Ella Verbsnegarse to refuse Irregular Verb
At a glance: Negarse (to refuse) is a widely used reflexive irregular verbs in Spanish. In the present tense: me niego, te niegas, se niega, nos negamos, os negáis, se niegan. Yo, tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos change e to ie (niego, niegas, niega, niegan); nosotros and vosotros are regular. It is also irregular in the preterite (me negué) and present subjunctive (me niegue).

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The Indicative Present of negarse is used to talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths. For example, “me niego”, meaning “I refuse”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me niego | I refuse |
| Tú | te niegas | you refuse |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se niega | s/he refuses |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos negamos | we refuse |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os negáis | you (plural) refuse |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se niegan | they refuse |
How it’s built: Yo, tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos change e to ie (niego, niegas, niega, niegan); nosotros and vosotros are regular. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Preterite of negarse is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “me negué”, meaning “I refused”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me negué | I refused |
| Tú | te negaste | you refused |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se negó | s/he refused |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos negamos | we refused |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os negasteis | you (plural) refused |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se negaron | they refused |
How it’s built: Yo adds a u (negué); the other forms are regular. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Imperfect of negarse is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “me negaba”, meaning “I used to refuse”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me negaba | I used to refuse |
| Tú | te negabas | you used to refuse |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se negaba | s/he used to refuse |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos negábamos | we used to refuse |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os negabais | you (plural) used to refuse |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se negaban | they used to refuse |
How it’s built: Regular: stem neg- plus the -ar endings. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Present Continuous of negarse is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “me estoy negando”, meaning “I am refusing”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me estoy negando | I am refusing |
| Tú | te estás negando | you are refusing |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se está negando | s/he is refusing |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos estamos negando | we are refusing |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os estáis negando | you (plural) are refusing |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se están negando | they are refusing |
How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund negando. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Informal Future of negarse is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “me voy a negar”, meaning “I am going to refuse”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me voy a negar | I am going to refuse |
| Tú | te vas a negar | you are going to refuse |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se va a negar | s/he is going to refuse |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos vamos a negar | we are going to refuse |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os vais a negar | you (plural) are going to refuse |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se van a negar | they are going to refuse |
How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive negar. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Future of negarse is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “me negaré”, meaning “I will refuse”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me negaré | I will refuse |
| Tú | te negarás | you will refuse |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se negará | s/he will refuse |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos negaremos | we will refuse |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os negaréis | you (plural) will refuse |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se negarán | they will refuse |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive negar plus the future endings. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Conditional of negarse is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “me negaría”, meaning “I would refuse”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me negaría | I would refuse |
| Tú | te negarías | you would refuse |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se negaría | s/he would refuse |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos negaríamos | we would refuse |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os negaríais | you (plural) would refuse |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se negarían | they would refuse |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive negar plus the conditional endings. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Present Perfect of negarse is used to describe actions that started recently (in the past) and are still happening now or things that have been done recently. For example, “me he negado”, meaning “I have refused”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me he negado | I have refused |
| Tú | te has negado | you have refused |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se ha negado | s/he has refused |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos hemos negado | we have refused |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os habéis negado | you (plural) have refused |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se han negado | they have refused |
How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle negado. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Past Perfect of negarse is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “me había negado”, meaning “I had refused”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me había negado | I had refused |
| Tú | te habías negado | you had refused |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se había negado | s/he had refused |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos habíamos negado | we had refused |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os habíais negado | you (plural) had refused |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se habían negado | they had refused |
How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle negado. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Future Perfect of negarse is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “me habré negado”, meaning “I will have refused”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me habré negado | I will have refused |
| Tú | te habrás negado | you will have refused |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se habrá negado | s/he will have refused |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos habremos negado | we will have refused |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os habréis negado | you (plural) will have refused |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se habrán negado | they will have refused |
How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle negado. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of negarse is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “me habría negado”, meaning “I would have refused”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me habría negado | I would have refused |
| Tú | te habrías negado | you would have refused |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se habría negado | s/he would have refused |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos habríamos negado | we would have refused |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os habríais negado | you (plural) would have refused |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se habrían negado | they would have refused |
How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the past participle negado. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
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The Subjunctive Present is used to talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about. For example, “me niegue”, meaning “I refuse”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me niegue | I refuse |
| Tú | te niegues | you refuse |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se niegue | s/he refuses |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos neguemos | we refuse |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os neguéis | you (plural) refuse |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se nieguen | they refuse |
How it’s built: Yo, tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos change e to ie and add a u (niegue, niegues, niegue, nieguen); nosotros and vosotros add a u (neguemos, neguéis). The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Subjunctive Imperfect is used to speak about unlikely or uncertain events in the past or to cast an opinion (emotional) about something that happened in the past. For example, “me negara”, meaning “I refused”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me negara | I refused |
| Tú | te negaras | you refused |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se negara | s/he refused |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos negáramos | we refused |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os negarais | you (plural) refused |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se negaran | they refused |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, negaron, without -ron, plus the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (negáramos). The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, “me negare”, meaning “I will refuse”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me negare | I will refuse |
| Tú | te negares | you will refuse |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se negare | s/he will refuse |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos negáremos | we will refuse |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os negareis | you (plural) will refuse |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se negaren | they will refuse |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, negaron, without -ron, plus the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (negáremos). The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Subjunctive Present Perfect is used to describe past actions or events that are still connected to the present day and to speak about an action that will have happened by a certain time in the future. For example, “me haya negado”, meaning “I have refused”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me haya negado | I have refused |
| Tú | te hayas negado | you have refused |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se haya negado | s/he has refused |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos hayamos negado | we have refused |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os hayáis negado | you (plural) have refused |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se hayan negado | they have refused |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle negado. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Subjunctive Past Perfect is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that occurred before other actions/events in the past. For example, “me hubiera negado”, meaning “I had refused”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me hubiera negado | I had refused |
| Tú | te hubieras negado | you had refused |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se hubiera negado | s/he had refused |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos hubiéramos negado | we had refused |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os hubierais negado | you (plural) had refused |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se hubieran negado | they had refused |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle negado. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Subjunctive Future Perfect is used to speak about something that will have happened if a hypothetical situations occurs in the future. For example, “me hubiere negado”, meaning “I will have refused”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me hubiere negado | I will have refused |
| Tú | te hubieres negado | you will have refused |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se hubiere negado | s/he will have refused |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos hubiéremos negado | we will have refused |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os hubiereis negado | you (plural) will have refused |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se hubieren negado | they will have refused |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle negado. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “niéguese”, meaning “(to you formal) refuse!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | niégate | (to you) refuse! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | niéguese | (to you formal) refuse! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | neguémonos | let's refuse! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | negaos | (to you plural) refuse! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | niéguense | (to you plural formal) refuse! |
How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present and attaches te (niégate); usted and ustedes take the subjunctive present and attach se (niéguese, niéguense); nosotros takes the subjunctive present, drops the s and attaches nos (neguémonos); vosotros drops the final r of the infinitive and attaches os (negaos).
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, “no se niegue”, meaning “(to you formal) don't refuse!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no te niegues | (to you) don't refuse! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no se niegue | (to you formal) don't refuse! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no nos neguemos | let's not refuse! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no os neguéis | (to you plural) don't refuse! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no se nieguen | (to you plural formal) don't refuse! |
How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no te niegues, no se niegue, no nos neguemos, no os neguéis, no se nieguen.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
Negarse is an irregular Spanish verb. In the present tense: yo, tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos change e to ie (niego, niegas, niega, niegan); nosotros and vosotros are regular. It is also irregular in the preterite (me negué) and present subjunctive (me niegue).
In the present tense (presente), negarse is conjugated as: yo me niego, tú te niegas, él/ella/usted se niega, nosotros nos negamos, vosotros os negáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes se niegan. The present tense is used To talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths.
In the preterite (pretérito indefinido), negarse is conjugated as: yo me negué, tú te negaste, él/ella/usted se negó, nosotros nos negamos, vosotros os negasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes se negaron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.
In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), negarse is conjugated as: yo me negaba, tú te negabas, él/ella/usted se negaba, nosotros nos negábamos, vosotros os negabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes se negaban. The imperfect is used To describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do.
In the future tense (futuro simple), negarse is conjugated as: yo me negaré, tú te negarás, él/ella/usted se negará, nosotros nos negaremos, vosotros os negaréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes se negarán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.
In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), negarse is conjugated as: yo me niegue, tú te niegues, él/ella/usted se niegue, nosotros nos neguemos, vosotros os neguéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes se nieguen. The present subjunctive is used To talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about.
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