Aparecer Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

aparecer means to appear, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Aparecer means to appear, and it is used for someone appearing in a doorway, a message appearing on a screen and a star appearing in the sky. It is the opposite of desaparecer, and it is a -cer spelling-change verb: yo aparezco. This page puts aparecer 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 aparecer, and the full tables are on the aparecer conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo aparezco de repente en la puerta. — I appear suddenly in the doorway.
  2. Él aparece en la foto del grupo. — He/she appears in the group photo.
  3. Ayer, yo aparecí un mensaje en la pantalla. — Yesterday, I appeared a message on the screen.
  4. Antes, nosotros aparecíamos en el cielo una estrella. — Before, we used to appear a star in the sky.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú aparecerás de repente en la puerta. — Tomorrow, you will appear suddenly in the doorway.
  2. Yo aparecería en la foto del grupo. — I would appear in the group photo.
  3. Él ha aparecido un mensaje en la pantalla. — He/she has appeared a message on the screen.
  4. Espero que él aparezca en el cielo una estrella. — I hope he/she appears a star in the sky.

With other people

  1. Nosotros aparecemos de repente en la puerta. — We appear suddenly in the doorway.
  2. Vosotros aparecéis en la foto del grupo. — You all appear in the group photo.
  3. Antes, ellos aparecían un mensaje en la pantalla. — Before, they used to appear a message on the screen.
  4. Mañana, él aparecerá en el cielo una estrella. — Tomorrow, he/she will appear a star in the sky.

Aparecer in context

Two short dialogues that use aparecer 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 aparezco de repente en la puerta." — "Today I appear suddenly in the doorway."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, aparecí un mensaje en la pantalla." — "Yesterday I appeared a message on the screen."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú aparecerás en la foto del grupo?" — "And tomorrow, will you will appear in the group photo?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros aparecemos en el cielo una estrella." — "Tomorrow we appear a star in the sky."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo aparecería en la foto del grupo si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would appear in the group photo if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él aparezca de repente en la puerta." — "I hope he appears suddenly in the doorway."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha aparecido un mensaje en la pantalla." — "Surely. He has already has appeared a message on the screen."
  • 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 aparece de repente en la puerta. — Right: Yo aparezco de repente en la puerta. — The person matters: aparece is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is aparezco. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo apareco en la foto del grupo. — Right: Yo aparezco en la foto del grupo. — In the present, the correct first-person form is aparezco, not apareco. aparecer 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 aparecer and desaparecer as identical in every context. — Right: Aparecer means to appear, while desaparecer means to disappear, its opposite. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: aparecer fits sentences such as Aparezco de repente en la puerta, while desaparecer belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy aparecido en la foto del grupo. — Right: Yo he aparecido en la foto del grupo. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he aparecido, has aparecido, ha aparecido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo aparecí un mensaje en la pantalla todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo aparecía un mensaje en la pantalla todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (aparecía), not the preterite. The preterite (aparecí) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on aparecer: 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 ___ de repente en la puerta. (present tense) A. aparezco B. apareces C. aparece D. aparecemos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ en la foto del grupo. (preterite tense) A. aparecí B. apareciste C. aparecimos D. apareció

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ un mensaje en la pantalla. (future tense) A. aparecerá B. apareceremos C. aparecerás D. apareceré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ en el cielo una estrella. (imperfect tense) A. aparecíais B. aparecíamos C. aparecía D. aparecías

  5. What does "Yo aparezco de repente en la puerta." mean in English? A. I appear suddenly in the doorway. B. I appear in the group photo. C. I appear a message on the screen. D. I appear a star in the sky.

  6. What does "Él apareció en la foto del grupo." mean in English? A. He/she appeared suddenly in the doorway. B. He/she appeared a message on the screen. C. He/she appeared a star in the sky. D. He/she appeared in the group photo.

  7. What does "Nosotros apareceremos un mensaje en la pantalla." mean in English? A. We will appear in the group photo. B. We will appear a star in the sky. C. We will appear a message on the screen. D. We will appear suddenly in the doorway.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo apareco en la foto del grupo. B. Yo aparece en la foto del grupo. C. Yo aparezco en la foto del grupo.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él aparecí un mensaje en la pantalla. B. Él apareció un mensaje en la pantalla. C. Él aparecieron un mensaje en la pantalla.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo aparezca en el cielo una estrella. B. Yo apareca en el cielo una estrella. C. Yo aparezca en el cielo una estrella.

Answer key

  1. aparezco — The yo present form of aparecer is aparezco.
  2. apareció — The el preterite form of aparecer is apareció.
  3. aparecerás — The tu future form of aparecer is aparecerás.
  4. aparecíamos — The nosotros imperfect form of aparecer is aparecíamos.
  5. I appear suddenly in the doorway. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form aparezco, so the English is "I appear suddenly in the doorway." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she appeared in the group photo. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form apareció, so the English is "He/she appeared in the group photo." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will appear a message on the screen. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form apareceremos, so the English is "We will appear a message on the screen." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo aparezco en la foto del grupo. — The correct sentence is "Yo aparezco en la foto del grupo." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él apareció un mensaje en la pantalla. — The correct sentence is "Él apareció un mensaje en la pantalla." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo aparezca en el cielo una estrella. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo aparezca en el cielo una estrella." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

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

Aparecer means to appear. Aparecer means to appear, and it is used for someone appearing in a doorway, a message appearing on a screen and a star appearing in the sky. It is the opposite of desaparecer, and it is a -cer spelling-change verb: yo aparezco. A good first sentence to remember is Yo aparezco de repente en la puerta. — "I appear suddenly in the doorway."

What is the difference between aparecer and desaparecer?

Aparecer means to appear, while desaparecer means to disappear, its opposite. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use aparecer when you mean to appear, as in Yo aparezco en la foto del grupo., and use desaparecer for to disappear, its opposite.

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

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo aparecí en la foto del grupo.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo aparecía un mensaje en la pantalla.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he aparecido en la foto del grupo..

How do I practise aparecer?

Start with the aparecer conjugation page for the full tables, then the aparecer in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Spelling change: c becomes zc before o and a, so yo aparezco and the subjunctive aparezca. Never write apareco.

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