Abrirse Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish
abrirse means "to open up" in English, and this page shows it in everyday use: real example sentences in several tenses, two short dialogues, the mistakes learners actually make, and a quiz to test yourself. You will see abrirse with the world through travel, new ideas at university, the door in the wind and the sky after the storm — the situations where Spanish speakers really use it. A good first sentence to learn is: Cada día, yo me abro al mundo con los viajes. — "Every day, I open up to the world through travel." Read the examples aloud, notice which tense each one uses, and then try the dialogues and the quiz.
abrirse in everyday sentences
Twelve sentences with abrirse, grouped by situation. Each one shows the verb in a different tense or person, with its English translation and a note on when to use that form.
Everyday use
- Cada día, yo me abro al mundo con los viajes. — "Every day, I open up to the world through travel." The present tense fits a habit here.
- Ayer, yo me abrí a nuevas ideas en la universidad. — "Yesterday, I opened up to new ideas at university." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, yo me abría la puerta con el viento. — "In the past, I used to open up the door in the wind." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, nosotros nos abriremos el cielo después de la tormenta. — "Tomorrow, we will open up the sky after the storm." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Si pudieras, tú te abrirías al mundo con los viajes. — "If you could, you would open up to the world through travel." The conditional fits something that would happen.
- Yo me he abierto a nuevas ideas en la universidad. — "I have opened up to new ideas at university." The present perfect fits an action with present relevance.
More situations
- Normalmente, él se abre la puerta con el viento. — "Normally, he/she opens up the door in the wind." The present tense fits a general truth here.
- Ayer, él se abrió el cielo después de la tormenta. — "Yesterday, he/she opened up the sky after the storm." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, nosotros nos abríamos al mundo con los viajes. — "In the past, we used to open up to the world through travel." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, yo me abriré a nuevas ideas en la universidad. — "Tomorrow, I will open up to new ideas at university." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Espero que él se abra la puerta con el viento. — "I hope that he/she opens up the door in the wind." The present subjunctive follows espero que.
- ¡No te abras el cielo después de la tormenta! — "Do not open up the sky after the storm!" The imperative fits a direct order or request.
The verb in context
Two short dialogues using abrirse naturally. Notice how the verb changes person and tense as the conversation moves, and how the complements stay the same kind of situation: the world through travel, new ideas at university, the door in the wind and the sky after the storm.
Dialogue 1: talking about the world through travel
María: ¿Tú te abres al mundo con los viajes? — "Do you open up to the world through travel?" Carlos: Sí, yo me abro al mundo con los viajes. — "I open up to the world through travel." María: ¿Y ayer? — "And yesterday?" Carlos: Ayer, yo me abrí a nuevas ideas en la universidad. — "Yesterday, I opened up to new ideas at university." María: Mañana, nosotros nos abriremos la puerta con el viento. — "Tomorrow, we will open up the door in the wind." Carlos: Si pudiera, yo me abriría el cielo después de la tormenta. — "If I could, I would open up the sky after the storm." María: Antes, yo me abría a nuevas ideas en la universidad. — "In the past, I used to open up to new ideas at university." Carlos: Yo me he abierto al mundo con los viajes. — "I have opened up to the world through travel." María: ¡No te abras la puerta con el viento! — "Do not open up the door in the wind!"
In this dialogue abrirse appears in the present, the preterite, the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present perfect. That is the point: one verb, many tenses, and the complement tells you which situation you are in. Try the same dialogue with your own complements.
Dialogue 2: talking about the door in the wind
María: Él se abre la puerta con el viento. — "he/she opens up the door in the wind." Carlos: ¿De verdad? ¿Él se abre la puerta con el viento todos los días? — "Really? Does he/she opens up the door in the wind every day?" María: Sí, y ellos se abren el cielo después de la tormenta. — "they open up the sky after the storm." Carlos: Ayer, ellos se abrieron la puerta con el viento. — "Yesterday, they opened up the door in the wind." María: Espero que él se abra el cielo después de la tormenta. — "I hope that he/she opens up the sky after the storm." Carlos: Mañana, él se abrirá la puerta con el viento. — "Tomorrow, he/she will open up the door in the wind." María: Antes, nosotros nos abríamos el cielo después de la tormenta. — "In the past, we used to open up the sky after the storm." Carlos: Nosotros nos abrimos al mundo con los viajes también. — "we open up to the world through travel too."
This dialogue shows abrirse in the third person and in the plural, which is where learners most often hesitate. Read it aloud with a partner, swapping the names and the complements for your own life, and the forms will start to feel automatic.
Common mistakes with abrirse
The errors learners actually make with abrirse in everyday use, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why it is wrong.
Mistake 1: Forgetting the reflexive pronoun
- Wrong: Yo abro al mundo con los viajes.
- Right: Yo me abro al mundo con los viajes.
- Why: abrirse is reflexive, so the pronoun is part of the verb: Yo me abro al mundo con los viajes.. Without me the sentence is incomplete.
Mistake 2: Using the infinitive as a conjugated form
- Wrong: Yo abrirse al mundo con los viajes.
- Right: Yo me abro al mundo con los viajes.
- Why: The infinitive abrirse is the dictionary form, not a conjugated form. In a sentence with yo you need the present-tense form abro.
Mistake 3: Using the present tense for yesterday
- Wrong: Ayer, yo me abro a nuevas ideas en la universidad.
- Right: Ayer, yo me abrí a nuevas ideas en la universidad.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite: Ayer, yo me abrí a nuevas ideas en la universidad. — "Yesterday, I opened up to new ideas at university."
Mistake 4: Mixing up the gerund and the participle
- Wrong: Me estoy abierto la puerta con el viento.
- Right: Me estoy abriendo la puerta con el viento.
- Why: After estar you need the gerund abriendo for the progressive. The participle abierto goes with haber in the perfect tenses (me he abierto), never after estar.
Mistake 5: Using the él form for nosotros
- Wrong: Nosotros nos abre al mundo con los viajes.
- Right: Nosotros nos abrimos al mundo con los viajes.
- Why: The person and the ending must match: nosotros takes abrimos, while abre belongs to él and ella.
Quiz: abrirse in use
Test yourself with ten questions on abrirse. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the yo form of abrirse in the present tense?
- (a) abre
- (b) abrimos
- (c) abro
- (d) abres
Answer: (c) abro. The yo form is abro.
2. What is the tú form of abrirse in the present tense?
- (a) abrimos
- (b) abres
- (c) abro
- (d) abre
Answer: (b) abres. The tú form is abres.
3. What is the él/ella form of abrirse in the present tense?
- (a) abre
- (b) abro
- (c) abres
- (d) abrimos
Answer: (a) abre. The él/ella form is abre.
4. Complete the sentence: Cada día, yo ___ al mundo con los viajes.
- (a) abres
- (b) abre
- (c) abrimos
- (d) abro
Answer: (d) abro. The sentence needs the yo form abro.
5. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ___ a nuevas ideas en la universidad.
- (a) abrió
- (b) abrimos
- (c) abrí
- (d) abriste
Answer: (c) abrí. Ayer needs the preterite, and the yo form is abrí.
6. Complete the sentence: Antes, yo ___ la puerta con el viento.
- (a) abríais
- (b) abría
- (c) abrías
- (d) abríamos
Answer: (b) abría. Antes needs the imperfect, and the yo form is abría.
7. Complete the sentence: Mañana, yo ___ el cielo después de la tormenta.
- (a) abriré
- (b) abrirás
- (c) abrirá
- (d) abriremos
Answer: (a) abriré. Mañana needs the future, and the yo form is abriré.
8. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ al mundo con los viajes.
- (a) me he abierto
- (b) te has abierto
- (c) se ha abierto
- (d) nos hemos abierto
Answer: (a) me he abierto. The present perfect uses haber plus the participle: me he abierto.
9. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ la puerta con el viento.
- (a) abramos
- (b) abráis
- (c) abra
- (d) abras
Answer: (c) abra. After espero que Spanish needs the subjunctive, and the él form is abra.
10. What does abrirse mean in English?
- (a) to infuriate
- (b) to become furious
- (c) to open up
- (d) to give birth
Answer: (c) to open up. abrirse means "to open up" in English.
Frequently asked questions about abrirse
What does abrirse mean?
abrirse means "to open up" in English. Use it when you talk about the world through travel, new ideas at university, the door in the wind and the sky after the storm — for example: Cada día, yo me abro al mundo con los viajes. — "Every day, I open up to the world through travel."
Is abrirse reflexive?
Yes. abrirse is reflexive, so it always travels with a pronoun: me, te, se, nos, os, se. Cada día, yo me abro al mundo con los viajes. — "Every day, I open up to the world through travel." If you drop the pronoun, the sentence is incomplete.
What is the most common mistake with abrirse?
Forgetting the reflexive pronoun. Learners write the bare form — for example, Yo abro al mundo con los viajes — when the verb needs its pronoun: Cada día, yo me abro al mundo con los viajes. — "Every day, I open up to the world through travel." Keep the pronoun with the verb and the mistake disappears.
How can I practise abrirse?
Take the quiz above, then make your own sentences: change the person in each example, change the complement to something from your own life, and say the sentence aloud. The verb quiz and the verb translator on this site give you more practice with the same forms.