Brindar Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Brindar means “to toast”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Brindar means to toast, and it is used for raising a glass to celebrate, to wish someone well or to offer something. It is fully regular, and it appears in celebrations, weddings and New Year parties, usually with por. This page shows brindar 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 brindo por la salud de todos.” — I toast to everyone's health.
Brindar in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how brindar 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 brindar in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Brindo por la salud de todos.” — I toast to everyone's health.
“¿Tú brindas con champán en Nochevieja?” — Do you toast with champagne on New Year's Eve?
“Brinda por el año nuevo.” — He/she toasts to the new year.
“Brindamos por los novios en la boda.” — We toast to the bride and groom at the wedding.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show brindar in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo brindé por la salud de todos.” — Yesterday, I toasted to everyone's health. (preterite)
“Él brindaba con champán en Nochevieja todos los días.” — He used to toast with champagne on New Year's Eve 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 brindar stays the same.
“Nosotros brindaremos por el año nuevo mañana.” — We will toast to the new year tomorrow. (future)
“¿Tú has brindado por los novios en la boda?” — Have you toasted to the bride and groom at the wedding? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Brindáis por la salud de todos.” — You toast to everyone's health.
“Brindan con champán en Nochevieja.” — They toast with champagne on New Year's Eve.
“Brindo por el año nuevo.” — I toast to the new year.
“Brinda por los novios en la boda.” — He/she toasts to the bride and groom at the wedding.
Brindar 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 brindar appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú brindas por la salud de todos?” — Do you toast to everyone's health?
Carlos: “Sí, yo brindo por la salud de todos.” — Yes, I toast to everyone's health.
Lucía: “Nosotros brindamos con champán en Nochevieja.” — We toast with champagne on New Year's Eve.
Carlos: “Y ellos brindan por el año nuevo.” — And they toast to the new year.
Lucía: “Vosotros brindáis por los novios en la boda.” — You toast to the bride and groom at the wedding.
Carlos: “Sí, y él brinda con champán en Nochevieja.” — Yes, and he toasts with champagne on New Year's Eve.
A short paragraph
Lucía brinda por la salud de todos, y Carlos brinda con champán en Nochevieja. Nosotros brindamos por el año nuevo, y ellos brindan por los novios en la boda. Yo brindo por el año nuevo, y mi padre brinda por los novios en la boda. Brindar is part of everyday life, because to toast is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with brindar
These are the errors learners actually make with brindar. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo brinda por la salud de todos.” Right: “Yo brindo por la salud de todos.” Why: The person matters: brinda is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is brindo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
Wrong: “Ayer yo brindo con champán en Nochevieja.” Right: “Ayer yo brindé con champán en Nochevieja.” Why: The present and the preterite are different tenses: brindo is happening now, while brindé is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
Wrong: “Treating brindar and celebrar as identical in every context.” Right: “Brindar means to toast, while celebrar means to celebrate.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: brindar fits sentences such as Brindo por la salud de todos, while celebrar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy brindado con champán en Nochevieja.” Right: “Yo he brindado con champán en Nochevieja.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he brindado, has brindado, ha brindado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo brindé por el año nuevo todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo brindaba por el año nuevo todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (brindaba), not the preterite. The preterite (brindé) is for one finished action.
Quiz: brindar in use
Ten questions on brindar in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ por la salud de todos.” (To everyone's health.)
- (a) brindáis
- (b) brindo
- (c) brindas
Answer: brindáis — The vosotros/as form of brindar in the present is brindáis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ con champán en Nochevieja.” (With champagne on new year's eve.)
- (a) brindo
- (b) brindas
- (c) brindan
Answer: brindan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of brindar in the present is brindan.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ por la salud de todos.” (To everyone's health.)
- (a) brindó
- (b) brindé
- (c) brindaste
Answer: brindé — The yo form of brindar in the preterite is brindé.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ con champán en Nochevieja.” (With champagne on new year's eve.)
- (a) brindaba
- (b) brindabas
- (c) brindábamos
Answer: brindaba — The él/ella/Ud. form of brindar in the imperfect is brindaba.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ por el año nuevo.” (To the new year.)
- (a) brindaré
- (b) brindarás
- (c) brindaremos
Answer: brindaremos — The nosotros/as form of brindar in the future is brindaremos.
6. What does brindar mean in English?
- (a) to fast
- (b) to toast
- (c) to celebrate
Answer: to toast — Brindar means “to toast”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo brindo por la salud de todos.
- (b) Ellos brinda por la salud de todos.
- (c) Yo brindo con champán en Nochevieja ayer.
Answer: Yo brindo por la salud de todos. — “Yo brindo por la salud de todos.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I toast to everyone's health.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo brindan por la salud de todos.
- (b) Yo brindé por la salud de todos.
- (c) Yo brindo por la salud de todos.
Answer: Yo brindo por la salud de todos. — “Yo brindo por la salud de todos.” 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 brindar in the present tense?
- (a) brindas
- (b) brindamos
- (c) brindo
Answer: brindamos — The nosotros form is brindamos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo brindé por la salud de todos.
- (b) Nosotros brindaremos por la salud de todos mañana.
- (c) Yo brindo por la salud de todos.
Answer: Yo brindo por la salud de todos. — “Yo brindo por la salud de todos.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I toast' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo brindo por la salud de todos'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo brindo por la salud de todos todos los días'.
How do you say 'I toast' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo brindé con champán en Nochevieja'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo brindaba con champán en Nochevieja todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo he brindado con champán en Nochevieja'.
What is the difference between brindar and celebrar?
Brindar means to toast, while celebrar means to celebrate. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use brindar when you mean to toast, as in Brindo por la salud de todos.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of brindar — every tense of brindar in one place.
- Brindar 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 brindar and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of brindar until they are automatic.