Adelantarse Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

adelantarse means “to go ahead, to be early” in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Adelantarse means to go ahead or to be early, and it is reflexive: you go ahead of others on the road, you arrive early for a meeting, you anticipate an event. It is used with a for the person or thing you go ahead of, as in adelantarse a los demás. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by tense, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of adelantarse; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the adelantarse present tense page.

adelantarse in everyday use: examples with translations

In the present

Four sentences with adelantarse in the present tense, for habits, facts and things happening right now.

  1. Yo me adelanto a los demás en la carrera. — I go ahead of the others in the race.
  2. Él/Ella se adelanta a la reunión diez minutos. — He goes ahead to the meeting by ten minutes.
  3. Nosotros/as nos adelantamos a los acontecimientos. — We go ahead of events.
  4. Ellos/as se adelantan en el camino hacia el pueblo. — They go ahead on the road to the village.

In the past

Four sentences with adelantarse in the past: the preterite for finished actions and the imperfect for habits and background.

  1. Ayer, Yo me adelanté a los acontecimientos. — Yesterday, I went ahead of events.
  2. Antes, Nosotros/as nos adelantábamos en el camino hacia el pueblo. — Before, We used to go ahead on the road to the village.
  3. Ayer, Él/Ella se adelantó a los demás en la carrera. — Yesterday, He went ahead of the others in the race.
  4. De niños, Ellos/as se adelantaban a la reunión diez minutos. — As children, They used to go ahead to the meeting by ten minutes.

Plans, hopes and wishes

Four sentences with adelantarse in the future, the conditional, the subjunctive and the present perfect — for plans, hypotheticals and things that have just happened.

  1. Mañana, Tú te adelantarás a los demás en la carrera. — Tomorrow, You will go ahead of the others in the race.
  2. Yo me adelantaría a la reunión diez minutos. — I would go ahead to the meeting by ten minutes.
  3. Espero que él se adelante a los acontecimientos. — I hope he goes ahead of events.
  4. Él/Ella se ha adelantado en el camino hacia el pueblo. — He has gone ahead on the road to the village.

adelantarse in context: two short dialogues

Making plans

Ana: ¿Tú te adelantas a los demás en la carrera mañana? — Are you going to go ahead of the others in the race tomorrow? Luis: Sí, yo me adelanto a los demás en la carrera todos los días. — Yes, I go ahead of the others in the race every day. Ana: ¿Y mañana te adelantarás a la reunión diez minutos? — And tomorrow, will you go ahead to the meeting by ten minutes? Luis: Claro, mañana me adelantaré a la reunión diez minutos sin falta. — Of course, tomorrow I will go ahead to the meeting by ten minutes without fail. Ana: Perfecto. Yo me adelantaré a los acontecimientos también. — Perfect. I will go ahead of events too. Luis: Entonces quedamos mañana. ¡Hasta luego! — Then see you tomorrow. Bye!

Yesterday

Ana: ¿Qué hiciste ayer? — What did you do yesterday? Luis: Ayer me adelanté a los acontecimientos. — Yesterday, I went ahead of events. Ana: ¿Y antes te adelantabas en el camino hacia el pueblo? — And before, did you use to go ahead on the road to the village? Luis: Sí, antes me adelantaba en el camino hacia el pueblo todos los días. — Yes, before, I used to go ahead on the road to the village every day. Ana: ¿Y tus hermanos se adelantaron a los demás en la carrera? — And did your brothers went ahead of the others in the race? Luis: Sí, ellos se adelantaron a los demás en la carrera por la tarde. — Yes, they went ahead of the others in the race in the afternoon.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo adelanto a los demás en la carrera. — Right: Yo me adelanto a los demás en la carrera. — Adelantarse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required: without it the verb means something else, or nothing at all.
  2. Wrong: Treating adelantarse and anticiparse as identical in every context. — Right: Adelantarse means to go ahead, to be early, while anticiparse means to anticipate something. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: adelantarse fits sentences such as Me adelanto a los demás en la carrera, while anticiparse belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  3. Wrong: Yo soy adelantado a la reunión diez minutos. — Right: Yo he adelantado a la reunión diez minutos. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he adelantado, has adelantado, ha adelantado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  4. Wrong: De niño, yo adelanté a los acontecimientos todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo adelantaba a los acontecimientos todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (adelantaba), not the preterite. The preterite (adelanté) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on adelantarse in use. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ en el camino hacia el pueblo. (present tense) A. se adelantan B. me adelanto C. te adelantas D. se adelanta

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, Nosotros/as ___ a los demás en la carrera. (preterite tense) A. me adelanté B. te adelantaste C. se adelantó D. nos adelantamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, Tú ___ a la reunión diez minutos. (imperfect tense) A. se adelantaba B. nos adelantábamos C. te adelantabas D. me adelantaba

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, Él/Ella ___ a los acontecimientos. (future tense) A. nos adelantaremos B. se adelantará C. me adelantaré D. te adelantarás

  5. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ en el camino hacia el pueblo. (conditional tense) A. nos adelantaríamos B. me adelantaría C. te adelantarías D. se adelantaría

  6. Complete the sentence: Hoy, Yo ___ a los demás en la carrera. (present-perfect tense) A. te has adelantado B. se ha adelantado C. nos hemos adelantado D. me he adelantado

  7. What does adelantarse mean in English? A. to disturb B. to address as tú C. to go ahead, to be early D. to anticipate something

  8. Which of these sentences is WRONG? A. Ayer, Yo me adelanté a los acontecimientos. B. Yo adelanto a los demás en la carrera. C. Yo me adelanto a los demás en la carrera. D. Él/Ella se adelanta a la reunión diez minutos.

  9. Which is the gerund of adelantarse, used with estar for the progressive? A. adelantando B. adelantado C. adelanto D. adelanté

  10. Which is the past participle of adelantarse, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. adelantando B. adelanto C. adelanté D. adelantado

Answer key

  1. se adelantan — The correct form here is se adelantan.
  2. nos adelantamos — The correct form here is nos adelantamos.
  3. te adelantabas — The correct form here is te adelantabas.
  4. se adelantará — The correct form here is se adelantará.
  5. nos adelantaríamos — The correct form here is nos adelantaríamos.
  6. me he adelantado — The correct form here is me he adelantado.
  7. to go ahead, to be early — Adelantarse means to go ahead, to be early. Anticiparse means to anticipate something, which is a different verb.
  8. Yo adelanto a los demás en la carrera. — The first sentence is wrong: the correct form is Yo me adelanto a los demás en la carrera.. Adelantarse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required: without it the verb means something else, or nothing at all.
  9. adelantando — The gerund of adelantarse is adelantando: estoy adelantando.
  10. adelantado — The past participle of adelantarse is adelantado: he adelantado, has adelantado, ha adelantado.

Frequently asked questions

What does adelantarse mean?

Adelantarse means to go ahead, to be early. Adelantarse means to go ahead or to be early, and it is reflexive: you go ahead of others on the road, you arrive early for a meeting, you anticipate an event. It is used with a for the person or thing you go ahead of, as in adelantarse a los demás.

When do people use adelantarse most?

People use adelantarse most in everyday situations such as Yo me adelanto a los demás en la carrera. and Ayer, Yo me adelanté a los acontecimientos.. Learn the present tense first, then the preterite and the imperfect, since those are the forms you will hear most often.

What is the difference between adelantarse and anticiparse?

Adelantarse means to go ahead, to be early, while anticiparse means to anticipate something. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable — check the meaning you want before you choose.

How can I remember the forms of adelantarse?

Practise the present tense table first, then add the preterite and the imperfect. Use the full conjugation of adelantarse as your reference, the adelantarse present tense page for one tense in depth, and the Spanish Verb Quiz to test yourself.

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