Atreverse Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Atreverse means “to dare”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Atreverse means to dare, and it is used for daring to do something brave, risky or embarrassing, from speaking in public to jumping into cold water. It is always used with a plus an infinitive, as in atreverse a hablar, and it is fully regular apart from the reflexive pronoun. This page shows atreverse 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 me atrevo a hablar en público.” — I dare to speak in public.
Atreverse in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how atreverse 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 atreverse in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Me atrevo a hablar en público.” — I dare to speak in public.
“¿Tú te atreves a saltar al agua fría?” — Do you dare to jump into cold water?
“Se atreve a decir la verdad.” — He/she dares to tell the truth.
“Nos atrevemos a pedir un aumento.” — We dare to ask for a pay rise.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show atreverse in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo me atreví a hablar en público.” — Yesterday, I dared to speak in public. (preterite)
“Él se atrevía a saltar al agua fría todos los días.” — He used to dare to jump into cold water 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 atreverse stays the same.
“Nosotros nos atreveremos a decir la verdad mañana.” — We will dare to tell the truth tomorrow. (future)
“¿Te has atrevido a pedir un aumento?” — Have you dared to ask for a pay rise? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Os atrevéis a hablar en público.” — You dare to speak in public.
“Se atreven a saltar al agua fría.” — They dare to jump into cold water.
“Me atrevo a decir la verdad.” — I dare to tell the truth.
“Se atreve a pedir un aumento.” — He/she dares to ask for a pay rise.
Atreverse 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 atreverse appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú te atreves a hablar en público?” — Do you dare to speak in public?
Carlos: “Sí, yo me atrevo a hablar en público.” — Yes, I dare to speak in public.
Lucía: “Nosotros nos atrevemos a saltar al agua fría.” — We dare to jump into cold water.
Carlos: “Y ellos se atreven a decir la verdad.” — And they dare to tell the truth.
Lucía: “Vosotros os atrevéis a pedir un aumento.” — You dare to ask for a pay rise.
Carlos: “Sí, y él se atreve a saltar al agua fría.” — Yes, and he dares to jump into cold water.
A short paragraph
Lucía se atreve a hablar en público, y Carlos se atreve a saltar al agua fría. Nosotros nos atrevemos a decir la verdad, y ellos se atreven a pedir un aumento. Yo me atrevo a decir la verdad, y mi padre se atreve a pedir un aumento. Atreverse is part of everyday life, because to dare is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with atreverse
These are the errors learners actually make with atreverse. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo atrevo a hablar en público.” Right: “Yo me atrevo a hablar en público.” Why: Atreverse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required: without it the verb means something else, or nothing at all.
Wrong: “Ayer yo atrevo a saltar al agua fría.” Right: “Ayer yo atreví a saltar al agua fría.” Why: The present and the preterite are different tenses: atrevo is happening now, while atreví is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
Wrong: “Treating atreverse and arriesgarse as identical in every context.” Right: “Atreverse means to dare, while arriesgarse means to take a risk.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: atreverse fits sentences such as Me atrevo a hablar en público, while arriesgarse belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy atrevido a saltar al agua fría.” Right: “Yo he atrevido a saltar al agua fría.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he atrevido, has atrevido, ha atrevido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo atreví a decir la verdad todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo atrevía a decir la verdad todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (atrevía), not the preterite. The preterite (atreví) is for one finished action.
Quiz: atreverse in use
Ten questions on atreverse in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ a hablar en público.” (To speak in public.)
- (a) os atrevéis
- (b) me atrevo
- (c) te atreves
Answer: os atrevéis — The vosotros/as form of atreverse in the present is os atrevéis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ a saltar al agua fría.” (To jump into cold water.)
- (a) me atrevo
- (b) te atreves
- (c) se atreven
Answer: se atreven — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of atreverse in the present is se atreven.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ a hablar en público.” (To speak in public.)
- (a) se atrevió
- (b) me atreví
- (c) te atreviste
Answer: me atreví — The yo form of atreverse in the preterite is me atreví.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ a saltar al agua fría.” (To jump into cold water.)
- (a) se atrevía
- (b) me atrevía
- (c) te atrevías
Answer: se atrevía — The él/ella/Ud. form of atreverse in the imperfect is se atrevía.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ a decir la verdad.” (To tell the truth.)
- (a) me atreveré
- (b) te atreverás
- (c) nos atreveremos
Answer: nos atreveremos — The nosotros/as form of atreverse in the future is nos atreveremos.
6. What does atreverse mean in English?
- (a) to get lost
- (b) to dare
- (c) to take a risk
Answer: to dare — Atreverse means “to dare”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo me atrevo a hablar en público.
- (b) Ellos atreve a hablar en público.
- (c) Yo me atrevo a saltar al agua fría ayer.
Answer: Yo me atrevo a hablar en público. — “Yo me atrevo a hablar en público.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I dare to speak in public.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo se atreven a hablar en público.
- (b) Yo me atreví a hablar en público.
- (c) Yo me atrevo a hablar en público.
Answer: Yo me atrevo a hablar en público. — “Yo me atrevo a hablar en público.” 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 atreverse in the present tense?
- (a) te atreves
- (b) nos atrevemos
- (c) me atrevo
Answer: nos atrevemos — The nosotros form is nos atrevemos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo me atreví a hablar en público.
- (b) Nosotros nos atreveremos a hablar en público mañana.
- (c) Yo me atrevo a hablar en público.
Answer: Yo me atrevo a hablar en público. — “Yo me atrevo a hablar en público.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I dare' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo me atrevo a hablar en público'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo me atrevo a hablar en público todos los días'.
How do you say 'I dare' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo me atreví a saltar al agua fría'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo me atrevía a saltar al agua fría todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo me he atrevido a saltar al agua fría'.
What is the difference between atreverse and arriesgarse?
Atreverse means to dare, while arriesgarse means to take a risk. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use atreverse when you mean to dare, as in Me atrevo a hablar en público.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of atreverse — every tense of atreverse in one place.
- Atreverse 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 atreverse and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of atreverse until they are automatic.