To refuse significa “negarse” o “rechazar”. Usamos este verbo cuando una persona dice que no acepta algo o que no está dispuesta a hacer algo.
Este verbo se usa principalmente de dos maneras:
- Refuse something — rechazar algo.
- She refused the offer. — “Ella rechazó la oferta”.
- Refuse to do something — negarse a hacer algo.
- I refused to go. — “Me negué a ir.”
Después de refuse, usamos to seguido de la forma base del verbo: refuse to help, refuse to pay y refuse to answer. Para expresar "negarse a hacer algo", no decimos "refuse doing something".
Otros ejemplos son: "They refused our invitation" (Rechazaron nuestra invitación) y "He refuses to answer the question" (Él se niega a responder la pregunta).
Refuse y deny no significan exactamente lo mismo. Refuse normalmente significa rechazar algo o negarse a hacer algo. Deny se usa para negar un hecho, una acusación o haber hecho algo: "He denied breaking the window" (Él negó haber roto la ventana).
Refuse también puede ser un sustantivo que significa basura o residuos. En ese caso, se pronuncia /ˈrɛf.juːs/, con el acento en la primera sílaba y con sonido final /s/. Como verbo, se pronuncia /rɪˈfjuːz/, con el acento en la segunda sílaba y con sonido final /z/.
La forma de tercera persona refuses se pronuncia /rɪˈfjuː.zɪz/. El pasado y el participio refused se pronuncian /rɪˈfjuːzd/, con sonido final /d/. El gerundio refusing se pronuncia /rɪˈfjuː.zɪŋ/.
Simple Tense
Simple Present Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I refuse | We refuse |
| 2ª | You refuse | You refuse |
| 3ª | He/She/It refuses | They refuse |
Refuse: /rɪˈfjuːz/, refuses: /rɪˈfjuː.zɪz/
Simple Past Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I refused | We refused |
| 2ª | You refused | You refused |
| 3ª | He/She/It refused | They refused |
Refused: /rɪˈfjuːzd/
Simple Future Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I will refuse | We will refuse |
| 2ª | You will refuse | You will refuse |
| 3ª | He/She/It will refuse | They will refuse |
Will refuse: /wɪl rɪˈfjuːz/
Continuous Tense
Present Continuous Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I am refusing | We are refusing |
| 2ª | You are refusing | You are refusing |
| 3ª | He/She/It is refusing | They are refusing |
Refusing: /rɪˈfjuː.zɪŋ/
Past Continuous Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I was refusing | We were refusing |
| 2ª | You were refusing | You were refusing |
| 3ª | He/She/It was refusing | They were refusing |
Was refusing: /wəz rɪˈfjuː.zɪŋ/, Were refusing: /wɜr rɪˈfjuː.zɪŋ/
Future Continuous Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I will be refusing | We will be refusing |
| 2ª | You will be refusing | You will be refusing |
| 3ª | He/She/It will be refusing | They will be refusing |
Will be refusing: /wɪl bi rɪˈfjuː.zɪŋ/
Perfect Tense
Present Perfect Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I have refused | We have refused |
| 2ª | You have refused | You have refused |
| 3ª | He/She/It has refused | They have refused |
Have refused: /hæv rɪˈfjuːzd/, Has refused: /hæz rɪˈfjuːzd/
Past Perfect Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I had refused | We had refused |
| 2ª | You had refused | You had refused |
| 3ª | He/She/It had refused | They had refused |
Had refused: /hæd rɪˈfjuːzd/
Future Perfect Tense
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1ª | I will have refused | We will have refused |
| 2ª | You will have refused | You will have refused |
| 3ª | He/She/It will have refused | They will have refused |
Will have refused: /wɪl hæv rɪˈfjuːzd/
