Recoger Conjugation | How to Conjugate Recoger in Spanish

Recoger means “to pick up,” “to collect,” or “to gather.” It is an -ER verb with a g-to-j spelling change in specific forms. You will learn exactly where that change appears.

Recoger conjugation at a glance

Recoger uses ordinary -ER endings, but its spelling changes from g to j before endings beginning with o or a. This affects the first-person singular present and the present subjunctive; the other core families retain the g spelling.

• Infinitive: recoger — to pick up
• Verb type: Irregular
• Linguistic pattern: regular -ER endings with a g → j spelling alternation

Recoger gerund, past participle, and infinitive

These non-finite forms do not mark person. The infinitive names the verb, the gerund forms progressive constructions, and the past participle combines with haber — the auxiliary used to form compound tenses.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	recoger	to pick up
Gerund	recogiendo	picking something up
Past participle	recogido	picked up

Recoger meaning and essential uses

Recoger is used in a small set of high-value sentence patterns. These constructions determine what complements normally appear with the conjugated form.

Recoger + object — to pick up, collect, or gather something.

• Recojo los documentos por la tarde. — I pick up the documents in the afternoon.

Recoger a + person — to pick someone up.

• Recojo a Marta a las seis. — I pick Marta up at six.

Recoger algo de + place — to collect something from a place.

• Recogemos el paquete de recepción. — We collect the package from reception.

Recoger spelling changes in conjugation

Under the project convention, Recoger is Irregular. Linguistically, it keeps regular -ER endings but changes g to j before o or a to preserve the consonant sound. This change appears in the first-person singular present and throughout the present subjunctive; the other core tense families keep g.

• Recojo el paquete. — I pick up the package.
• Quiero que recojas el paquete. — I want you to pick up the package.
• Recogimos todo ayer. — We picked up everything yesterday.

Recoger indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Recoger present tense conjugation

El presente de indicativo — the present indicative — describes current, habitual, or general actions. Recoger uses the forms shown below for the six core subject rows.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	recojo	I pick something up
Tú — you, singular informal	recoges	you pick something up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	recoge	he/she picks something up; you (formal) pick something up
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	recogemos	we pick something up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	recogéis	you (plural, Spain) pick something up
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	recogen	they pick something up; you (plural) pick something up

• Recojo a los niños después de clase. — I pick up the children after class.

Recoger preterite conjugation

El pretérito perfecto simple / pretérito indefinido — the preterite — presents a completed or bounded past action. The target verb uses the verified preterite forms below.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	recogí	I picked something up
Tú — you, singular informal	recogiste	you picked something up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	recogió	he/she picked something up; you (formal) picked something up
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	recogimos	we picked something up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	recogisteis	you (plural, Spain) picked something up
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	recogieron	they picked something up; you (plural) picked something up

• Recogimos las llaves ayer. — We picked up the keys yesterday.

Recoger imperfect conjugation

El pretérito imperfecto — the imperfect — describes habitual, repeated, background, or ongoing past situations. The forms below follow the target verb’s imperfect pattern.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	recogía	I used to pick something up
Tú — you, singular informal	recogías	you used to pick something up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	recogía	he/she used to pick something up; you (formal) used to pick something up
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	recogíamos	we used to pick something up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	recogíais	you (plural, Spain) used to pick something up
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	recogían	they used to pick something up; you (plural) used to pick something up

• Recogía el correo cada mañana. — I used to collect the mail every morning.

Recoger present progressive

The present progressive is a verbal periphrasis built with estar — to be — plus the gerund. It emphasizes an action in progress now; for this verb, use the forms in the table.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	estoy recogiendo	I am picking something up
Tú — you, singular informal	estás recogiendo	you are picking something up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	está recogiendo	he/she is picking something up; you (formal) are picking something up
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	estamos recogiendo	we are picking something up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	estáis recogiendo	you (plural, Spain) are picking something up
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	están recogiendo	they are picking something up; you (plural) are picking something up

• Estoy recogiendo los papeles del suelo. — I am picking up the papers from the floor.

Recoger near future conjugation

The near future is a verbal periphrasis built with ir a — to be going to — plus the infinitive. It is useful for planned or expected actions in the near future.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	voy a recoger	I am going to pick something up
Tú — you, singular informal	vas a recoger	you are going to pick something up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	va a recoger	he/she is going to pick something up; you (formal) are going to pick something up
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	vamos a recoger	we are going to pick something up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	vais a recoger	you (plural, Spain) are going to pick something up
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	van a recoger	they are going to pick something up; you (plural) are going to pick something up

• Voy a recoger el paquete esta tarde. — I am going to pick up the package this afternoon.

Recoger future tense conjugation

El futuro simple — the simple future — expresses future events and can also support predictions. The endings attach to the complete infinitive base of the target verb.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	recogeré	I will pick something up
Tú — you, singular informal	recogerás	you will pick something up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	recogerá	he/she will pick something up; you (formal) will pick something up
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	recogeremos	we will pick something up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	recogeréis	you (plural, Spain) will pick something up
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	recogerán	they will pick something up; you (plural) will pick something up

• Recogeremos las entradas en la taquilla. — We will pick up the tickets at the box office.

Recoger conditional conjugation

El condicional simple — the simple conditional — expresses hypothetical results, softened statements, or actions dependent on a condition. The target verb keeps its verified conditional stem and endings.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	recogería	I would pick something up
Tú — you, singular informal	recogerías	you would pick something up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	recogería	he/she would pick something up; you (formal) would pick something up
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	recogeríamos	we would pick something up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	recogeríais	you (plural, Spain) would pick something up
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	recogerían	they would pick something up; you (plural) would pick something up

• Recogería el pedido si tuviera tiempo. — I would pick up the order if I had time.

Recoger present perfect conjugation

El pretérito perfecto compuesto — the present perfect — combines the present of haber — to have as an auxiliary — with the invariant participle recogido — picked up.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	he recogido	I have picked something up
Tú — you, singular informal	has recogido	you have picked something up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	ha recogido	he/she has picked something up; you (formal) have picked something up
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hemos recogido	we have picked something up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habéis recogido	you (plural, Spain) have picked something up
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	han recogido	they have picked something up; you (plural) have picked something up

• He recogido todos los documentos. — I have collected all the documents.

Recoger past perfect conjugation

El pretérito pluscuamperfecto — the past perfect or pluperfect — combines the imperfect of haber — to have as an auxiliary — with recogido — picked up. It places the action before another past reference point.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	había recogido	I had picked something up
Tú — you, singular informal	habías recogido	you had picked something up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	había recogido	he/she had picked something up; you (formal) had picked something up
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habíamos recogido	we had picked something up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habíais recogido	you (plural, Spain) had picked something up
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habían recogido	they had picked something up; you (plural) had picked something up

• Ya habían recogido el material cuando llegamos. — They had already collected the material when we arrived.

Recoger future perfect conjugation

The future perfect combines the future of haber — to have as an auxiliary — with recogido — picked up. It presents the action as completed by a future point.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habré recogido	I will have picked something up
Tú — you, singular informal	habrás recogido	you will have picked something up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habrá recogido	he/she will have picked something up; you (formal) will have picked something up
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habremos recogido	we will have picked something up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habréis recogido	you (plural, Spain) will have picked something up
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrán recogido	they will have picked something up; you (plural) will have picked something up

• Para las ocho, habremos recogido todo. — By eight, we will have picked up everything.

Recoger conditional perfect conjugation

The conditional perfect combines the conditional of haber — to have as an auxiliary — with recogido — picked up. It describes a past action that would have happened under a condition.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habría recogido	I would have picked something up
Tú — you, singular informal	habrías recogido	you would have picked something up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habría recogido	he/she would have picked something up; you (formal) would have picked something up
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habríamos recogido	we would have picked something up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habríais recogido	you (plural, Spain) would have picked something up
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrían recogido	they would have picked something up; you (plural) would have picked something up

• Habría recogido a Ana, pero el coche falló. — I would have picked Ana up, but the car broke down.

Recoger subjunctive conjugations

Recoger present subjunctive conjugation

El presente de subjuntivo — the present subjunctive — appears after expressions of wishes, influence, emotion, doubt, evaluation, necessity, or other environments that require the subjunctive.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	recoja	that I pick something up
Tú — you, singular informal	recojas	that you pick something up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	recoja	that he/she picks something up; that you (formal) pick something up
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	recojamos	that we pick something up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	recojáis	that you (plural, Spain) pick something up
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	recojan	that they pick something up; that you (plural) pick something up

• Necesito que recojas el paquete. — I need you to pick up the package.

Recoger imperfect subjunctive conjugation

El imperfecto de subjuntivo — the imperfect subjunctive — is used in past-frame and hypothetical subordinate contexts. The table gives the primary -ra series and the accepted -se alternative for every person; these alternatives share the same guide here but are not mechanically interchangeable in every construction.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	recogiera / recogiese	that I picked something up
Tú — you, singular informal	recogieras / recogieses	that you picked something up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	recogiera / recogiese	that he/she picked something up; that you (formal) picked something up
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	recogiéramos / recogiésemos	that we picked something up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	recogierais / recogieseis	that you (plural, Spain) picked something up
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	recogieran / recogiesen	that they picked something up; that you (plural) picked something up

• Quería que recogiéramos la mesa antes de salir. — I wanted us to clear the table before leaving.

Recoger future subjunctive conjugation

Rare in modern everyday Spanish. El futuro de subjuntivo — the future subjunctive — survives mainly in formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical contexts. It is shown here for reference.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	recogiere	if/when I should pick something up
Tú — you, singular informal	recogieres	if/when you should pick something up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	recogiere	if/when he/she should pick something up; if/when you (formal) should pick something up
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	recogiéremos	if/when we should pick something up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	recogiereis	if/when you (plural, Spain) should pick something up
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	recogieren	if/when they should pick something up; if/when you (plural) should pick something up

• Quien recogiere el envío deberá firmar. — Whoever should collect the shipment will have to sign.

Recoger present perfect subjunctive conjugation

The present perfect subjunctive combines the present subjunctive of haber — to have as an auxiliary — with recogido — picked up. It commonly refers to a completed action inside a subjunctive-triggering context.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	haya recogido	that I have picked something up
Tú — you, singular informal	hayas recogido	that you have picked something up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	haya recogido	that he/she has picked something up; that you (formal) have picked something up
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hayamos recogido	that we have picked something up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hayáis recogido	that you (plural, Spain) have picked something up
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hayan recogido	that they have picked something up; that you (plural) have picked something up

• Me alegra que hayas recogido tus cosas. — I am glad that you have picked up your things.

Recoger past perfect subjunctive conjugation

The past perfect subjunctive combines the imperfect subjunctive of haber — to have as an auxiliary — with recogido — picked up. The table shows the primary hubiera series and the accepted hubiese alternative.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiera recogido / hubiese recogido	that I had picked something up
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieras recogido / hubieses recogido	that you had picked something up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiera recogido / hubiese recogido	that he/she had picked something up; that you (formal) had picked something up
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéramos recogido / hubiésemos recogido	that we had picked something up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubierais recogido / hubieseis recogido	that you (plural, Spain) had picked something up
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieran recogido / hubiesen recogido	that they had picked something up; that you (plural) had picked something up

• Si hubiéramos recogido antes, ya estaríamos fuera. — If we had packed up earlier, we would already be outside.

Recoger future perfect subjunctive conjugation

Rare in modern everyday Spanish. The future perfect subjunctive combines the future subjunctive of haber — to have as an auxiliary — with recogido — picked up. It is mainly a reference form in restricted formal or historical contexts.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiere recogido	if/when I should have picked something up
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieres recogido	if/when you should have picked something up
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiere recogido	if/when he/she should have picked something up; if/when you (formal) should have picked something up
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéremos recogido	if/when we should have picked something up
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubiereis recogido	if/when you (plural, Spain) should have picked something up
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieren recogido	if/when they should have picked something up; if/when you (plural) should have picked something up

• Quien hubiere recogido la documentación deberá conservarla. — Whoever should have collected the documentation will have to keep it.

Recoger imperative and commands

Recoger affirmative commands

Affirmative commands directly tell someone to perform the target action. The nosotros / nosotras row has exhortative value, equivalent to “let’s...”.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	recoge	pick something up!
Usted — you, singular formal	recoja	pick something up!
Nosotros / Nosotras — let’s / we	recojamos	let’s pick something up!
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	recoged	pick something up!
Ustedes — you, plural	recojan	pick something up!

• Recoge tus cosas antes de salir. — Pick up your things before leaving.

Recoger negative commands

Negative commands use subjunctive-based forms. The nosotros / nosotras row expresses “let’s not...”, and there is no ordinary yo command row.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no recojas	don’t pick something up!
Usted — you, singular formal	no recoja	don’t pick something up!
Nosotros / Nosotras — let’s / we	no recojamos	let’s not pick something up!
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no recojáis	don’t pick something up!
Ustedes — you, plural	no recojan	don’t pick something up!

• No recojas ese paquete sin identificación. — Do not pick up that package without identification.

Common constructions with Recoger

These patterns are especially useful because they determine the complements that naturally accompany the target verb.

• Recogemos a Luis en la estación. — We pick Luis up at the station.
• Recoge el pedido de la tienda esta tarde. — Pick up the order from the store this afternoon.
• Mañana recogeré los documentos de recepción. — Tomorrow I will collect the documents from reception.

Example sentences with Recoger

These additional examples reinforce the target verb across several useful forms and contexts without replacing the tense-specific examples above.

• Recojo el coche del taller a las cinco. — I pick up the car from the repair shop at five.
• Ellos recogieron firmas durante toda la semana. — They collected signatures all week.
• ¿Habéis recogido ya las entradas? — Have you picked up the tickets already?
• Recogeré a mis padres en la estación. — I will pick up my parents at the station.
• Es importante que recojamos todo antes de irnos. — It is important that we pick up everything before leaving.
• No recojáis nada que no sea vuestro. — Do not pick up anything that is not yours.

Regional and usage notes for Recoger

In voseo regions, vos recogés — you pick up and the affirmative command recogé — pick up! are standard regional forms. The g → j spelling change still appears where standard endings begin with o or a.

Rare and reference forms of Recoger

The core lesson already includes the rare future subjunctive systems. For non-finite reference, haber recogido — to have picked something up is the compound infinitive, and habiendo recogido — having picked something up is the compound gerund.

Recoger is predictable once you isolate its spelling change: keep recog- in most forms, but use recoj- before the present-indicative -o and the present-subjunctive -a endings.