Atardecer Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

atardecer means to get late (afternoon), and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Atardecer means to get late in the afternoon, and it describes the evening coming on, usually in the third person: atardece a las siete, atardeció con nubes rosas. It is a -cer spelling-change verb, and it sits between the afternoon and anochecer. This page puts atardecer to work: twelve example sentences in different tenses and persons, grouped by use, then two short dialogues where the verb appears naturally, then the common mistakes to avoid, and finally a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every Spanish form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for atardecer, and the full tables are on the atardecer conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo atardezco a las siete en la playa. — I get late at seven on the beach.
  2. Él atardece con nubes rosas en el cielo. — He/she gets late with pink clouds in the sky.
  3. Ayer, yo atardecí temprano en otoño. — Yesterday, I got late early in autumn.
  4. Antes, nosotros atardecíamos sobre los tejados de la ciudad. — Before, we used to get late over the city rooftops.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú atardecerás a las siete en la playa. — Tomorrow, you will get late at seven on the beach.
  2. Yo atardecería con nubes rosas en el cielo. — I would get late with pink clouds in the sky.
  3. Él ha atardecido temprano en otoño. — He/she has got late early in autumn.
  4. Espero que él atardezca sobre los tejados de la ciudad. — I hope he/she gets late over the city rooftops.

With other people

  1. Nosotros atardecemos a las siete en la playa. — We get late at seven on the beach.
  2. Vosotros atardecéis con nubes rosas en el cielo. — You all get late with pink clouds in the sky.
  3. Antes, ellos atardecían temprano en otoño. — Before, they used to get late early in autumn.
  4. Mañana, él atardecerá sobre los tejados de la ciudad. — Tomorrow, he/she will get late over the city rooftops.

Atardecer in context

Two short dialogues that use atardecer the way people really use it. Read them aloud — the verb forms will stick much faster in a conversation than in a table.

Dialogue 1: today and yesterday

  • Ana: "Hola, ¿qué tal?" — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Luis: "Hoy atardezco a las siete en la playa." — "Today I get late at seven on the beach."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, atardecí temprano en otoño." — "Yesterday I got late early in autumn."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú atardecerás con nubes rosas en el cielo?" — "And tomorrow, will you will get late with pink clouds in the sky?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros atardecemos sobre los tejados de la ciudad." — "Tomorrow we get late over the city rooftops."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo atardecería con nubes rosas en el cielo si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would get late with pink clouds in the sky if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él atardezca a las siete en la playa." — "I hope he gets late at seven on the beach."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha atardecido temprano en otoño." — "Surely. He has already has got late early in autumn."
  • Marta: "Vale, nos vemos mañana." — "OK, see you tomorrow."

Notice how the same verb changes with the tense: the present for the plan, the conditional for the wish, the subjunctive after espero que, and the present perfect for what has already happened. That is the whole point of learning a verb across its tenses, not just in one form.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo atardece a las siete en la playa. — Right: Yo atardezco a las siete en la playa. — The person matters: atardece is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is atardezco. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo atardeco con nubes rosas en el cielo. — Right: Yo atardezco con nubes rosas en el cielo. — In the present, the correct first-person form is atardezco, not atardeco. atardecer is a spelling-change verb: c becomes zc before o and a, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
  3. Wrong: Treating atardecer and anochecer as identical in every context. — Right: Atardecer means to get late (afternoon), while anochecer means to get dark, the next step. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: atardecer fits sentences such as Atardezco a las siete en la playa, while anochecer belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy atardecido con nubes rosas en el cielo. — Right: Yo he atardecido con nubes rosas en el cielo. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he atardecido, has atardecido, ha atardecido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo atardecí temprano en otoño todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo atardecía temprano en otoño todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (atardecía), not the preterite. The preterite (atardecí) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on atardecer: four on the forms, three on the meaning, and three on spotting the correct sentence. Check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a las siete en la playa. (present tense) A. atardezco B. atardeces C. atardece D. atardecemos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ con nubes rosas en el cielo. (preterite tense) A. atardecí B. atardeciste C. atardecimos D. atardeció

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ temprano en otoño. (future tense) A. atardecerá B. atardeceremos C. atardecerás D. atardeceré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ sobre los tejados de la ciudad. (imperfect tense) A. atardecíais B. atardecíamos C. atardecía D. atardecías

  5. What does "Yo atardezco a las siete en la playa." mean in English? A. I get late at seven on the beach. B. I get late with pink clouds in the sky. C. I get late early in autumn. D. I get late over the city rooftops.

  6. What does "Él atardeció con nubes rosas en el cielo." mean in English? A. He/she got late at seven on the beach. B. He/she got late early in autumn. C. He/she got late over the city rooftops. D. He/she got late with pink clouds in the sky.

  7. What does "Nosotros atardeceremos temprano en otoño." mean in English? A. We will get late with pink clouds in the sky. B. We will get late over the city rooftops. C. We will get late early in autumn. D. We will get late at seven on the beach.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo atardeco con nubes rosas en el cielo. B. Yo atardece con nubes rosas en el cielo. C. Yo atardezco con nubes rosas en el cielo.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él atardecí temprano en otoño. B. Él atardeció temprano en otoño. C. Él atardecieron temprano en otoño.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo atardezca sobre los tejados de la ciudad. B. Yo atardeca sobre los tejados de la ciudad. C. Yo atardezca sobre los tejados de la ciudad.

Answer key

  1. atardezco — The yo present form of atardecer is atardezco.
  2. atardeció — The el preterite form of atardecer is atardeció.
  3. atardecerás — The tu future form of atardecer is atardecerás.
  4. atardecíamos — The nosotros imperfect form of atardecer is atardecíamos.
  5. I get late at seven on the beach. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form atardezco, so the English is "I get late at seven on the beach." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she got late with pink clouds in the sky. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form atardeció, so the English is "He/she got late with pink clouds in the sky." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will get late early in autumn. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form atardeceremos, so the English is "We will get late early in autumn." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo atardezco con nubes rosas en el cielo. — The correct sentence is "Yo atardezco con nubes rosas en el cielo." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él atardeció temprano en otoño. — The correct sentence is "Él atardeció temprano en otoño." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo atardezca sobre los tejados de la ciudad. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo atardezca sobre los tejados de la ciudad." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

What does atardecer mean, and when do I use it?

Atardecer means to get late (afternoon). Atardecer means to get late in the afternoon, and it describes the evening coming on, usually in the third person: atardece a las siete, atardeció con nubes rosas. It is a -cer spelling-change verb, and it sits between the afternoon and anochecer. A good first sentence to remember is Yo atardezco a las siete en la playa. — "I get late at seven on the beach."

What is the difference between atardecer and anochecer?

Atardecer means to get late (afternoon), while anochecer means to get dark, the next step. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use atardecer when you mean to get late (afternoon), as in Yo atardezco con nubes rosas en el cielo., and use anochecer for to get dark, the next step.

How do I say "I get late (afternoon)" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo atardecí con nubes rosas en el cielo.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo atardecía temprano en otoño.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he atardecido con nubes rosas en el cielo..

How do I practise atardecer?

Start with the atardecer conjugation page for the full tables, then the atardecer in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Atardecer is mainly impersonal: atardece, atardeció. It names the late afternoon, between the afternoon and the night.

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