Accidentarse Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish
accidentarse means "to have an accident" 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 accidentarse with the road at night, work with the machine, the motorbike in the city and the stairs at home — the situations where Spanish speakers really use it. A good first sentence to learn is: Cada día, yo me accidento en la carretera por la noche. — "Every day, I have an accident on the road at night." Read the examples aloud, notice which tense each one uses, and then try the dialogues and the quiz.
accidentarse in everyday sentences
Twelve sentences with accidentarse, 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 accidento en la carretera por la noche. — "Every day, I have an accident on the road at night." The present tense fits a habit here.
- Ayer, yo me accidenté en el trabajo con la máquina. — "Yesterday, I had an accident at work with the machine." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, yo me accidentaba en la moto en la ciudad. — "In the past, I used to have an accident on the motorbike in the city." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, nosotros nos accidentaremos en la escalera de la casa. — "Tomorrow, we will have an accident on the stairs at home." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Si pudieras, tú te accidentarías en la carretera por la noche. — "If you could, you would have an accident on the road at night." The conditional fits something that would happen.
- Yo me he accidentado en el trabajo con la máquina. — "I have had an accident at work with the machine." The present perfect fits an action with present relevance.
More situations
- Normalmente, él se accidenta en la moto en la ciudad. — "Normally, he/she has an accident on the motorbike in the city." The present tense fits a general truth here.
- Ayer, él se accidentó en la escalera de la casa. — "Yesterday, he/she had an accident on the stairs at home." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, nosotros nos accidentábamos en la carretera por la noche. — "In the past, we used to have an accident on the road at night." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, yo me accidentaré en el trabajo con la máquina. — "Tomorrow, I will have an accident at work with the machine." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Espero que él se accidente en la moto en la ciudad. — "I hope that he/she has an accident on the motorbike in the city." The present subjunctive follows espero que.
- ¡No te accidentes en la escalera de la casa! — "Do not have an accident on the stairs at home!" The imperative fits a direct order or request.
The verb in context
Two short dialogues using accidentarse naturally. Notice how the verb changes person and tense as the conversation moves, and how the complements stay the same kind of situation: the road at night, work with the machine, the motorbike in the city and the stairs at home.
Dialogue 1: talking about the road at night
Ana: ¿Tú te accidentas en la carretera por la noche? — "Do you have an accident on the road at night?" Luis: Sí, yo me accidento en la carretera por la noche. — "I have an accident on the road at night." Ana: ¿Y ayer? — "And yesterday?" Luis: Ayer, yo me accidenté en el trabajo con la máquina. — "Yesterday, I had an accident at work with the machine." Ana: Mañana, nosotros nos accidentaremos en la moto en la ciudad. — "Tomorrow, we will have an accident on the motorbike in the city." Luis: Si pudiera, yo me accidentaría en la escalera de la casa. — "If I could, I would have an accident on the stairs at home." Ana: Antes, yo me accidentaba en el trabajo con la máquina. — "In the past, I used to have an accident at work with the machine." Luis: Yo me he accidentado en la carretera por la noche. — "I have had an accident on the road at night." Ana: ¡No te accidentes en la moto en la ciudad! — "Do not have an accident on the motorbike in the city!"
In this dialogue accidentarse 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 motorbike in the city
Ana: Él se accidenta en la moto en la ciudad. — "he/she has an accident on the motorbike in the city." Luis: ¿De verdad? ¿Él se accidenta en la moto en la ciudad todos los días? — "Really? Does he/she has an accident on the motorbike in the city every day?" Ana: Sí, y ellos se accidentan en la escalera de la casa. — "they have an accident on the stairs at home." Luis: Ayer, ellos se accidentaron en la moto en la ciudad. — "Yesterday, they had an accident on the motorbike in the city." Ana: Espero que él se accidente en la escalera de la casa. — "I hope that he/she has an accident on the stairs at home." Luis: Mañana, él se accidentará en la moto en la ciudad. — "Tomorrow, he/she will have an accident on the motorbike in the city." Ana: Antes, nosotros nos accidentábamos en la escalera de la casa. — "In the past, we used to have an accident on the stairs at home." Luis: Nosotros nos accidentamos en la carretera por la noche también. — "we have an accident on the road at night too."
This dialogue shows accidentarse 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 accidentarse
The errors learners actually make with accidentarse in everyday use, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why it is wrong.
Mistake 1: Forgetting the reflexive pronoun
- Wrong: Yo accidento en la carretera por la noche.
- Right: Yo me accidento en la carretera por la noche.
- Why: accidentarse is reflexive, so the pronoun is part of the verb: Yo me accidento en la carretera por la noche.. Without me the sentence is incomplete.
Mistake 2: Using the infinitive as a conjugated form
- Wrong: Yo accidentarse en la carretera por la noche.
- Right: Yo me accidento en la carretera por la noche.
- Why: The infinitive accidentarse is the dictionary form, not a conjugated form. In a sentence with yo you need the present-tense form accidento.
Mistake 3: Using the present tense for yesterday
- Wrong: Ayer, yo me accidento en el trabajo con la máquina.
- Right: Ayer, yo me accidenté en el trabajo con la máquina.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite: Ayer, yo me accidenté en el trabajo con la máquina. — "Yesterday, I had an accident at work with the machine."
Mistake 4: Mixing up the gerund and the participle
- Wrong: Me estoy accidentado en la moto en la ciudad.
- Right: Me estoy accidentando en la moto en la ciudad.
- Why: After estar you need the gerund accidentando for the progressive. The participle accidentado goes with haber in the perfect tenses (me he accidentado), never after estar.
Mistake 5: Using the él form for nosotros
- Wrong: Nosotros nos accidenta en la carretera por la noche.
- Right: Nosotros nos accidentamos en la carretera por la noche.
- Why: The person and the ending must match: nosotros takes accidentamos, while accidenta belongs to él and ella.
Quiz: accidentarse in use
Test yourself with ten questions on accidentarse. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the yo form of accidentarse in the present tense?
- (a) accidentas
- (b) accidenta
- (c) accidentamos
- (d) accidento
Answer: (d) accidento. The yo form is accidento.
2. What is the tú form of accidentarse in the present tense?
- (a) accidenta
- (b) accidentamos
- (c) accidentas
- (d) accidento
Answer: (c) accidentas. The tú form is accidentas.
3. What is the él/ella form of accidentarse in the present tense?
- (a) accidentamos
- (b) accidenta
- (c) accidento
- (d) accidentas
Answer: (b) accidenta. The él/ella form is accidenta.
4. Complete the sentence: Cada día, yo ___ en la carretera por la noche.
- (a) accidento
- (b) accidentas
- (c) accidenta
- (d) accidentamos
Answer: (a) accidento. The sentence needs the yo form accidento.
5. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ___ en el trabajo con la máquina.
- (a) accidentaste
- (b) accidentó
- (c) accidentamos
- (d) accidenté
Answer: (d) accidenté. Ayer needs the preterite, and the yo form is accidenté.
6. Complete the sentence: Antes, yo ___ en la moto en la ciudad.
- (a) accidentábamos
- (b) accidentabais
- (c) accidentaba
- (d) accidentabas
Answer: (c) accidentaba. Antes needs the imperfect, and the yo form is accidentaba.
7. Complete the sentence: Mañana, yo ___ en la escalera de la casa.
- (a) accidentaremos
- (b) accidentaré
- (c) accidentarás
- (d) accidentará
Answer: (b) accidentaré. Mañana needs the future, and the yo form is accidentaré.
8. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ en la carretera por la noche.
- (a) nos hemos accidentado
- (b) me he accidentado
- (c) te has accidentado
- (d) se ha accidentado
Answer: (b) me he accidentado. The present perfect uses haber plus the participle: me he accidentado.
9. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ en la moto en la ciudad.
- (a) accidentes
- (b) accidentemos
- (c) accidentéis
- (d) accidente
Answer: (d) accidente. After espero que Spanish needs the subjunctive, and the él form is accidente.
10. What does accidentarse mean in English?
- (a) to burst, to explode
- (b) to stretch
- (c) to stretch (oneself)
- (d) to have an accident
Answer: (d) to have an accident. accidentarse means "to have an accident" in English.
Frequently asked questions about accidentarse
What does accidentarse mean?
accidentarse means "to have an accident" in English. Use it when you talk about the road at night, work with the machine, the motorbike in the city and the stairs at home — for example: Cada día, yo me accidento en la carretera por la noche. — "Every day, I have an accident on the road at night."
Is accidentarse reflexive?
Yes. accidentarse is reflexive, so it always travels with a pronoun: me, te, se, nos, os, se. Cada día, yo me accidento en la carretera por la noche. — "Every day, I have an accident on the road at night." If you drop the pronoun, the sentence is incomplete.
What is the most common mistake with accidentarse?
Forgetting the reflexive pronoun. Learners write the bare form — for example, Yo accidento en la carretera por la noche — when the verb needs its pronoun: Cada día, yo me accidento en la carretera por la noche. — "Every day, I have an accident on the road at night." Keep the pronoun with the verb and the mistake disappears.
How can I practise accidentarse?
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.