Aceptar Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

aceptar means to accept, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Aceptar means to accept, and it covers accepting a job offer, an invitation, a gift and the terms of a contract. It is the opposite of rechazar, and it is a fully regular -ar verb. This page puts aceptar to work: twelve example sentences in different tenses and persons, grouped by use, then two short dialogues where the verb appears naturally, then the common mistakes to avoid, and finally a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every Spanish form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for aceptar, and the full tables are on the aceptar conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo acepto la oferta de trabajo. — I accept the job offer.
  2. Él acepta una invitación a cenar. — He/she accepts an invitation to dinner.
  3. Ayer, yo acepté el regalo con una sonrisa. — Yesterday, I accepted the gift with a smile.
  4. Antes, nosotros aceptábamos las condiciones del contrato. — Before, we used to accept the terms of the contract.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú aceptarás la oferta de trabajo. — Tomorrow, you will accept the job offer.
  2. Yo aceptaría una invitación a cenar. — I would accept an invitation to dinner.
  3. Él ha aceptado el regalo con una sonrisa. — He/she has accepted the gift with a smile.
  4. Espero que él acepte las condiciones del contrato. — I hope he/she accepts the terms of the contract.

With other people

  1. Nosotros aceptamos la oferta de trabajo. — We accept the job offer.
  2. Vosotros aceptáis una invitación a cenar. — You all accept an invitation to dinner.
  3. Antes, ellos aceptaban el regalo con una sonrisa. — Before, they used to accept the gift with a smile.
  4. Mañana, él aceptará las condiciones del contrato. — Tomorrow, he/she will accept the terms of the contract.

Aceptar in context

Two short dialogues that use aceptar the way people really use it. Read them aloud — the verb forms will stick much faster in a conversation than in a table.

Dialogue 1: today and yesterday

  • Ana: "Hola, ¿qué tal?" — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Luis: "Hoy acepto la oferta de trabajo." — "Today I accept the job offer."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, acepté el regalo con una sonrisa." — "Yesterday I accepted the gift with a smile."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú aceptarás una invitación a cenar?" — "And tomorrow, will you will accept an invitation to dinner?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros aceptamos las condiciones del contrato." — "Tomorrow we accept the terms of the contract."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo aceptaría una invitación a cenar si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would accept an invitation to dinner if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él acepte la oferta de trabajo." — "I hope he accepts the job offer."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha aceptado el regalo con una sonrisa." — "Surely. He has already has accepted the gift with a smile."
  • Marta: "Vale, nos vemos mañana." — "OK, see you tomorrow."

Notice how the same verb changes with the tense: the present for the plan, the conditional for the wish, the subjunctive after espero que, and the present perfect for what has already happened. That is the whole point of learning a verb across its tenses, not just in one form.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo acepta la oferta de trabajo. — Right: Yo acepto la oferta de trabajo. — The person matters: acepta is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is acepto. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Vosotros aceptais una invitación a cenar. — Right: Vosotros aceptáis una invitación a cenar. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: aceptáis, not aceptais. The accent marks the stressed vowel.
  3. Wrong: Treating aceptar and rechazar as identical in every context. — Right: Aceptar means to accept, while rechazar means to reject, its opposite. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: aceptar fits sentences such as Acepto la oferta de trabajo, while rechazar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy aceptado una invitación a cenar. — Right: Yo he aceptado una invitación a cenar. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he aceptado, has aceptado, ha aceptado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo acepté el regalo con una sonrisa todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo aceptaba el regalo con una sonrisa todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (aceptaba), not the preterite. The preterite (acepté) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on aceptar: four on the forms, three on the meaning, and three on spotting the correct sentence. Check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la oferta de trabajo. (present tense) A. acepto B. aceptas C. acepta D. aceptamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ una invitación a cenar. (preterite tense) A. acepté B. aceptaste C. aceptamos D. aceptó

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el regalo con una sonrisa. (future tense) A. aceptará B. aceptaremos C. aceptarás D. aceptaré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ las condiciones del contrato. (imperfect tense) A. aceptabais B. aceptábamos C. aceptaba D. aceptabas

  5. What does "Yo acepto la oferta de trabajo." mean in English? A. I accept the job offer. B. I accept an invitation to dinner. C. I accept the gift with a smile. D. I accept the terms of the contract.

  6. What does "Él aceptó una invitación a cenar." mean in English? A. He/she accepted the job offer. B. He/she accepted the gift with a smile. C. He/she accepted the terms of the contract. D. He/she accepted an invitation to dinner.

  7. What does "Nosotros aceptaremos el regalo con una sonrisa." mean in English? A. We will accept an invitation to dinner. B. We will accept the terms of the contract. C. We will accept the gift with a smile. D. We will accept the job offer.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo aceptan una invitación a cenar. B. Yo acepta una invitación a cenar. C. Yo acepto una invitación a cenar.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él acepté el regalo con una sonrisa. B. Él aceptó el regalo con una sonrisa. C. Él aceptaron el regalo con una sonrisa.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo acepte las condiciones del contrato. B. Yo acepten las condiciones del contrato. C. Yo acepte las condiciones del contrato.

Answer key

  1. acepto — The yo present form of aceptar is acepto.
  2. aceptó — The el preterite form of aceptar is aceptó.
  3. aceptarás — The tu future form of aceptar is aceptarás.
  4. aceptábamos — The nosotros imperfect form of aceptar is aceptábamos.
  5. I accept the job offer. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form acepto, so the English is "I accept the job offer." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she accepted an invitation to dinner. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form aceptó, so the English is "He/she accepted an invitation to dinner." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will accept the gift with a smile. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form aceptaremos, so the English is "We will accept the gift with a smile." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo acepto una invitación a cenar. — The correct sentence is "Yo acepto una invitación a cenar." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él aceptó el regalo con una sonrisa. — The correct sentence is "Él aceptó el regalo con una sonrisa." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo acepte las condiciones del contrato. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo acepte las condiciones del contrato." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

What does aceptar mean, and when do I use it?

Aceptar means to accept. Aceptar means to accept, and it covers accepting a job offer, an invitation, a gift and the terms of a contract. It is the opposite of rechazar, and it is a fully regular -ar verb. A good first sentence to remember is Yo acepto la oferta de trabajo. — "I accept the job offer."

What is the difference between aceptar and rechazar?

Aceptar means to accept, while rechazar means to reject, its opposite. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use aceptar when you mean to accept, as in Yo acepto una invitación a cenar., and use rechazar for to reject, its opposite.

How do I say "I accept" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo acepté una invitación a cenar.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo aceptaba el regalo con una sonrisa.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he aceptado una invitación a cenar..

How do I practise aceptar?

Start with the aceptar conjugation page for the full tables, then the aceptar in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Aceptar is fully regular: acepté, aceptaba, aceptaré. Aceptar una invitación is to accept it; rechazar is the opposite.

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