths.
Imperfect
yo: renunciaba
Use 'renunciaba' (yo/él/ella/usted), 'renunciabas' (tú), 'renunciábamos' (nosotros), 'renunciabais' (vosotros), 'renunciaban' (ellos/ellas/ustedes) for ongoing or habitual past actions.
Future
yo: renunciaré
Use 'renunciaré' (yo), 'renunciarás' (tú), 'renunciará' (él/ella/usted), 'renunciaremos' (nosotros), 'renunciaréis' (vosotros), 'renunciarán' (ellos/ellas/ustedes) for future actions or probability.
Conditional
yo: renunciaría
Use 'renunciaría' (yo), 'renunciarías' (tú), 'renunciaría' (él/ella/usted), 'renunciaríamos' (nosotros), 'renunciaríais' (vosotros), 'renunciarían' (ellos/ellas/ustedes) for hypotheticals, polite requests, or future-in-the-past.
Present Subjunctive
yo: renuncie
Use 'renuncie' (yo/él/ella/usted), 'renunciemos' (nosotros), 'renunciéis' (vosotros), 'renuncien' (ellos/ellas/ustedes) after expressions of doubt, desire, emotion, or uncertainty.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: renunciara
Use 'renunciara' or 'renunciase' (yo/él/ella/usted/tú), 'renunciáramos' or 'renunciásemos' (nosotros), 'renunciarais' or 'renunciaseis' (vosotros), 'renunciaran' or 'renunciasen' (ellos/ellas/ustedes) for past hypotheticals or wishes.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: renuncia
Use 'renuncia' (tú), 'renuncie' (usted), 'renunciemos' (nosotros), 'renunciad' (vosotros), 'renuncien' (ustedes) for direct commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no renuncies
Use 'no renuncies' (tú), 'no renuncie' (usted), 'no renunciemos' (nosotros), 'no renunciéis' (vosotros), 'no renuncien' (ustedes) for negative commands.