Asar Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Asar means “to roast, to grill”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Asar means to roast or to grill, and it is used for roasting meat in the oven, grilling fish and roasting vegetables. It is fully regular, and it appears in cooking contexts, usually with en el horno or a la parrilla. This page shows asar in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct present-tense form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo aso el pollo en el horno.” — I roast the chicken in the oven.
Asar in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how asar is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.
In the present: everyday use
These sentences use asar in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Aso el pollo en el horno.” — I roast the chicken in the oven.
“¿Tú asas el pescado a la parrilla?” — Do you roast the fish on the grill?
“Asa las verduras con aceite.” — He/she roasts the vegetables with oil.
“Asamos la carne el domingo.” — We roast the meat on Sunday.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show asar in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo asé el pollo en el horno.” — Yesterday, I roasted the chicken in the oven. (preterite)
“Él asaba el pescado a la parrilla todos los días.” — He used to roast the fish on the grill every day. (imperfect)
Plans and things already done
These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of asar stays the same.
“Nosotros asaremos las verduras con aceite mañana.” — We will roast the vegetables with oil tomorrow. (future)
“¿Tú has asado la carne el domingo?” — Have you roasted the meat on Sunday? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Asáis el pollo en el horno.” — You roast the chicken in the oven.
“Asan el pescado a la parrilla.” — They roast the fish on the grill.
“Aso las verduras con aceite.” — I roast the vegetables with oil.
“Asa la carne el domingo.” — He/she roasts the meat on Sunday.
Asar in context
Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how asar appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú asas el pollo en el horno?” — Do you roast the chicken in the oven?
Carlos: “Sí, yo aso el pollo en el horno.” — Yes, I roast the chicken in the oven.
Lucía: “Nosotros asamos el pescado a la parrilla.” — We roast the fish on the grill.
Carlos: “Y ellos asan las verduras con aceite.” — And they roast the vegetables with oil.
Lucía: “Vosotros asáis la carne el domingo.” — You roast the meat on Sunday.
Carlos: “Sí, y él asa el pescado a la parrilla.” — Yes, and he roasts the fish on the grill.
A short paragraph
Lucía asa el pollo en el horno, y Carlos asa el pescado a la parrilla. Nosotros asamos las verduras con aceite, y ellos asan la carne el domingo. Yo aso las verduras con aceite, y mi padre asa la carne el domingo. Asar is part of everyday life, because to roast, to grill is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with asar
These are the errors learners actually make with asar. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo asa el pollo en el horno.” Right: “Yo aso el pollo en el horno.” Why: The person matters: asa is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is aso. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
Wrong: “Ayer yo aso el pescado a la parrilla.” Right: “Ayer yo asé el pescado a la parrilla.” Why: The present and the preterite are different tenses: aso is happening now, while asé is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
Wrong: “Treating asar and hornear as identical in every context.” Right: “Asar means to roast, to grill, while hornear means to bake.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: asar fits sentences such as Aso el pollo en el horno, while hornear belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy asado el pescado a la parrilla.” Right: “Yo he asado el pescado a la parrilla.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he asado, has asado, ha asado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo asé las verduras con aceite todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo asaba las verduras con aceite todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (asaba), not the preterite. The preterite (asé) is for one finished action.
Quiz: asar in use
Ten questions on asar in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ el pollo en el horno.” (The chicken in the oven.)
- (a) asáis
- (b) aso
- (c) asas
Answer: asáis — The vosotros/as form of asar in the present is asáis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ el pescado a la parrilla.” (The fish on the grill.)
- (a) aso
- (b) asas
- (c) asan
Answer: asan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of asar in the present is asan.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ el pollo en el horno.” (The chicken in the oven.)
- (a) asó
- (b) asé
- (c) asaste
Answer: asé — The yo form of asar in the preterite is asé.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ el pescado a la parrilla.” (The fish on the grill.)
- (a) asaba
- (b) asabas
- (c) asábamos
Answer: asaba — The él/ella/Ud. form of asar in the imperfect is asaba.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ las verduras con aceite.” (The vegetables with oil.)
- (a) asaré
- (b) asarás
- (c) asaremos
Answer: asaremos — The nosotros/as form of asar in the future is asaremos.
6. What does asar mean in English?
- (a) to mix
- (b) to roast, to grill
- (c) to bake
Answer: to roast, to grill — Asar means “to roast, to grill”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo aso el pollo en el horno.
- (b) Ellos asa el pollo en el horno.
- (c) Yo aso el pescado a la parrilla ayer.
Answer: Yo aso el pollo en el horno. — “Yo aso el pollo en el horno.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I roast the chicken in the oven.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo asan el pollo en el horno.
- (b) Yo asé el pollo en el horno.
- (c) Yo aso el pollo en el horno.
Answer: Yo aso el pollo en el horno. — “Yo aso el pollo en el horno.” is the correct translation. The second option uses the wrong person's form, and the third uses the preterite.
9. What is the nosotros form of asar in the present tense?
- (a) asas
- (b) asamos
- (c) aso
Answer: asamos — The nosotros form is asamos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo asé el pollo en el horno.
- (b) Nosotros asaremos el pollo en el horno mañana.
- (c) Yo aso el pollo en el horno.
Answer: Yo aso el pollo en el horno. — “Yo aso el pollo en el horno.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I roast' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo aso el pollo en el horno'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo aso el pollo en el horno todos los días'.
How do you say 'I roast' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo asé el pescado a la parrilla'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo asaba el pescado a la parrilla todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo he asado el pescado a la parrilla'.
What is the difference between asar and hornear?
Asar means to roast, to grill, while hornear means to bake. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use asar when you mean to roast, to grill, as in Aso el pollo en el horno.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of asar — every tense of asar in one place.
- Asar in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on asar and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of asar until they are automatic.