Anochecer Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

anochecer means to get dark, nightfall, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Anochecer means to get dark or nightfall, and it describes night falling over a city or a valley, usually in the third person: anochece a las nueve, anocheció antes de llegar. It is a -cer spelling-change verb, and it is the opposite of amanecer. This page puts anochecer 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 anochecer, and the full tables are on the anochecer conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo anochezco a las nueve en verano. — I get dark at nine in summer.
  2. Él anochece muy pronto en diciembre. — He/she gets dark very early in December.
  3. Ayer, yo anochecí sobre la ciudad en silencio. — Yesterday, I got dark over the city in silence.
  4. Antes, nosotros anochecíamos antes de llegar a casa. — Before, we used to get dark before getting home.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú anochecerás a las nueve en verano. — Tomorrow, you will get dark at nine in summer.
  2. Yo anochecería muy pronto en diciembre. — I would get dark very early in December.
  3. Él ha anochecido sobre la ciudad en silencio. — He/she has got dark over the city in silence.
  4. Espero que él anochezca antes de llegar a casa. — I hope he/she gets dark before getting home.

With other people

  1. Nosotros anochecemos a las nueve en verano. — We get dark at nine in summer.
  2. Vosotros anochecéis muy pronto en diciembre. — You all get dark very early in December.
  3. Antes, ellos anochecían sobre la ciudad en silencio. — Before, they used to get dark over the city in silence.
  4. Mañana, él anochecerá antes de llegar a casa. — Tomorrow, he/she will get dark before getting home.

Anochecer in context

Two short dialogues that use anochecer 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 anochezco a las nueve en verano." — "Today I get dark at nine in summer."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, anochecí sobre la ciudad en silencio." — "Yesterday I got dark over the city in silence."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú anochecerás muy pronto en diciembre?" — "And tomorrow, will you will get dark very early in December?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros anochecemos antes de llegar a casa." — "Tomorrow we get dark before getting home."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo anochecería muy pronto en diciembre si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would get dark very early in December if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él anochezca a las nueve en verano." — "I hope he gets dark at nine in summer."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha anochecido sobre la ciudad en silencio." — "Surely. He has already has got dark over the city in silence."
  • 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 anochece a las nueve en verano. — Right: Yo anochezco a las nueve en verano. — The person matters: anochece is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is anochezco. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo anocheco muy pronto en diciembre. — Right: Yo anochezco muy pronto en diciembre. — In the present, the correct first-person form is anochezco, not anocheco. anochecer is a spelling-change verb: c becomes zc before o and a, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
  3. Wrong: Treating anochecer and amanecer as identical in every context. — Right: Anochecer means to get dark, nightfall, while amanecer means to dawn, its opposite. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: anochecer fits sentences such as Anochezco a las nueve en verano, while amanecer belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy anochecido muy pronto en diciembre. — Right: Yo he anochecido muy pronto en diciembre. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he anochecido, has anochecido, ha anochecido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo anochecí sobre la ciudad en silencio todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo anochecía sobre la ciudad en silencio todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (anochecía), not the preterite. The preterite (anochecí) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on anochecer: 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 ___ a las nueve en verano. (present tense) A. anochezco B. anocheces C. anochece D. anochecemos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ muy pronto en diciembre. (preterite tense) A. anochecí B. anocheciste C. anochecimos D. anocheció

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ sobre la ciudad en silencio. (future tense) A. anochecerá B. anocheceremos C. anochecerás D. anocheceré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ antes de llegar a casa. (imperfect tense) A. anochecíais B. anochecíamos C. anochecía D. anochecías

  5. What does "Yo anochezco a las nueve en verano." mean in English? A. I get dark at nine in summer. B. I get dark very early in December. C. I get dark over the city in silence. D. I get dark before getting home.

  6. What does "Él anocheció muy pronto en diciembre." mean in English? A. He/she got dark at nine in summer. B. He/she got dark over the city in silence. C. He/she got dark before getting home. D. He/she got dark very early in December.

  7. What does "Nosotros anocheceremos sobre la ciudad en silencio." mean in English? A. We will get dark very early in December. B. We will get dark before getting home. C. We will get dark over the city in silence. D. We will get dark at nine in summer.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo anocheco muy pronto en diciembre. B. Yo anochece muy pronto en diciembre. C. Yo anochezco muy pronto en diciembre.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él anochecí sobre la ciudad en silencio. B. Él anocheció sobre la ciudad en silencio. C. Él anochecieron sobre la ciudad en silencio.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo anochezca antes de llegar a casa. B. Yo anocheca antes de llegar a casa. C. Yo anochezca antes de llegar a casa.

Answer key

  1. anochezco — The yo present form of anochecer is anochezco.
  2. anocheció — The el preterite form of anochecer is anocheció.
  3. anochecerás — The tu future form of anochecer is anochecerás.
  4. anochecíamos — The nosotros imperfect form of anochecer is anochecíamos.
  5. I get dark at nine in summer. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form anochezco, so the English is "I get dark at nine in summer." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she got dark very early in December. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form anocheció, so the English is "He/she got dark very early in December." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will get dark over the city in silence. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form anocheceremos, so the English is "We will get dark over the city in silence." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo anochezco muy pronto en diciembre. — The correct sentence is "Yo anochezco muy pronto en diciembre." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él anocheció sobre la ciudad en silencio. — The correct sentence is "Él anocheció sobre la ciudad en silencio." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo anochezca antes de llegar a casa. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo anochezca antes de llegar a casa." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

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

Anochecer means to get dark, nightfall. Anochecer means to get dark or nightfall, and it describes night falling over a city or a valley, usually in the third person: anochece a las nueve, anocheció antes de llegar. It is a -cer spelling-change verb, and it is the opposite of amanecer. A good first sentence to remember is Yo anochezco a las nueve en verano. — "I get dark at nine in summer."

What is the difference between anochecer and amanecer?

Anochecer means to get dark, nightfall, while amanecer means to dawn, its opposite. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use anochecer when you mean to get dark, nightfall, as in Yo anochezco muy pronto en diciembre., and use amanecer for to dawn, its opposite.

How do I say "I get dark" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo anochecí muy pronto en diciembre.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo anochecía sobre la ciudad en silencio.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he anochecido muy pronto en diciembre..

How do I practise anochecer?

Start with the anochecer conjugation page for the full tables, then the anochecer in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Anochecer is mainly impersonal: anochece, anocheció. Like amanecer, it is the third person that matters in real speech.

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