Repetir Conjugation – Definition & Preterite

Repetir Conjugation – The Spanish verb repetir has much the same meaning as the English verb “repeat,” usually meaning to do something over again. However, it is somewhat more flexible in usage than its English counterpart, as it can also mean to have a second helping of food or to imitate an action. The repetir conjugation is similar to most other -ir verbs, except that the stem of repet- changes to repit- when the second syllable is stressed or when the verb is in the subjunctive mood.

Below you will find the conjugations of the present indicative, imperfect indicative, preterite indicative, future indicates, periphrastic future, conditional, and imperative tenses and moods, as well as the past participle and the gerund.

Repetir Conjugation

Meaning/Definition

Do you remember when you were a child and copied or imitated everything that adults around you did? Do you think you will have to retake any tests this semester? How often do you have a second helping? Even though all these questions contain different main verbs, in Spanish we would only need one: repetir (pronounced: reh-peh-TEER). The basic meaning of repetir is ‘to repeat’, but as you can guess from the questions above, it can also mean ‘to imitate’, ‘to retake’ or ‘to have a second helping’. In this article, you will learn how to conjugate the verb repetir in the present tense, using it in all these different contexts. Follow Clara and Gabriel in their conversations to learn how to use this verb adequately.

Uses of Repetir

The verb repetir has different meanings depending on the context. Let’s see how to use the present tense or the infinitive in every case.

To Repeat

Repetir means ‘to repeat’, in the sense of ‘do’ or ‘say’ something again.

Clara is talking about her subjects at school with Gabriel, one of her best friends. She loves chemistry because they really get to do real practice at the lab. She says: Normalmente repetimos el experimento para comprobar que el resultado no varía. (‘Normally, we repeat the experiment to check that the result doesn’t change.’)

Gabriel prefers languages and literature rather than science. He is quite good at French

Repito Los verbos una y Otra vez para memorizar las conjugaciones, pero me encanta Aprender francés. (‘I repeat the verbs over and over again to memorize the conjugations, but I love learning French.’)

Clara, however, is struggling with the language

Pues para mí es muy difícil. (‘Well, for me it’s very difficult.’) La profesora repite los verbos cientos de veces pero no los aprendo. (‘The teacher repeats the verbs hundreds of times)

To Imitate/Mimic

Gabriel says that the best way of learning a language is by repeating and imitating everything you hear:

Sirepites lo que oyes en canciones o películas, mejorarás tu pronunciación. (‘If you repeat what you hear in songs or movies, you will improve your pronunciation.’)

To Retake

Clara is worried about her test. If she fails, she will have to retake it again in the summer.

No quiero repetir el examen. (‘I don’t want to retake the exam.’)

Preterite of Repetir

With the preterite, we can talk about finished actions in the past. Use it to say that you repeated an exercise or had seconds at lunch or dinner. To conjugate repetir in the preterite, take its stem (repet-) and add the adequate endings. But pay attention to the third person (both singular and plural), because there is a vocalic change – the stem is repit- in this case.

Examples in the Preterite
Carmen cooked a delicious paella for her family and friends yesterday. It was so yummy that everyone wanted to have seconds. Carmen offered to serve some more.
Carmen: ¿Quién Quiere más? (Who wants some more?)
Paula: Yo ya repetí, gracias. (I already had seconds, thanks.)
Carmen: ¿Y tú, Juan? (And you, Juan?) ¿Ya repetiste? (Did you have a second helping yet?)
Juan: Creo que todos repetimos. (I think that all of us had seconds.)
Paula: La paella estaba deliciosa. (The paella was delicious.) Todo el Mundo repitió. (Everyone had seconds.) Incluso los niños repitieron. (Even the children had seconds.)