Acercarse Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Acercarse means “to approach”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Acercarse means to approach, and it is used for walking up to a person, a building or a place, and for a date or an event drawing near. It is always used with a, as in acercarse a la puerta, and it is a spelling-change verb, so the subjunctive is acerque, not acerce. This page shows acercarse 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 me acerco a la puerta con cuidado.” — I approach to the door carefully.
Acercarse in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how acercarse 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 acercarse in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Me acerco a la puerta con cuidado.” — I approach to the door carefully.
“¿Tú te acercas a la ventana para mirar?” — Do you approach to the window to look?
“Se acerca al mostrador a preguntar.” — He/she approaches to the counter to ask.
“Nos acercamos a su amigo en la fiesta.” — We approach to his friend at the party.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show acercarse in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo me acerqué a la puerta con cuidado.” — Yesterday, I approached to the door carefully. (preterite)
“Él se acercaba a la ventana para mirar todos los días.” — He used to approach to the window to look 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 acercarse stays the same.
“Nosotros nos acercaremos al mostrador a preguntar mañana.” — We will approach to the counter to ask tomorrow. (future)
“¿Te has acercado a su amigo en la fiesta?” — Have you approached to his friend at the party? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Os acercáis a la puerta con cuidado.” — You approach to the door carefully.
“Se acercan a la ventana para mirar.” — They approach to the window to look.
“Me acerco al mostrador a preguntar.” — I approach to the counter to ask.
“Se acerca a su amigo en la fiesta.” — He/she approaches to his friend at the party.
Acercarse 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 acercarse appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú te acercas a la puerta con cuidado?” — Do you approach to the door carefully?
Carlos: “Sí, yo me acerco a la puerta con cuidado.” — Yes, I approach to the door carefully.
Lucía: “Nosotros nos acercamos a la ventana para mirar.” — We approach to the window to look.
Carlos: “Y ellos se acercan al mostrador a preguntar.” — And they approach to the counter to ask.
Lucía: “Vosotros os acercáis a su amigo en la fiesta.” — You approach to his friend at the party.
Carlos: “Sí, y él se acerca a la ventana para mirar.” — Yes, and he approaches to the window to look.
A short paragraph
Lucía se acerca a la puerta con cuidado, y Carlos se acerca a la ventana para mirar. Nosotros nos acercamos al mostrador a preguntar, y ellos se acercan a su amigo en la fiesta. Yo me acerco al mostrador a preguntar, y mi padre se acerca a su amigo en la fiesta. Acercarse is part of everyday life, because to approach is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with acercarse
These are the errors learners actually make with acercarse. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo acerco a la puerta con cuidado.” Right: “Yo me acerco a la puerta con cuidado.” Why: Acercarse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required: without it the verb means something else, or nothing at all.
Wrong: “Ayer yo acercé a la ventana para mirar.” Right: “Ayer yo acerqué a la ventana para mirar.” Why: Acercarse has an irregular preterite: the correct first-person form is acerqué, not the regular acercé. Learn the preterite forms in the table as a set.
Wrong: “Treating acercarse and alejarse as identical in every context.” Right: “Acercarse means to approach, while alejarse means to move away.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: acercarse fits sentences such as Me acerco a la puerta con cuidado, while alejarse belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy acercado a la ventana para mirar.” Right: “Yo he acercado a la ventana para mirar.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he acercado, has acercado, ha acercado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo acerqué al mostrador a preguntar todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo acercaba al mostrador a preguntar todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (acercaba), not the preterite. The preterite (acerqué) is for one finished action.
Quiz: acercarse in use
Ten questions on acercarse in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ a la puerta con cuidado.” (To the door carefully.)
- (a) os acercáis
- (b) me acerco
- (c) te acercas
Answer: os acercáis — The vosotros/as form of acercarse in the present is os acercáis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ a la ventana para mirar.” (To the window to look.)
- (a) me acerco
- (b) te acercas
- (c) se acercan
Answer: se acercan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of acercarse in the present is se acercan.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ a la puerta con cuidado.” (To the door carefully.)
- (a) se acercó
- (b) me acerqué
- (c) te acercaste
Answer: me acerqué — The yo form of acercarse in the preterite is me acerqué.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ a la ventana para mirar.” (To the window to look.)
- (a) se acercaba
- (b) me acercaba
- (c) te acercabas
Answer: se acercaba — The él/ella/Ud. form of acercarse in the imperfect is se acercaba.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ al mostrador a preguntar.” (To the counter to ask.)
- (a) me acercaré
- (b) te acercarás
- (c) nos acercaremos
Answer: nos acercaremos — The nosotros/as form of acercarse in the future is nos acercaremos.
6. What does acercarse mean in English?
- (a) to leave, to go away
- (b) to approach
- (c) to move away
Answer: to approach — Acercarse means “to approach”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo me acerco a la puerta con cuidado.
- (b) Ellos acerca a la puerta con cuidado.
- (c) Yo me acerco a la ventana para mirar ayer.
Answer: Yo me acerco a la puerta con cuidado. — “Yo me acerco a la puerta con cuidado.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I approach to the door carefully.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo se acercan a la puerta con cuidado.
- (b) Yo me acerqué a la puerta con cuidado.
- (c) Yo me acerco a la puerta con cuidado.
Answer: Yo me acerco a la puerta con cuidado. — “Yo me acerco a la puerta con cuidado.” 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 acercarse in the present tense?
- (a) te acercas
- (b) nos acercamos
- (c) me acerco
Answer: nos acercamos — The nosotros form is nos acercamos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo me acerqué a la puerta con cuidado.
- (b) Nosotros nos acercaremos a la puerta con cuidado mañana.
- (c) Yo me acerco a la puerta con cuidado.
Answer: Yo me acerco a la puerta con cuidado. — “Yo me acerco a la puerta con cuidado.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I approach' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo me acerco a la puerta con cuidado'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo me acerco a la puerta con cuidado todos los días'.
How do you say 'I approach' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo me acerqué a la ventana para mirar'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo me acercaba a la ventana para mirar todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo me he acercado a la ventana para mirar'.
What is the difference between acercarse and alejarse?
Acercarse means to approach, while alejarse means to move away. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use acercarse when you mean to approach, as in Me acerco a la puerta con cuidado.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of acercarse — every tense of acercarse in one place.
- Acercarse 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 acercarse and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of acercarse until they are automatic.