Abrocharse Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish
abrocharse means "to button oneself 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 abrocharse with his seat belt in the car, his shoes before running, his jacket in the street and his coat before going out — the situations where Spanish speakers really use it. A good first sentence to learn is: Cada día, yo me abrocho el cinturón en el coche. — "Every day, I button oneself up his seat belt in the car." Read the examples aloud, notice which tense each one uses, and then try the dialogues and the quiz.
abrocharse in everyday sentences
Twelve sentences with abrocharse, 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 abrocho el cinturón en el coche. — "Every day, I button oneself up his seat belt in the car." The present tense fits a habit here.
- Ayer, yo me abroché los zapatos antes de correr. — "Yesterday, I buttoned oneself up his shoes before running." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, yo me abrochaba la chaqueta en la calle. — "In the past, I used to button oneself up his jacket in the street." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, nosotros nos abrocharemos el abrigo antes de salir. — "Tomorrow, we will button oneself up his coat before going out." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Si pudieras, tú te abrocharías el cinturón en el coche. — "If you could, you would button oneself up his seat belt in the car." The conditional fits something that would happen.
- Yo me he abrochado los zapatos antes de correr. — "I have buttoned oneself up his shoes before running." The present perfect fits an action with present relevance.
More situations
- Normalmente, él se abrocha la chaqueta en la calle. — "Normally, he/she buttons oneself up his jacket in the street." The present tense fits a general truth here.
- Ayer, él se abrochó el abrigo antes de salir. — "Yesterday, he/she buttoned oneself up his coat before going out." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, nosotros nos abrochábamos el cinturón en el coche. — "In the past, we used to button oneself up his seat belt in the car." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, yo me abrocharé los zapatos antes de correr. — "Tomorrow, I will button oneself up his shoes before running." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Espero que él se abroche la chaqueta en la calle. — "I hope that he/she buttons oneself up his jacket in the street." The present subjunctive follows espero que.
- ¡No te abroches el abrigo antes de salir! — "Do not button oneself up his coat before going out!" The imperative fits a direct order or request.
The verb in context
Two short dialogues using abrocharse naturally. Notice how the verb changes person and tense as the conversation moves, and how the complements stay the same kind of situation: his seat belt in the car, his shoes before running, his jacket in the street and his coat before going out.
Dialogue 1: talking about his seat belt in the car
Lucía: ¿Tú te abrochas el cinturón en el coche? — "Do you button oneself up his seat belt in the car?" Pedro: Sí, yo me abrocho el cinturón en el coche. — "I button oneself up his seat belt in the car." Lucía: ¿Y ayer? — "And yesterday?" Pedro: Ayer, yo me abroché los zapatos antes de correr. — "Yesterday, I buttoned oneself up his shoes before running." Lucía: Mañana, nosotros nos abrocharemos la chaqueta en la calle. — "Tomorrow, we will button oneself up his jacket in the street." Pedro: Si pudiera, yo me abrocharía el abrigo antes de salir. — "If I could, I would button oneself up his coat before going out." Lucía: Antes, yo me abrochaba los zapatos antes de correr. — "In the past, I used to button oneself up his shoes before running." Pedro: Yo me he abrochado el cinturón en el coche. — "I have buttoned oneself up his seat belt in the car." Lucía: ¡No te abroches la chaqueta en la calle! — "Do not button oneself up his jacket in the street!"
In this dialogue abrocharse 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 his jacket in the street
Lucía: Él se abrocha la chaqueta en la calle. — "he/she buttons oneself up his jacket in the street." Pedro: ¿De verdad? ¿Él se abrocha la chaqueta en la calle todos los días? — "Really? Does he/she buttons oneself up his jacket in the street every day?" Lucía: Sí, y ellos se abrochan el abrigo antes de salir. — "they button oneself up his coat before going out." Pedro: Ayer, ellos se abrocharon la chaqueta en la calle. — "Yesterday, they buttoned oneself up his jacket in the street." Lucía: Espero que él se abroche el abrigo antes de salir. — "I hope that he/she buttons oneself up his coat before going out." Pedro: Mañana, él se abrochará la chaqueta en la calle. — "Tomorrow, he/she will button oneself up his jacket in the street." Lucía: Antes, nosotros nos abrochábamos el abrigo antes de salir. — "In the past, we used to button oneself up his coat before going out." Pedro: Nosotros nos abrochamos el cinturón en el coche también. — "we button oneself up his seat belt in the car too."
This dialogue shows abrocharse 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 abrocharse
The errors learners actually make with abrocharse in everyday use, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why it is wrong.
Mistake 1: Forgetting the reflexive pronoun
- Wrong: Yo abrocho el cinturón en el coche.
- Right: Yo me abrocho el cinturón en el coche.
- Why: abrocharse is reflexive, so the pronoun is part of the verb: Yo me abrocho el cinturón en el coche.. Without me the sentence is incomplete.
Mistake 2: Using the infinitive as a conjugated form
- Wrong: Yo abrocharse el cinturón en el coche.
- Right: Yo me abrocho el cinturón en el coche.
- Why: The infinitive abrocharse is the dictionary form, not a conjugated form. In a sentence with yo you need the present-tense form abrocho.
Mistake 3: Using the present tense for yesterday
- Wrong: Ayer, yo me abrocho los zapatos antes de correr.
- Right: Ayer, yo me abroché los zapatos antes de correr.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite: Ayer, yo me abroché los zapatos antes de correr. — "Yesterday, I buttoned oneself up his shoes before running."
Mistake 4: Mixing up the gerund and the participle
- Wrong: Me estoy abrochado la chaqueta en la calle.
- Right: Me estoy abrochando la chaqueta en la calle.
- Why: After estar you need the gerund abrochando for the progressive. The participle abrochado goes with haber in the perfect tenses (me he abrochado), never after estar.
Mistake 5: Using the él form for nosotros
- Wrong: Nosotros nos abrocha el cinturón en el coche.
- Right: Nosotros nos abrochamos el cinturón en el coche.
- Why: The person and the ending must match: nosotros takes abrochamos, while abrocha belongs to él and ella.
Quiz: abrocharse in use
Test yourself with ten questions on abrocharse. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the yo form of abrocharse in the present tense?
- (a) abrochamos
- (b) abrocho
- (c) abrochas
- (d) abrocha
Answer: (b) abrocho. The yo form is abrocho.
2. What is the tú form of abrocharse in the present tense?
- (a) abrochas
- (b) abrocho
- (c) abrocha
- (d) abrochamos
Answer: (a) abrochas. The tú form is abrochas.
3. What is the él/ella form of abrocharse in the present tense?
- (a) abrocho
- (b) abrochas
- (c) abrochamos
- (d) abrocha
Answer: (d) abrocha. The él/ella form is abrocha.
4. Complete the sentence: Cada día, yo ___ el cinturón en el coche.
- (a) abrocha
- (b) abrochamos
- (c) abrocho
- (d) abrochas
Answer: (c) abrocho. The sentence needs the yo form abrocho.
5. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ___ los zapatos antes de correr.
- (a) abrochamos
- (b) abroché
- (c) abrochaste
- (d) abrochó
Answer: (b) abroché. Ayer needs the preterite, and the yo form is abroché.
6. Complete the sentence: Antes, yo ___ la chaqueta en la calle.
- (a) abrochaba
- (b) abrochabas
- (c) abrochábamos
- (d) abrochabais
Answer: (a) abrochaba. Antes needs the imperfect, and the yo form is abrochaba.
7. Complete the sentence: Mañana, yo ___ el abrigo antes de salir.
- (a) abrocharás
- (b) abrochará
- (c) abrocharemos
- (d) abrocharé
Answer: (d) abrocharé. Mañana needs the future, and the yo form is abrocharé.
8. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el cinturón en el coche.
- (a) te has abrochado
- (b) se ha abrochado
- (c) nos hemos abrochado
- (d) me he abrochado
Answer: (d) me he abrochado. The present perfect uses haber plus the participle: me he abrochado.
9. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ la chaqueta en la calle.
- (a) abrochéis
- (b) abroche
- (c) abroches
- (d) abrochemos
Answer: (b) abroche. After espero que Spanish needs the subjunctive, and the él form is abroche.
10. What does abrocharse mean in English?
- (a) to dirty
- (b) to button oneself up
- (c) to redden, to blush
- (d) to widen
Answer: (b) to button oneself up. abrocharse means "to button oneself up" in English.
Frequently asked questions about abrocharse
What does abrocharse mean?
abrocharse means "to button oneself up" in English. Use it when you talk about his seat belt in the car, his shoes before running, his jacket in the street and his coat before going out — for example: Cada día, yo me abrocho el cinturón en el coche. — "Every day, I button oneself up his seat belt in the car."
Is abrocharse reflexive?
Yes. abrocharse is reflexive, so it always travels with a pronoun: me, te, se, nos, os, se. Cada día, yo me abrocho el cinturón en el coche. — "Every day, I button oneself up his seat belt in the car." If you drop the pronoun, the sentence is incomplete.
What is the most common mistake with abrocharse?
Forgetting the reflexive pronoun. Learners write the bare form — for example, Yo abrocho el cinturón en el coche — when the verb needs its pronoun: Cada día, yo me abrocho el cinturón en el coche. — "Every day, I button oneself up his seat belt in the car." Keep the pronoun with the verb and the mistake disappears.
How can I practise abrocharse?
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.