Arrodillarse Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish
arrodillarse means "to kneel" 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 arrodillarse with the church in the morning, the king in the ceremony, the garden to plant and beside the child's bed — the situations where Spanish speakers really use it. A good first sentence to learn is: Cada día, yo me arrodillo en la iglesia por la mañana. — "Every day, I kneel in the church in the morning." Read the examples aloud, notice which tense each one uses, and then try the dialogues and the quiz.
arrodillarse in everyday sentences
Twelve sentences with arrodillarse, 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 arrodillo en la iglesia por la mañana. — "Every day, I kneel in the church in the morning." The present tense fits a habit here.
- Ayer, yo me arrodillé ante el rey en la ceremonia. — "Yesterday, I knelt before the king in the ceremony." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, yo me arrodillaba en el jardín para plantar. — "In the past, I used to kneel in the garden to plant." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, nosotros nos arrodillaremos junto a la cama del niño. — "Tomorrow, we will kneel beside the child's bed." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Si pudieras, tú te arrodillarías en la iglesia por la mañana. — "If you could, you would kneel in the church in the morning." The conditional fits something that would happen.
- Yo me he arrodillado ante el rey en la ceremonia. — "I have knelt before the king in the ceremony." The present perfect fits an action with present relevance.
More situations
- Normalmente, él se arrodilla en el jardín para plantar. — "Normally, he/she kneels in the garden to plant." The present tense fits a general truth here.
- Ayer, él se arrodilló junto a la cama del niño. — "Yesterday, he/she knelt beside the child's bed." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, nosotros nos arrodillábamos en la iglesia por la mañana. — "In the past, we used to kneel in the church in the morning." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, yo me arrodillaré ante el rey en la ceremonia. — "Tomorrow, I will kneel before the king in the ceremony." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Espero que él se arrodille en el jardín para plantar. — "I hope that he/she kneels in the garden to plant." The present subjunctive follows espero que.
- ¡No te arrodilles junto a la cama del niño! — "Do not kneel beside the child's bed!" The imperative fits a direct order or request.
The verb in context
Two short dialogues using arrodillarse naturally. Notice how the verb changes person and tense as the conversation moves, and how the complements stay the same kind of situation: the church in the morning, the king in the ceremony, the garden to plant and beside the child's bed.
Dialogue 1: talking about the church in the morning
Ana: ¿Tú te arrodillas en la iglesia por la mañana? — "Do you kneel in the church in the morning?" Luis: Sí, yo me arrodillo en la iglesia por la mañana. — "I kneel in the church in the morning." Ana: ¿Y ayer? — "And yesterday?" Luis: Ayer, yo me arrodillé ante el rey en la ceremonia. — "Yesterday, I knelt before the king in the ceremony." Ana: Mañana, nosotros nos arrodillaremos en el jardín para plantar. — "Tomorrow, we will kneel in the garden to plant." Luis: Si pudiera, yo me arrodillaría junto a la cama del niño. — "If I could, I would kneel beside the child's bed." Ana: Antes, yo me arrodillaba ante el rey en la ceremonia. — "In the past, I used to kneel before the king in the ceremony." Luis: Yo me he arrodillado en la iglesia por la mañana. — "I have knelt in the church in the morning." Ana: ¡No te arrodilles en el jardín para plantar! — "Do not kneel in the garden to plant!"
In this dialogue arrodillarse 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 the garden to plant
Ana: Él se arrodilla en el jardín para plantar. — "he/she kneels in the garden to plant." Luis: ¿De verdad? ¿Él se arrodilla en el jardín para plantar todos los días? — "Really? Does he/she kneels in the garden to plant every day?" Ana: Sí, y ellos se arrodillan junto a la cama del niño. — "they kneel beside the child's bed." Luis: Ayer, ellos se arrodillaron en el jardín para plantar. — "Yesterday, they knelt in the garden to plant." Ana: Espero que él se arrodille junto a la cama del niño. — "I hope that he/she kneels beside the child's bed." Luis: Mañana, él se arrodillará en el jardín para plantar. — "Tomorrow, he/she will kneel in the garden to plant." Ana: Antes, nosotros nos arrodillábamos junto a la cama del niño. — "In the past, we used to kneel beside the child's bed." Luis: Nosotros nos arrodillamos en la iglesia por la mañana también. — "we kneel in the church in the morning too."
This dialogue shows arrodillarse 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 arrodillarse
The errors learners actually make with arrodillarse in everyday use, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why it is wrong.
Mistake 1: Forgetting the reflexive pronoun
- Wrong: Yo arrodillo en la iglesia por la mañana.
- Right: Yo me arrodillo en la iglesia por la mañana.
- Why: arrodillarse is reflexive, so the pronoun is part of the verb: Yo me arrodillo en la iglesia por la mañana.. Without me the sentence is incomplete.
Mistake 2: Using the infinitive as a conjugated form
- Wrong: Yo arrodillarse en la iglesia por la mañana.
- Right: Yo me arrodillo en la iglesia por la mañana.
- Why: The infinitive arrodillarse is the dictionary form, not a conjugated form. In a sentence with yo you need the present-tense form arrodillo.
Mistake 3: Using the present tense for yesterday
- Wrong: Ayer, yo me arrodillo ante el rey en la ceremonia.
- Right: Ayer, yo me arrodillé ante el rey en la ceremonia.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite: Ayer, yo me arrodillé ante el rey en la ceremonia. — "Yesterday, I knelt before the king in the ceremony."
Mistake 4: Mixing up the gerund and the participle
- Wrong: Me estoy arrodillado en el jardín para plantar.
- Right: Me estoy arrodillando en el jardín para plantar.
- Why: After estar you need the gerund arrodillando for the progressive. The participle arrodillado goes with haber in the perfect tenses (me he arrodillado), never after estar.
Mistake 5: Using the él form for nosotros
- Wrong: Nosotros nos arrodilla en la iglesia por la mañana.
- Right: Nosotros nos arrodillamos en la iglesia por la mañana.
- Why: The person and the ending must match: nosotros takes arrodillamos, while arrodilla belongs to él and ella.
Quiz: arrodillarse in use
Test yourself with ten questions on arrodillarse. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the yo form of arrodillarse in the present tense?
- (a) arrodillas
- (b) arrodilla
- (c) arrodillamos
- (d) arrodillo
Answer: (d) arrodillo. The yo form is arrodillo.
2. What is the tú form of arrodillarse in the present tense?
- (a) arrodilla
- (b) arrodillamos
- (c) arrodillas
- (d) arrodillo
Answer: (c) arrodillas. The tú form is arrodillas.
3. What is the él/ella form of arrodillarse in the present tense?
- (a) arrodillamos
- (b) arrodilla
- (c) arrodillo
- (d) arrodillas
Answer: (b) arrodilla. The él/ella form is arrodilla.
4. Complete the sentence: Cada día, yo ___ en la iglesia por la mañana.
- (a) arrodillo
- (b) arrodillas
- (c) arrodilla
- (d) arrodillamos
Answer: (a) arrodillo. The sentence needs the yo form arrodillo.
5. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ___ ante el rey en la ceremonia.
- (a) arrodillaste
- (b) arrodilló
- (c) arrodillamos
- (d) arrodillé
Answer: (d) arrodillé. Ayer needs the preterite, and the yo form is arrodillé.
6. Complete the sentence: Antes, yo ___ en el jardín para plantar.
- (a) arrodillábamos
- (b) arrodillabais
- (c) arrodillaba
- (d) arrodillabas
Answer: (c) arrodillaba. Antes needs the imperfect, and the yo form is arrodillaba.
7. Complete the sentence: Mañana, yo ___ junto a la cama del niño.
- (a) arrodillaremos
- (b) arrodillaré
- (c) arrodillarás
- (d) arrodillará
Answer: (b) arrodillaré. Mañana needs the future, and the yo form is arrodillaré.
8. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ en la iglesia por la mañana.
- (a) nos hemos arrodillado
- (b) me he arrodillado
- (c) te has arrodillado
- (d) se ha arrodillado
Answer: (b) me he arrodillado. The present perfect uses haber plus the participle: me he arrodillado.
9. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ en el jardín para plantar.
- (a) arrodilles
- (b) arrodillemos
- (c) arrodilléis
- (d) arrodille
Answer: (d) arrodille. After espero que Spanish needs the subjunctive, and the él form is arrodille.
10. What does arrodillarse mean in English?
- (a) to materialise
- (b) to minimise
- (c) to modernise
- (d) to kneel
Answer: (d) to kneel. arrodillarse means "to kneel" in English.
Frequently asked questions about arrodillarse
What does arrodillarse mean?
arrodillarse means "to kneel" in English. Use it when you talk about the church in the morning, the king in the ceremony, the garden to plant and beside the child's bed — for example: Cada día, yo me arrodillo en la iglesia por la mañana. — "Every day, I kneel in the church in the morning."
Is arrodillarse reflexive?
Yes. arrodillarse is reflexive, so it always travels with a pronoun: me, te, se, nos, os, se. Cada día, yo me arrodillo en la iglesia por la mañana. — "Every day, I kneel in the church in the morning." If you drop the pronoun, the sentence is incomplete.
What is the most common mistake with arrodillarse?
Forgetting the reflexive pronoun. Learners write the bare form — for example, Yo arrodillo en la iglesia por la mañana — when the verb needs its pronoun: Cada día, yo me arrodillo en la iglesia por la mañana. — "Every day, I kneel in the church in the morning." Keep the pronoun with the verb and the mistake disappears.
How can I practise arrodillarse?
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.