The preterite of reñir is used to express when someone scolded or reprimanded at a specific moment in the past. For example, “The mother scolded her children for being late” – “La madre riñó a sus hijos por llegar tarde.”

This verb follows the e to i stem-changing pattern in the preterite. The stem change occurs only in the third person singular (riñó) and plural (riñeron) forms.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Reñir (to scold) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The Preterite of reñir indicates completed actions of scolding or quarreling.

To scold/reprimand: Used for specific instances of scolding, for example La madre riñó a su hijo (The mother scolded her son).

To quarrel/argue: Describes specific arguments, for example Riñeron por una tontería (They quarreled over something silly).

Examples

Examples of Reñir in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Reñí con mi hermano por el control remoto. (I quarreled with my brother over the remote control.)

Los vecinos riñeron por el ruido. (The neighbors quarreled over the noise.)

Reñiste con tu mejor amigo. (You quarreled with your best friend.)

Los niños riñeron en el patio. (The children quarreled in the playground.)

Reñimos por una tontería. (We quarreled over something silly.)

El jefe riñó al empleado por llegar tarde. (The boss scolded the employee for being late.)

Reñí con ella por un malentendido. (I quarreled with her over a misunderstanding.)

Los hermanos riñeron por la herencia. (The siblings quarreled over the inheritance.)

Reñiste sin razón. (You quarreled without reason.)

La maestra riñó a los estudiantes. (The teacher scolded the students.)

Reñimos durante la reunión. (We quarreled during the meeting.)

Los compañeros riñeron por el proyecto. (The colleagues quarreled over the project.)

Riñó con su socio por dinero. (He quarreled with his partner over money.)

Reñiste con todos esa noche. (You quarreled with everyone that night.)

Las amigas riñeron por un chico. (The friends quarreled over a boy.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Reñir (to scold) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Preterite tense is also known as the Simple Past, Past Simple, Definite Past, Absolute Past, or Past Tense Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Perfecto Simple, Pretérito Indefinido, Pretérito Simple, Pasado Simple, or Pretérito de Indicativo in Spanish.