Acelerar Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Acelerar means “to accelerate”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Acelerar means to accelerate, and it is used for speeding up a car, a process or a heartbeat. It is the opposite of frenar, and it is fully regular. This page shows acelerar in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct present-tense form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo acelero en la autopista para adelantar.” — I accelerate on the motorway to overtake.
Acelerar in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how acelerar is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.
In the present: everyday use
These sentences use acelerar in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Acelero en la autopista para adelantar.” — I accelerate on the motorway to overtake.
“¿Tú aceleras al salir del semáforo?” — Do you accelerate on leaving the traffic light?
“Acelera el coche en la recta.” — He/she accelerates the car on the straight.
“Aceleramos el paso para llegar a tiempo.” — We accelerate my pace to arrive on time.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show acelerar in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo aceleré en la autopista para adelantar.” — Yesterday, I accelerated on the motorway to overtake. (preterite)
“Él aceleraba al salir del semáforo todos los días.” — He used to accelerate on leaving the traffic light every day. (imperfect)
Plans and things already done
These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of acelerar stays the same.
“Nosotros aceleraremos el coche en la recta mañana.” — We will accelerate the car on the straight tomorrow. (future)
“¿Tú has acelerado el paso para llegar a tiempo?” — Have you accelerated my pace to arrive on time? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Aceleráis en la autopista para adelantar.” — You accelerate on the motorway to overtake.
“Aceleran al salir del semáforo.” — They accelerate on leaving the traffic light.
“Acelero el coche en la recta.” — I accelerate the car on the straight.
“Acelera el paso para llegar a tiempo.” — He/she accelerates my pace to arrive on time.
Acelerar in context
Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how acelerar appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú aceleras en la autopista para adelantar?” — Do you accelerate on the motorway to overtake?
Carlos: “Sí, yo acelero en la autopista para adelantar.” — Yes, I accelerate on the motorway to overtake.
Lucía: “Nosotros aceleramos al salir del semáforo.” — We accelerate on leaving the traffic light.
Carlos: “Y ellos aceleran el coche en la recta.” — And they accelerate the car on the straight.
Lucía: “Vosotros aceleráis el paso para llegar a tiempo.” — You accelerate my pace to arrive on time.
Carlos: “Sí, y él acelera al salir del semáforo.” — Yes, and he accelerates on leaving the traffic light.
A short paragraph
Lucía acelera en la autopista para adelantar, y Carlos acelera al salir del semáforo. Nosotros aceleramos el coche en la recta, y ellos aceleran el paso para llegar a tiempo. Yo acelero el coche en la recta, y mi padre acelera el paso para llegar a tiempo. Acelerar is part of everyday life, because to accelerate is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with acelerar
These are the errors learners actually make with acelerar. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo acelera en la autopista para adelantar.” Right: “Yo acelero en la autopista para adelantar.” Why: The person matters: acelera is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is acelero. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
Wrong: “Ayer yo acelero al salir del semáforo.” Right: “Ayer yo aceleré al salir del semáforo.” Why: The present and the preterite are different tenses: acelero is happening now, while aceleré is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
Wrong: “Treating acelerar and frenar as identical in every context.” Right: “Acelerar means to accelerate, while frenar means to brake.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: acelerar fits sentences such as Acelero en la autopista para adelantar, while frenar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy acelerado al salir del semáforo.” Right: “Yo he acelerado al salir del semáforo.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he acelerado, has acelerado, ha acelerado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo aceleré el coche en la recta todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo aceleraba el coche en la recta todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (aceleraba), not the preterite. The preterite (aceleré) is for one finished action.
Quiz: acelerar in use
Ten questions on acelerar in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ en la autopista para adelantar.” (On the motorway to overtake.)
- (a) aceleráis
- (b) acelero
- (c) aceleras
Answer: aceleráis — The vosotros/as form of acelerar in the present is aceleráis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ al salir del semáforo.” (On leaving the traffic light.)
- (a) acelero
- (b) aceleras
- (c) aceleran
Answer: aceleran — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of acelerar in the present is aceleran.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ en la autopista para adelantar.” (On the motorway to overtake.)
- (a) aceleró
- (b) aceleré
- (c) aceleraste
Answer: aceleré — The yo form of acelerar in the preterite is aceleré.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ al salir del semáforo.” (On leaving the traffic light.)
- (a) aceleraba
- (b) acelerabas
- (c) acelerábamos
Answer: aceleraba — The él/ella/Ud. form of acelerar in the imperfect is aceleraba.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ el coche en la recta.” (The car on the straight.)
- (a) aceleraré
- (b) acelerarás
- (c) aceleraremos
Answer: aceleraremos — The nosotros/as form of acelerar in the future is aceleraremos.
6. What does acelerar mean in English?
- (a) to turn, to fold
- (b) to accelerate
- (c) to brake
Answer: to accelerate — Acelerar means “to accelerate”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo acelero en la autopista para adelantar.
- (b) Ellos acelera en la autopista para adelantar.
- (c) Yo acelero al salir del semáforo ayer.
Answer: Yo acelero en la autopista para adelantar. — “Yo acelero en la autopista para adelantar.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I accelerate on the motorway to overtake.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo aceleran en la autopista para adelantar.
- (b) Yo aceleré en la autopista para adelantar.
- (c) Yo acelero en la autopista para adelantar.
Answer: Yo acelero en la autopista para adelantar. — “Yo acelero en la autopista para adelantar.” is the correct translation. The second option uses the wrong person's form, and the third uses the preterite.
9. What is the nosotros form of acelerar in the present tense?
- (a) aceleras
- (b) aceleramos
- (c) acelero
Answer: aceleramos — The nosotros form is aceleramos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo aceleré en la autopista para adelantar.
- (b) Nosotros aceleraremos en la autopista para adelantar mañana.
- (c) Yo acelero en la autopista para adelantar.
Answer: Yo acelero en la autopista para adelantar. — “Yo acelero en la autopista para adelantar.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I accelerate' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo acelero en la autopista para adelantar'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo acelero en la autopista para adelantar todos los días'.
How do you say 'I accelerate' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo aceleré al salir del semáforo'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo aceleraba al salir del semáforo todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo he acelerado al salir del semáforo'.
What is the difference between acelerar and frenar?
Acelerar means to accelerate, while frenar means to brake. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use acelerar when you mean to accelerate, as in Acelero en la autopista para adelantar.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of acelerar — every tense of acelerar in one place.
- Acelerar in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on acelerar and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of acelerar until they are automatic.