Adquirir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

adquirir means "to acquire" 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. Adquirir is a formal verb for acquiring something: a house, a skill, a habit, experience. Its present is irregular — adquiero, adquieres, adquiere — with the i becoming ie in the stressed forms. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by use, 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 adquirir; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the adquirir preterite tense page.

adquirir in everyday use: examples with translations

Everyday present uses

How the verb sounds in the present, the future and in hypotheticals — the forms you will use most often.

  1. Yo adquiero una casa en el campo — "I acquire a house in the country"
  2. Mi amigo adquiere nuevas habilidades en el curso — "My friend acquires new skills on the course"
  3. Mañana, tú adquirirás el hábito de leer — "Tomorrow, you will acquire the habit of reading"
  4. Yo adquiriría una empresa pequeña si pudiera — "I would acquire a small company if I could"

Talking about the past

The same verb in the past: one finished action, a habit, something that has just happened, and something that had already happened.

  1. Ayer, yo adquirí una casa en el campo — "Yesterday, I acquired a house in the country"
  2. Antes, nosotros adquiríamos nuevas habilidades en el curso — "Before, we used to acquire new skills on the course"
  3. Él ha adquirido el hábito de leer — "He has acquired the habit of reading"
  4. Yo ya había adquirido una empresa pequeña antes de salir — "I already had acquired a small company before leaving"

Wishes, conditions and commands

The verb after espero que, in si clauses, as a command — and in the conditional perfect, for what would have happened.

  1. Espero que él adquiera una casa en el campo — "I hope he acquires a house in the country"
  2. Si yo adquiriera nuevas habilidades en el curso, todo cambiaría — "If I acquired new skills on the course, everything would change"
  3. Adquiere el hábito de leer. — "Acquire the habit of reading."
  4. Yo habría adquirido una empresa pequeña con más tiempo — "I would have acquired a small company with more time"

adquirir in conversation

Two short dialogues that use adquirir the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

Two friends talk about it.

  • Lucía: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Lucía: Yo adquiero una casa en el campo — "I acquire a house in the country"
  • Marcos: Él adquiere nuevas habilidades en el curso — "He acquires new skills on the course"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo adquirí el hábito de leer — "Yesterday, I acquired the habit of reading"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú adquirirás una empresa pequeña — "Tomorrow, you will acquire a small company"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Adquiere experiencia en el extranjero. — "Acquire experience abroad."
  • Lucía: Él ha adquirido una casa en el campo — "He has acquired a house in the country"
  • Marcos: Espero que él adquiera nuevas habilidades en el curso — "I hope he acquires new skills on the course"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo adquiría el hábito de leer — "Before, I used to acquire the habit of reading"

Common mistakes with adquirir

The errors learners actually make with adquirir, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ *Yo adquiro una empresa pequeña.

✓ Correct: Yo adquiero una empresa pequeña.

adquirir is a stem-changing verb (i → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is adquiero, not adquiro.

✗ *Espero que él adquiere una empresa pequeña

✓ Correct: Espero que él adquiera una empresa pequeña

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él adquiera una empresa pequeña — not the indicative Espero que él adquiere una empresa pequeña.

✗ *Ayer, yo adquiero experiencia en el extranjero

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo adquirí experiencia en el extranjero

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo adquirí experiencia en el extranjero.

✗ *De niño, yo adquirí una casa en el campo todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo adquiría una casa en el campo todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo adquiría una casa en el campo todos los días.

✗ *Yo adquiero en el hábito de leer.

✓ Correct: Yo adquiero el hábito de leer.

adquirir takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo adquiero el hábito de leer.

Quiz: adquirir in use

Ten questions on adquirir — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ una casa en el campo — "I acquire a house in the country" (present) A. adquieres B. adquiere C. adquirimos D. adquiero

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ nuevas habilidades en el curso — "Yesterday, I acquired new skills on the course" (preterite) A. adquiriste B. adquirió C. adquirimos D. adquirí

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ el hábito de leer — "Before, we used to acquire the habit of reading" (imperfect) A. adquiríais B. adquiríamos C. adquiría D. adquirías

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ una empresa pequeña — "Tomorrow, you will acquire a small company" (future) A. adquirirás B. adquiriré C. adquirirá D. adquiriremos

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ experiencia en el extranjero — "I would acquire experience abroad" (conditional) A. adquiriríamos B. adquiriríais C. adquiriría D. adquirirías

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ una casa en el campo — "He has acquired a house in the country" (present perfect) A. hemos adquirido B. ha adquirido C. he adquirido D. has adquirido

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ nuevas habilidades en el curso — "I hope he acquires new skills on the course" (present subjunctive) A. adquiráis B. adquiera C. adquieras D. adquiramos

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ el hábito de leer. — "Acquire the habit of reading." (affirmative imperative) A. adquirid B. adquiere C. adquiera D. adquiramos

  9. Which is the gerund of adquirir, used with estar for the progressive? A. adquirí B. adquiriendo C. adquirido D. adquiero

  10. What does adquirir mean in English? A. to buy B. to enjoy C. to cross D. to acquire

Answer key

  1. adquiero — The present form for yo is adquiero.
  2. adquirí — The preterite form for yo is adquirí.
  3. adquiríamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is adquiríamos.
  4. adquirirás — The future form for tú is adquirirás.
  5. adquiriría — The conditional form for yo is adquiriría.
  6. ha adquirido — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha adquirido.
  7. adquiera — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is adquiera.
  8. adquiere — The affirmative imperative form is adquiere.
  9. adquiriendo — The gerund of adquirir is adquiriendo: estoy adquiriendo. The participle adquirido is used with haber instead.
  10. to acquire — adquirir means to acquire.

Frequently asked questions

What does adquirir mean in English?

adquirir means to acquire. For example: Yo adquiero una casa en el campo — "I acquire a house in the country". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with adquirir?

adquirir takes its complement directly, with no preposition, as in the examples above. Adding an extra preposition is a common learner error.

Is adquirir regular?

No. adquirir is a stem-changing -ir verb (i → ie). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: adquiero, adquieres, adquiere and adquieren — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: adquirimos, adquirís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: adquirió, adquirieron, and the gerund is adquiriendo.

How do I practise adquirir?

Start with the present tense table on the full conjugation page, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure, and come back to the sentences above until you can say them without looking.

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