Apasionar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

apasionar means “to excite, to be passionate about” 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. Apasionar means to excite or to be passionate about, and it works like gustar: the thing that excites you is the subject, as in me apasiona la música, music excites me. It describes strong enthusiasm — for music, football, cooking, history — and it is stronger than gustar. 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 apasionar; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the apasionar present tense page.

apasionar in everyday use: examples with translations

In the present

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

  1. Me apasiona la música clásica. — Classical music excites me.
  2. Le apasiona el fútbol. — Football excites him.
  3. Nos apasiona la cocina italiana. — Italian cooking excites us.
  4. Les apasiona los libros de historia. — History books excites them.

In the past

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

  1. Ayer, me apasionó la cocina italiana. — Yesterday, Italian cooking excited me.
  2. Antes, nos apasionaba los libros de historia. — Before, History books used to excite us.
  3. Ayer, le apasionó la música clásica. — Yesterday, Classical music excited him.
  4. De niños, les apasionaba el fútbol. — As children, Football used to excite them.

Plans, hopes and wishes

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

  1. Mañana, te apasionará la música clásica. — Tomorrow, Classical music will excite you.
  2. Me apasionaría el fútbol. — Football would excite me.
  3. Espero que le apasione la cocina italiana. — I hope italian cooking excites him.
  4. Le ha apasionado los libros de historia. — History books has excited him.

apasionar in context: two short dialogues

Making plans

Ana: ¿Te apasiona la música clásica? — Do you like classical music? Luis: Sí, me apasiona la música clásica mucho. — Yes, classical music excites me a lot. Ana: ¿Y mañana te apasionará el fútbol? — And tomorrow, will football excite you? Luis: Claro, mañana me apasionará el fútbol también. — Of course, tomorrow football will excite me too. Ana: Perfecto. A mí también me apasiona la cocina italiana. — Perfect. Italian cooking excites me too. Luis: Entonces quedamos mañana. ¡Hasta luego! — Then see you tomorrow. Bye!

Yesterday

Ana: ¿Qué pasó ayer? — What happened yesterday? Luis: Ayer me apasionó la cocina italiana. — Yesterday, Italian cooking excited me. Ana: ¿Y antes te apasionaba los libros de historia? — And before, did history books use to excite you? Luis: Sí, antes me apasionaba los libros de historia todos los días. — Yes, before, history books used to excite me every day. Ana: ¿Y a tus hermanos les apasiona la música clásica? — And do your brothers like classical music? Luis: Sí, a ellos también les apasiona la música clásica. — Yes, classical music excites them too.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo apasiono la música clásica. — Right: Me apasiona la música clásica. — Apasionar works like gustar: the thing that excites is the subject, and the person is an indirect object (me, te, le, nos, os, les). The verb agrees with the thing, not with the person.
  2. Wrong: Treating apasionar and encantar as identical in every context. — Right: Apasionar means to excite, to be passionate about, while encantar means to love something, to be delighted by it. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: apasionar fits sentences such as Me apasiona la música clásica, while encantar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  3. Wrong: Yo soy apasionado el fútbol. — Right: Yo he apasionado el fútbol. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he apasionado, has apasionado, ha apasionado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  4. Wrong: De niño, yo apasioné la cocina italiana todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo apasionaba la cocina italiana todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (apasionaba), not the preterite. The preterite (apasioné) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Les ___ los libros de historia. (present tense) A. apasiona B. apasiono C. apasionas D. apasionamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, nos ___ la música clásica. (preterite tense) A. apasioné B. apasionaste C. apasionamos D. apasionó

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, te ___ el fútbol. (imperfect tense) A. apasionábamos B. apasionabais C. apasionaba D. apasionabas

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, le ___ la cocina italiana. (future tense) A. apasionaremos B. apasionará C. apasionaré D. apasionarás

  5. Complete the sentence: Nos ___ los libros de historia. (conditional tense) A. apasionaría B. apasionarías C. apasionaríamos D. apasionaríais

  6. Complete the sentence: Hoy, me ___ la música clásica. (present-perfect tense) A. he apasionado B. has apasionado C. hemos apasionado D. ha apasionado

  7. What does apasionar mean in English? A. to disturb B. to address as tú C. to excite, to be passionate about D. to love something, to be delighted by it

  8. Which of these sentences is WRONG? A. Ayer, me apasionó la cocina italiana. B. Yo apasiono la música clásica. C. Me apasiona la música clásica. D. Le apasiona el fútbol.

  9. Which is the gerund of apasionar, used with estar for the progressive? A. apasionando B. apasionado C. apasiono D. apasioné

  10. Which is the past participle of apasionar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. apasionando B. apasiono C. apasioné D. apasionado

Answer key

  1. apasiona — The correct form here is apasiona.
  2. apasionó — The correct form here is apasionó.
  3. apasionaba — The correct form here is apasionaba.
  4. apasionará — The correct form here is apasionará.
  5. apasionaría — The correct form here is apasionaría.
  6. ha apasionado — The correct form here is ha apasionado.
  7. to excite, to be passionate about — Apasionar means to excite, to be passionate about. Encantar means to love something, to be delighted by it, which is a different verb.
  8. Yo apasiono la música clásica. — The first sentence is wrong: the correct form is Me apasiona la música clásica.. Apasionar works like gustar: the thing that excites is the subject, and the person is an indirect object (me, te, le, nos, os, les). The verb agrees with the thing, not with the person.
  9. apasionando — The gerund of apasionar is apasionando: estoy apasionando.
  10. apasionado — The past participle of apasionar is apasionado: he apasionado, has apasionado, ha apasionado.

Frequently asked questions

What does apasionar mean?

Apasionar means to excite, to be passionate about. Apasionar means to excite or to be passionate about, and it works like gustar: the thing that excites you is the subject, as in me apasiona la música, music excites me. It describes strong enthusiasm — for music, football, cooking, history — and it is stronger than gustar.

When do people use apasionar most?

People use apasionar most in everyday situations such as Me apasiona la música clásica. and Ayer, me apasionó la cocina italiana.. 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 apasionar and encantar?

Apasionar means to excite, to be passionate about, while encantar means to love something, to be delighted by it. 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 apasionar?

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

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