Apresurar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

apresurar means “to hurry” 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. Apresurar means to hurry, and it is the transitive verb for hurrying someone or something else: you hurry a child, you hurry a decision, you hurry the work. To hurry yourself, Spanish uses the reflexive apresurarse, and the two are easy to confuse. 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 apresurar; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the apresurar present tense page.

apresurar in everyday use: examples with translations

In the present

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

  1. Yo apresuro a mi hijo para salir. — I hurry my son to get out.
  2. Él/Ella apresura la decisión del comité. — He hurries the committee's decision.
  3. Nosotros/as apresuramos el trabajo antes de la entrega. — We hurry the work before the deadline.
  4. Ellos/as apresuran a los alumnos al final de clase. — They hurry the students at the end of class.

In the past

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

  1. Ayer, Yo apresuré el trabajo antes de la entrega. — Yesterday, I hurried the work before the deadline.
  2. Antes, Nosotros/as apresurábamos a los alumnos al final de clase. — Before, We used to hurry the students at the end of class.
  3. Ayer, Él/Ella apresuró a mi hijo para salir. — Yesterday, He hurried my son to get out.
  4. De niños, Ellos/as apresuraban la decisión del comité. — As children, They used to hurry the committee's decision.

Plans, hopes and wishes

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

  1. Mañana, Tú apresurarás a mi hijo para salir. — Tomorrow, You will hurry my son to get out.
  2. Yo apresuraría la decisión del comité. — I would hurry the committee's decision.
  3. Espero que él apresure el trabajo antes de la entrega. — I hope he hurries the work before the deadline.
  4. Él/Ella ha apresurado a los alumnos al final de clase. — He has hurried the students at the end of class.

apresurar in context: two short dialogues

Making plans

Ana: ¿Tú apresuras a mi hijo para salir mañana? — Are you going to hurry my son to get out tomorrow? Luis: Sí, yo apresuro a mi hijo para salir todos los días. — Yes, I hurry my son to get out every day. Ana: ¿Y mañana apresurarás la decisión del comité? — And tomorrow, will you hurry the committee's decision? Luis: Claro, mañana apresuraré la decisión del comité sin falta. — Of course, tomorrow I will hurry the committee's decision without fail. Ana: Perfecto. Yo apresuraré el trabajo antes de la entrega también. — Perfect. I will hurry the work before the deadline too. Luis: Entonces quedamos mañana. ¡Hasta luego! — Then see you tomorrow. Bye!

Yesterday

Ana: ¿Qué hiciste ayer? — What did you do yesterday? Luis: Ayer apresuré el trabajo antes de la entrega. — Yesterday, I hurried the work before the deadline. Ana: ¿Y antes apresurabas a los alumnos al final de clase? — And before, did you use to hurry the students at the end of class? Luis: Sí, antes apresuraba a los alumnos al final de clase todos los días. — Yes, before, I used to hurry the students at the end of class every day. Ana: ¿Y tus hermanos apresuraron a mi hijo para salir? — And did your brothers hurried my son to get out? Luis: Sí, ellos apresuraron a mi hijo para salir por la tarde. — Yes, they hurried my son to get out in the afternoon.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo apresura a mi hijo para salir. — Right: Yo apresuro a mi hijo para salir. — The person matters: apresura is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is apresuro. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Treating apresurar and apresurarse as identical in every context. — Right: Apresurar means to hurry, while apresurarse means to hurry yourself up. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: apresurar fits sentences such as Apresuro a mi hijo para salir, while apresurarse belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  3. Wrong: Yo soy apresurado la decisión del comité. — Right: Yo he apresurado la decisión del comité. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he apresurado, has apresurado, ha apresurado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  4. Wrong: De niño, yo apresuré el trabajo antes de la entrega todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo apresuraba el trabajo antes de la entrega todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (apresuraba), not the preterite. The preterite (apresuré) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ a los alumnos al final de clase. (present tense) A. apresuran B. apresuro C. apresuras D. apresura

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, Nosotros/as ___ a mi hijo para salir. (preterite tense) A. apresuré B. apresuraste C. apresuró D. apresuramos

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, Tú ___ la decisión del comité. (imperfect tense) A. apresurábamos B. apresurabais C. apresurabas D. apresuraba

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, Él/Ella ___ el trabajo antes de la entrega. (future tense) A. apresuraremos B. apresurará C. apresuraré D. apresurarás

  5. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ a los alumnos al final de clase. (conditional tense) A. apresuraríamos B. apresuraría C. apresurarías D. apresuraríais

  6. Complete the sentence: Hoy, Yo ___ a mi hijo para salir. (present-perfect tense) A. has apresurado B. ha apresurado C. hemos apresurado D. he apresurado

  7. What does apresurar mean in English? A. to disturb B. to address as tú C. to hurry D. to hurry yourself up

  8. Which of these sentences is WRONG? A. Ayer, Yo apresuré el trabajo antes de la entrega. B. Yo apresura a mi hijo para salir. C. Yo apresuro a mi hijo para salir. D. Él/Ella apresura la decisión del comité.

  9. Which is the gerund of apresurar, used with estar for the progressive? A. apresurando B. apresurado C. apresuro D. apresuré

  10. Which is the past participle of apresurar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. apresurando B. apresuro C. apresuré D. apresurado

Answer key

  1. apresuran — The correct form here is apresuran.
  2. apresuramos — The correct form here is apresuramos.
  3. apresurabas — The correct form here is apresurabas.
  4. apresurará — The correct form here is apresurará.
  5. apresuraríamos — The correct form here is apresuraríamos.
  6. he apresurado — The correct form here is he apresurado.
  7. to hurry — Apresurar means to hurry. Apresurarse means to hurry yourself up, which is a different verb.
  8. Yo apresura a mi hijo para salir. — The first sentence is wrong: the correct form is Yo apresuro a mi hijo para salir.. The person matters: apresura is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is apresuro. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  9. apresurando — The gerund of apresurar is apresurando: estoy apresurando.
  10. apresurado — The past participle of apresurar is apresurado: he apresurado, has apresurado, ha apresurado.

Frequently asked questions

What does apresurar mean?

Apresurar means to hurry. Apresurar means to hurry, and it is the transitive verb for hurrying someone or something else: you hurry a child, you hurry a decision, you hurry the work. To hurry yourself, Spanish uses the reflexive apresurarse, and the two are easy to confuse.

When do people use apresurar most?

People use apresurar most in everyday situations such as Yo apresuro a mi hijo para salir. and Ayer, Yo apresuré el trabajo antes de la entrega.. 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 apresurar and apresurarse?

Apresurar means to hurry, while apresurarse means to hurry yourself up. 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 apresurar?

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

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