No repitas como un loro todo lo que oyes: Repetir verb
The verb “repetir” is a common verb in Spanish language, it means to do something again or it can mean to say what others have said again too. Its most common use is when someone wants to say that someone likes gossiping. For example; ‘’ella repite todo lo que el profesor dice’’.
However, to repeat in English just means to say again what has already been said and to refer to an action we do more than once we use the preposition again, while Repetir in Spanish means both.
Let’s learn together!
Before you continue reading, remember:
- “You” is only a pronoun which has different meanings. However, in Spanish we have 3 important pronouns: tú, usted, ustedes. Tú is used when you have confidence with the person you are talking to, usted is more formal and ustedes is used to talk about more than one person whom we are directing to.
- In Spanish, we have unspoken subjects so it is no needed to use a pronoun every time as we do in English.
- We use written accents in Spanish, be careful. On the opposite, you will have miscommunication problems in your writing.
Read the following examples:
- Yo repito la actividad porque está mal
- Tú repetiste lo que oíste sted repetía el año escolar
- Nosotros repetiremos el concursoEllos repetirían la frase.
These are some examples of phrases in the indicative mode of this interesting verb. Do you recognize these tenses?
| Subject | Present | Perfect Preterit (past) | Imperfect preterit (past) | Future simple | Conditional |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yo (I) | Repito | Repetí | Repetía | Repetiré | Repetiría |
| Tú (you) | Repites | Repetiste | Repetías | Repetirás | Repetirías |
| Él (he)/ella (she) /usted (you: formal) | Repite | Repitió | Repetía | Repetirá | RepetiráRepetiría |
| Nosotros (we) | Repetimos | Repetimos | Repetían | Repetiremos | Repetiríamos |
| Ustedes (you: plural)/ellos (They: mas.) /ellas (They: fem.) | Repiten | Repitieron | Repetían | Repetirán | Repetirían |
Analyze the previous and let’s review some examples:
We use present to express that we are doing something again or saying it again: Yo repito la tarea si está mal. (I do my homework again if it is wrong.).
We use perfect preterit to express something that we did twice or repeated: Tú repetiste la tarea de química. (You did chemistry homework again.).
We use imperfect preterit to talk about something we used to do more than once or just repeated what the others have said: Él repetía lo que su mamá le decía (He repeated what her mother told him.).
We use the future simple to talk about things we will do twice: Nosotros repetiremos la prueba. (We will repeat the test).
We use the simple conditional tense to talk about something we would probably do again in a hypothetical case: Ustedes repetirían el curso, si no pasan el examen. (You would repeat the course if you don’t pass the exam.).
| Subject | Compounded perfect preterit (Present perfect) | pluperfect (past perfect) | Perfect future | Perfect Conditional |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yo (I) | He repetido | Había repetido | Habré repetido | Habría repetido |
| Tú (you) | Has repetido | Habías repetido | Habrás repetido | Habrías repetido |
| Él (he)/ella (she) /usted (you: formal) | Ha repetido | Había repetido | Habrá repetido | habría repetido |
| Nosotros (we) | Hemos repetido | habíamos repetido | Habremos repetido | habríamos repetido |
| Ustedes (you: plural)/ellos (They: mas.) /ellas (They: fem.) | Han repetido | Habían repetido | Habrán repetido | Habrían repetido |
Let’s see some of the most used perfect tenses of the indicative mode.
We build compounded tenses using the verb ‘’HABER’’ (HAVE) and the past participle of the main verb, in this case repetir: repetido.
We use the compounded perfect preterit to talk about something we have done or repeated for a while: He repetido el mismo curso 3 veces. (I have studied the course 3 times.).
We use the pluperfect to talk about something we had already done or repeated before an action developed in the past: Cuando me gradué, había repetido la asignatura 2 veces. (When I graduated, I had studied the same subject twice.)
We use the perfect future to talk about a fact or something we heard we hope to be done again in the future: Mañana habrán repetido el mismo proceso. (They will have done the same process again tomorrow.)
We use perfect conditional to talk about something we would probably have done several times if something had happened: Si hubiera podido, habría repetido el examen. (If I had been able to, I would have done the exam again.).
In Spanish, we also have two other verbal modes: the subjunctive and the imperative mode.
Let’s see the common forms of the subjunctive mode:
| Subject | Present | Imperfect preterit | pluperfect | Perfect preterit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yo (I) | Repita | Repitiera | Hubiera repetido | haya repetido |
| Tú (you) | Repitas | Repitieras | Hubieras repetido | hayas repetido |
| Él (he)/ella (she) /usted | Repita | Repitiera | Hubiera repetido | haya repetido |
| Nosotros (we) | Repitamos | Repitiéramos | Hubiéramos repetido | hayamos repetido |
| Ustedes (you: plural)/ellos (They: mas.) /ellas (They: fem.) | Repitan | Repitieran | Hubieran repetido | hayan repetido |
Subjunctive is usually used to express wishes, wants and hopes. And it is usually introduced by the words: que, ojalá, espero (que), si…, cuando.
The present form is used to express something we would like it to be repeated or done again in the present: Espero que repitas lo que te dije mañana (I hope you repeat what I told you tomorrow.).
The imperfect preterit form works to mention something that we hope someone woulddo it again: Ojalá repitiera el examen (If only he did the exam again.).
The pluperfect is used to express something we wanted to be done again or repeated in a past situation: Si hubieras repetido el procedimiento, el producto hubiera sido mejor. (If you had done the procedure again, the product had been better.).
The perfect preterit form is used to express the consequence when something is done again in the future: Cuando hayas repetido la tarea, lo entenderás mejor. (When you have done the task again, you will understand it.).
Let’s review a bit the imperative mode:
| Subject | Imperative |
|---|---|
| Tú (you) | Repite |
| Usted (you: formal) | Repita |
| Nosotros (we) | Repitamos |
| Ustedes (you: plural) | Repitan |
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| (Tu) Repite lo que dije | Repeat what I said |
| (usted) Repítalo | Do it again |
| (nosotros) Repitamos el examen | let’s do the exam again |
| (ustedes) Repitan el ejercicio | do the exercise again |
Repetir Spanish Verb – Quiz/Worksheet
1. Yo _______ el ejercicio (indicative mode: present)
2. Él _________ lo que su mamá le dijo (indicative mode: perfect preterit)
3. Usted _______ lo que otros hacían cuando era niño (indicative mode: imperfect preterit)
4. Ellas ________ el año escolar (indicative mode: future simple)
5. Si perdiera el examen, ella lo _______ (indicative mode: conditional)
6. Espero que tú ________ lo que mamá te dijo (subjuntive mode: present)
7. Ojalá él _________ el año escolar (subjuntive: imperfect preterit)
8. Cuando ________ ________ el procedimiento, te apagaré (subjuntive mode: perfect preterit)
9. Si ella _______ ________ la prueba, le hubiera ido mejor. (subjuntive mode: pluperfect)
10. (nosotros) __________ la canción. (imperative mode)
Answers
1. Repito
2. Repitió
3. Repetía
4. Repetirán
5. Repetiría
6. Repitas
7. Repitiera
8. Hayas repetido
9. Hubiera repetido
10. Repitamos
Did you know? Among Colombian people, the expression in the title is used when we want to tell someone to not repeat all that they hear.
About the Author:
Specializations: Spanish Tutors on Skype
Bio: I am Julio Martinez, I have studied a bachelor’s degree in language teaching since 2019, and I am close to get graduated. I have work as English teacher in some institutions in Colombia, I have also worked as tutor supporting some students to improve their Spanish levels and as tutor for personalized French classes. By the same way, I speak not only Spanish and English but also French and Portuguese, I have been participating in a research group of language teaching for people with difficulties. As well as, I have participated in different seminars of different institutions and Universities in the field of languages teaching.
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