Arrimarse Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish
arrimarse means "to draw near" 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 arrimarse with the wall in the dark, the fire in winter, his mother in the market and the window to see the street — the situations where Spanish speakers really use it. A good first sentence to learn is: Cada día, yo me arrimo a la pared en la oscuridad. — "Every day, I draw near to the wall in the dark." Read the examples aloud, notice which tense each one uses, and then try the dialogues and the quiz.
arrimarse in everyday sentences
Twelve sentences with arrimarse, 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 arrimo a la pared en la oscuridad. — "Every day, I draw near to the wall in the dark." The present tense fits a habit here.
- Ayer, yo me arrimé al fuego en invierno. — "Yesterday, I drew near to the fire in winter." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, yo me arrimaba a su madre en el mercado. — "In the past, I used to draw near to his mother in the market." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, nosotros nos arrimaremos a la ventana para ver la calle. — "Tomorrow, we will draw near to the window to see the street." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Si pudieras, tú te arrimarías a la pared en la oscuridad. — "If you could, you would draw near to the wall in the dark." The conditional fits something that would happen.
- Yo me he arrimado al fuego en invierno. — "I have drawn near to the fire in winter." The present perfect fits an action with present relevance.
More situations
- Normalmente, él se arrima a su madre en el mercado. — "Normally, he/she draws near to his mother in the market." The present tense fits a general truth here.
- Ayer, él se arrimó a la ventana para ver la calle. — "Yesterday, he/she drew near to the window to see the street." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, nosotros nos arrimábamos a la pared en la oscuridad. — "In the past, we used to draw near to the wall in the dark." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, yo me arrimaré al fuego en invierno. — "Tomorrow, I will draw near to the fire in winter." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Espero que él se arrime a su madre en el mercado. — "I hope that he/she draws near to his mother in the market." The present subjunctive follows espero que.
- ¡No te arrimes a la ventana para ver la calle! — "Do not draw near to the window to see the street!" The imperative fits a direct order or request.
The verb in context
Two short dialogues using arrimarse naturally. Notice how the verb changes person and tense as the conversation moves, and how the complements stay the same kind of situation: the wall in the dark, the fire in winter, his mother in the market and the window to see the street.
Dialogue 1: talking about the wall in the dark
Sofía: ¿Tú te arrimas a la pared en la oscuridad? — "Do you draw near to the wall in the dark?" Diego: Sí, yo me arrimo a la pared en la oscuridad. — "I draw near to the wall in the dark." Sofía: ¿Y ayer? — "And yesterday?" Diego: Ayer, yo me arrimé al fuego en invierno. — "Yesterday, I drew near to the fire in winter." Sofía: Mañana, nosotros nos arrimaremos a su madre en el mercado. — "Tomorrow, we will draw near to his mother in the market." Diego: Si pudiera, yo me arrimaría a la ventana para ver la calle. — "If I could, I would draw near to the window to see the street." Sofía: Antes, yo me arrimaba al fuego en invierno. — "In the past, I used to draw near to the fire in winter." Diego: Yo me he arrimado a la pared en la oscuridad. — "I have drawn near to the wall in the dark." Sofía: ¡No te arrimes a su madre en el mercado! — "Do not draw near to his mother in the market!"
In this dialogue arrimarse 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 his mother in the market
Sofía: Él se arrima a su madre en el mercado. — "he/she draws near to his mother in the market." Diego: ¿De verdad? ¿Él se arrima a su madre en el mercado todos los días? — "Really? Does he/she draws near to his mother in the market every day?" Sofía: Sí, y ellos se arriman a la ventana para ver la calle. — "they draw near to the window to see the street." Diego: Ayer, ellos se arrimaron a su madre en el mercado. — "Yesterday, they drew near to his mother in the market." Sofía: Espero que él se arrime a la ventana para ver la calle. — "I hope that he/she draws near to the window to see the street." Diego: Mañana, él se arrimará a su madre en el mercado. — "Tomorrow, he/she will draw near to his mother in the market." Sofía: Antes, nosotros nos arrimábamos a la ventana para ver la calle. — "In the past, we used to draw near to the window to see the street." Diego: Nosotros nos arrimamos a la pared en la oscuridad también. — "we draw near to the wall in the dark too."
This dialogue shows arrimarse 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 arrimarse
The errors learners actually make with arrimarse in everyday use, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why it is wrong.
Mistake 1: Forgetting the reflexive pronoun
- Wrong: Yo arrimo a la pared en la oscuridad.
- Right: Yo me arrimo a la pared en la oscuridad.
- Why: arrimarse is reflexive, so the pronoun is part of the verb: Yo me arrimo a la pared en la oscuridad.. Without me the sentence is incomplete.
Mistake 2: Using the infinitive as a conjugated form
- Wrong: Yo arrimarse a la pared en la oscuridad.
- Right: Yo me arrimo a la pared en la oscuridad.
- Why: The infinitive arrimarse is the dictionary form, not a conjugated form. In a sentence with yo you need the present-tense form arrimo.
Mistake 3: Using the present tense for yesterday
- Wrong: Ayer, yo me arrimo al fuego en invierno.
- Right: Ayer, yo me arrimé al fuego en invierno.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite: Ayer, yo me arrimé al fuego en invierno. — "Yesterday, I drew near to the fire in winter."
Mistake 4: Mixing up the gerund and the participle
- Wrong: Me estoy arrimado a su madre en el mercado.
- Right: Me estoy arrimando a su madre en el mercado.
- Why: After estar you need the gerund arrimando for the progressive. The participle arrimado goes with haber in the perfect tenses (me he arrimado), never after estar.
Mistake 5: Using the él form for nosotros
- Wrong: Nosotros nos arrima a la pared en la oscuridad.
- Right: Nosotros nos arrimamos a la pared en la oscuridad.
- Why: The person and the ending must match: nosotros takes arrimamos, while arrima belongs to él and ella.
Quiz: arrimarse in use
Test yourself with ten questions on arrimarse. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the yo form of arrimarse in the present tense?
- (a) arrimo
- (b) arrimas
- (c) arrima
- (d) arrimamos
Answer: (a) arrimo. The yo form is arrimo.
2. What is the tú form of arrimarse in the present tense?
- (a) arrimo
- (b) arrima
- (c) arrimamos
- (d) arrimas
Answer: (d) arrimas. The tú form is arrimas.
3. What is the él/ella form of arrimarse in the present tense?
- (a) arrimas
- (b) arrimamos
- (c) arrima
- (d) arrimo
Answer: (c) arrima. The él/ella form is arrima.
4. Complete the sentence: Cada día, yo ___ a la pared en la oscuridad.
- (a) arrimamos
- (b) arrimo
- (c) arrimas
- (d) arrima
Answer: (b) arrimo. The sentence needs the yo form arrimo.
5. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ___ al fuego en invierno.
- (a) arrimé
- (b) arrimaste
- (c) arrimó
- (d) arrimamos
Answer: (a) arrimé. Ayer needs the preterite, and the yo form is arrimé.
6. Complete the sentence: Antes, yo ___ a su madre en el mercado.
- (a) arrimabas
- (b) arrimábamos
- (c) arrimabais
- (d) arrimaba
Answer: (d) arrimaba. Antes needs the imperfect, and the yo form is arrimaba.
7. Complete the sentence: Mañana, yo ___ a la ventana para ver la calle.
- (a) arrimará
- (b) arrimaremos
- (c) arrimaré
- (d) arrimarás
Answer: (c) arrimaré. Mañana needs the future, and the yo form is arrimaré.
8. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a la pared en la oscuridad.
- (a) se ha arrimado
- (b) nos hemos arrimado
- (c) me he arrimado
- (d) te has arrimado
Answer: (c) me he arrimado. The present perfect uses haber plus the participle: me he arrimado.
9. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ a su madre en el mercado.
- (a) arrime
- (b) arrimes
- (c) arrimemos
- (d) arriméis
Answer: (a) arrime. After espero que Spanish needs the subjunctive, and the él form is arrime.
10. What does arrimarse mean in English?
- (a) to draw near
- (b) to idealise
- (c) to immortalise
- (d) to locate
Answer: (a) to draw near. arrimarse means "to draw near" in English.
Frequently asked questions about arrimarse
What does arrimarse mean?
arrimarse means "to draw near" in English. Use it when you talk about the wall in the dark, the fire in winter, his mother in the market and the window to see the street — for example: Cada día, yo me arrimo a la pared en la oscuridad. — "Every day, I draw near to the wall in the dark."
Is arrimarse reflexive?
Yes. arrimarse is reflexive, so it always travels with a pronoun: me, te, se, nos, os, se. Cada día, yo me arrimo a la pared en la oscuridad. — "Every day, I draw near to the wall in the dark." If you drop the pronoun, the sentence is incomplete.
What is the most common mistake with arrimarse?
Forgetting the reflexive pronoun. Learners write the bare form — for example, Yo arrimo a la pared en la oscuridad — when the verb needs its pronoun: Cada día, yo me arrimo a la pared en la oscuridad. — "Every day, I draw near to the wall in the dark." Keep the pronoun with the verb and the mistake disappears.
How can I practise arrimarse?
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.