Apoderarse Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish
apoderarse means "to seize, to take over" in English, and this page shows it in everyday use: real example sentences in several tenses, two short dialogues, the mistakes learners actually make, and a quiz to test yourself. You will see apoderarse with his uncle's house, the ball in the match, power in the country and the store-room key — the situations where Spanish speakers really use it. A good first sentence to learn is: Cada día, yo me apodero de la casa de su tío. — "Every day, I seize of his uncle's house." Read the examples aloud, notice which tense each one uses, and then try the dialogues and the quiz.
apoderarse in everyday sentences
Twelve sentences with apoderarse, grouped by situation. Each one shows the verb in a different tense or person, with its English translation and a note on when to use that form.
Everyday use
- Cada día, yo me apodero de la casa de su tío. — "Every day, I seize of his uncle's house." The present tense fits a habit here.
- Ayer, yo me apoderé del balón en el partido. — "Yesterday, I seized of the ball in the match." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, yo me apoderaba del poder en el país. — "In the past, I used to seize of power in the country." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, nosotros nos apoderaremos de la llave del almacén. — "Tomorrow, we will seize of the store-room key." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Si pudieras, tú te apoderarías de la casa de su tío. — "If you could, you would seize of his uncle's house." The conditional fits something that would happen.
- Yo me he apoderado del balón en el partido. — "I have seized of the ball in the match." The present perfect fits an action with present relevance.
More situations
- Normalmente, él se apodera del poder en el país. — "Normally, he/she seizes of power in the country." The present tense fits a general truth here.
- Ayer, él se apoderó de la llave del almacén. — "Yesterday, he/she seized of the store-room key." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, nosotros nos apoderábamos de la casa de su tío. — "In the past, we used to seize of his uncle's house." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, yo me apoderaré del balón en el partido. — "Tomorrow, I will seize of the ball in the match." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Espero que él se apodere del poder en el país. — "I hope that he/she seizes of power in the country." The present subjunctive follows espero que.
- ¡No te apoderes de la llave del almacén! — "Do not seize of the store-room key!" The imperative fits a direct order or request.
The verb in context
Two short dialogues using apoderarse naturally. Notice how the verb changes person and tense as the conversation moves, and how the complements stay the same kind of situation: his uncle's house, the ball in the match, power in the country and the store-room key.
Dialogue 1: talking about his uncle's house
Lucía: ¿Tú te apoderas de la casa de su tío? — "Do you seize of his uncle's house?" Pedro: Sí, yo me apodero de la casa de su tío. — "I seize of his uncle's house." Lucía: ¿Y ayer? — "And yesterday?" Pedro: Ayer, yo me apoderé del balón en el partido. — "Yesterday, I seized of the ball in the match." Lucía: Mañana, nosotros nos apoderaremos del poder en el país. — "Tomorrow, we will seize of power in the country." Pedro: Si pudiera, yo me apoderaría de la llave del almacén. — "If I could, I would seize of the store-room key." Lucía: Antes, yo me apoderaba del balón en el partido. — "In the past, I used to seize of the ball in the match." Pedro: Yo me he apoderado de la casa de su tío. — "I have seized of his uncle's house." Lucía: ¡No te apoderes del poder en el país! — "Do not seize of power in the country!"
In this dialogue apoderarse appears in the present, the preterite, the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present perfect. That is the point: one verb, many tenses, and the complement tells you which situation you are in. Try the same dialogue with your own complements.
Dialogue 2: talking about power in the country
Lucía: Él se apodera del poder en el país. — "he/she seizes of power in the country." Pedro: ¿De verdad? ¿Él se apodera del poder en el país todos los días? — "Really? Does he/she seizes of power in the country every day?" Lucía: Sí, y ellos se apoderan de la llave del almacén. — "they seize of the store-room key." Pedro: Ayer, ellos se apoderaron del poder en el país. — "Yesterday, they seized of power in the country." Lucía: Espero que él se apodere de la llave del almacén. — "I hope that he/she seizes of the store-room key." Pedro: Mañana, él se apoderará del poder en el país. — "Tomorrow, he/she will seize of power in the country." Lucía: Antes, nosotros nos apoderábamos de la llave del almacén. — "In the past, we used to seize of the store-room key." Pedro: Nosotros nos apoderamos de la casa de su tío también. — "we seize of his uncle's house too."
This dialogue shows apoderarse in the third person and in the plural, which is where learners most often hesitate. Read it aloud with a partner, swapping the names and the complements for your own life, and the forms will start to feel automatic.
Common mistakes with apoderarse
The errors learners actually make with apoderarse in everyday use, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why it is wrong.
Mistake 1: Forgetting the reflexive pronoun
- Wrong: Yo apodero de la casa de su tío.
- Right: Yo me apodero de la casa de su tío.
- Why: apoderarse is reflexive, so the pronoun is part of the verb: Yo me apodero de la casa de su tío.. Without me the sentence is incomplete.
Mistake 2: Using the infinitive as a conjugated form
- Wrong: Yo apoderarse de la casa de su tío.
- Right: Yo me apodero de la casa de su tío.
- Why: The infinitive apoderarse is the dictionary form, not a conjugated form. In a sentence with yo you need the present-tense form apodero.
Mistake 3: Using the present tense for yesterday
- Wrong: Ayer, yo me apodero del balón en el partido.
- Right: Ayer, yo me apoderé del balón en el partido.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite: Ayer, yo me apoderé del balón en el partido. — "Yesterday, I seized of the ball in the match."
Mistake 4: Mixing up the gerund and the participle
- Wrong: Me estoy apoderado del poder en el país.
- Right: Me estoy apoderando del poder en el país.
- Why: After estar you need the gerund apoderando for the progressive. The participle apoderado goes with haber in the perfect tenses (me he apoderado), never after estar.
Mistake 5: Using the él form for nosotros
- Wrong: Nosotros nos apodera de la casa de su tío.
- Right: Nosotros nos apoderamos de la casa de su tío.
- Why: The person and the ending must match: nosotros takes apoderamos, while apodera belongs to él and ella.
Quiz: apoderarse in use
Test yourself with ten questions on apoderarse. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the yo form of apoderarse in the present tense?
- (a) apoderamos
- (b) apodero
- (c) apoderas
- (d) apodera
Answer: (b) apodero. The yo form is apodero.
2. What is the tú form of apoderarse in the present tense?
- (a) apoderas
- (b) apodero
- (c) apodera
- (d) apoderamos
Answer: (a) apoderas. The tú form is apoderas.
3. What is the él/ella form of apoderarse in the present tense?
- (a) apodero
- (b) apoderas
- (c) apoderamos
- (d) apodera
Answer: (d) apodera. The él/ella form is apodera.
4. Complete the sentence: Cada día, yo ___ de la casa de su tío.
- (a) apodera
- (b) apoderamos
- (c) apodero
- (d) apoderas
Answer: (c) apodero. The sentence needs the yo form apodero.
5. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ___ del balón en el partido.
- (a) apoderamos
- (b) apoderé
- (c) apoderaste
- (d) apoderó
Answer: (b) apoderé. Ayer needs the preterite, and the yo form is apoderé.
6. Complete the sentence: Antes, yo ___ del poder en el país.
- (a) apoderaba
- (b) apoderabas
- (c) apoderábamos
- (d) apoderabais
Answer: (a) apoderaba. Antes needs the imperfect, and the yo form is apoderaba.
7. Complete the sentence: Mañana, yo ___ de la llave del almacén.
- (a) apoderarás
- (b) apoderará
- (c) apoderaremos
- (d) apoderaré
Answer: (d) apoderaré. Mañana needs the future, and the yo form is apoderaré.
8. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ de la casa de su tío.
- (a) te has apoderado
- (b) se ha apoderado
- (c) nos hemos apoderado
- (d) me he apoderado
Answer: (d) me he apoderado. The present perfect uses haber plus the participle: me he apoderado.
9. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ del poder en el país.
- (a) apoderéis
- (b) apodere
- (c) apoderes
- (d) apoderemos
Answer: (b) apodere. After espero que Spanish needs the subjunctive, and the él form is apodere.
10. What does apoderarse mean in English?
- (a) to humanise
- (b) to seize, to take over
- (c) to generalise
- (d) to globalise
Answer: (b) to seize, to take over. apoderarse means "to seize, to take over" in English.
Frequently asked questions about apoderarse
What does apoderarse mean?
apoderarse means "to seize, to take over" in English. Use it when you talk about his uncle's house, the ball in the match, power in the country and the store-room key — for example: Cada día, yo me apodero de la casa de su tío. — "Every day, I seize of his uncle's house."
Is apoderarse reflexive?
Yes. apoderarse is reflexive, so it always travels with a pronoun: me, te, se, nos, os, se. Cada día, yo me apodero de la casa de su tío. — "Every day, I seize of his uncle's house." If you drop the pronoun, the sentence is incomplete.
What is the most common mistake with apoderarse?
Forgetting the reflexive pronoun. Learners write the bare form — for example, Yo apodero de la casa de su tío — when the verb needs its pronoun: Cada día, yo me apodero de la casa de su tío. — "Every day, I seize of his uncle's house." Keep the pronoun with the verb and the mistake disappears.
How can I practise apoderarse?
Take the quiz above, then make your own sentences: change the person in each example, change the complement to something from your own life, and say the sentence aloud. The verb quiz and the verb translator on this site give you more practice with the same forms.