Buscar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

buscar — to look for — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Buscar means to look for and to search: buscar las llaves, buscar trabajo, buscar en internet. It is a spelling-changing verb: the c becomes qu before e, so the yo preterite is busqué. It never means to fetch — for that Spanish uses ir a por or recoger. On this page you will find buscar in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself.

Example sentences with buscar

In the present tense

  • “Yo busco mis llaves por toda la casa.” — “I look for my keys all over the house.”
  • “Ella busca trabajo desde hace meses.” — “She has been looking for work for months.”
  • “Nosotros buscamos un piso cerca del centro.” — “We are looking for a flat near the centre.”
  • “Ellos buscan información en internet.” — “They look for information online.”
  • “¿Tú buscas algo en especial?” — “Are you looking for something in particular?”
  • “Vosotros buscáis al perro en el parque.” — “You look for the dog in the park.”

In the preterite

  • “Ayer yo busqué mis gafas durante una hora.” — “Yesterday I looked for my glasses for an hour.”
  • “Ella buscó al niño por todo el centro.” — “She looked for the child all over the centre.”
  • “Nosotros buscamos un restaurante abierto.” — “We looked for an open restaurant.”
  • “Ellos buscaron el tesoro en la playa.” — “They looked for the treasure on the beach.”
  • “¿Tú buscaste el documento en el cajón?” — “Did you look for the document in the drawer?”
  • “El policía buscó pruebas en la escena.” — “The policeman looked for evidence at the scene.”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present perfect — the four tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “De niño, yo buscaba mis llaves por toda la casa.” — “As a child, I used to look for my keys all over the house.”
  • “Mañana, yo buscaré mis llaves por toda la casa.” — “Tomorrow, I will look for my keys all over the house.”
  • “Si pudiera, yo buscaría mis llaves por toda la casa.” — “If I could, I would look for my keys all over the house.”
  • “Yo he buscado mis llaves por toda la casa.” — “I have looked for my keys all over the house.”

Buscar in context

Cada día, yo busco mis llaves por toda la casa. Mi amigo también busca mis llaves por toda la casa cuando tiene tiempo. Después, yo busco mis llaves de nuevo por la tarde. Es una parte normal de mi rutina, y por eso el presente de buscar es la primera forma que conviene aprender.

Ayer, yo busqué mis llaves por toda la casa. Mi amigo buscó mis llaves por toda la casa también, y por la noche yo busqué mis llaves otra vez. Fue un día normal, pero es justo en días así cuando el pretérito de buscar aparece una y otra vez: una acción terminada, un momento concreto, y la historia sigue.

Common mistakes with buscar

Mistake 1

Wrong: Ayer yo buscé mis gafas.

Right: Ayer yo busco mis gafas.

The preterite keeps the k sound with qu: busqué, not buscé.

Mistake 2

Wrong: Buscar por trabajo — wrong preposition.

Right: Ella busca trabajo.

To look for work is buscar trabajo, with no preposition.

Mistake 3

Wrong: Treating buscar as a regular verb.

Right: Learn the irregular forms: present busco, preterite busqué.

buscar is irregular — its present and preterite do not follow the regular endings, so they have to be memorised as a set.

Quiz: buscar in everyday use

Ten questions on buscar across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

1. What is the yo form of buscar in the present tense?

  • A) busco
  • B) buscas
  • C) busca
  • D) buscamos

Answer: A — The yo form in the present tense is busco.

2. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of buscar in the present tense?

  • A) busco
  • B) buscas
  • C) buscamos
  • D) busca

Answer: D — The él/ella/Ud. form in the present tense is busca.

3. What is the yo form of buscar in the preterite?

  • A) buscó
  • B) buscamos
  • C) busqué
  • D) buscaste

Answer: C — The yo form in the preterite is busqué.

4. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of buscar in the preterite?

  • A) buscó
  • B) buscaron
  • C) busqué
  • D) buscaste

Answer: B — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form in the preterite is buscaron.

5. What is the yo form of buscar in the imperfect?

  • A) buscaba
  • B) buscabas
  • C) buscaba
  • D) buscábamos

Answer: A — The yo form in the imperfect is buscaba.

6. What is the tú form of buscar in the future?

  • A) buscaré
  • B) buscará
  • C) buscaremos
  • D) buscarás

Answer: D — The tú form in the future is buscarás.

7. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of buscar in the conditional?

  • A) buscarías
  • B) buscaríamos
  • C) buscaría
  • D) buscaría

Answer: C — The él/ella/Ud. form in the conditional is buscaría.

8. What is the nosotros/as form of buscar in the present perfect?

  • A) ha buscado
  • B) hemos buscado
  • C) he buscado
  • D) has buscado

Answer: B — The nosotros/as form in the present perfect is hemos buscado.

9. Fill in the blank: “Yo ___ mis llaves por toda la casa.” (I look for my keys all over the house.)

  • A) busco
  • B) buscas
  • C) busca
  • D) buscamos

Answer: A — The sentence needs busco.

10. Which sentence is correct?

  • A) Ayer yo busco mis gafas.
  • B) Ayer yo buscé mis gafas.

Answer: A — The preterite keeps the k sound with qu: busqué, not buscé.

Frequently asked questions

What does buscar mean?

buscar means “to look for” in English. Buscar means to look for and to search: buscar las llaves, buscar trabajo, buscar en internet. It is a spelling-changing verb: the c becomes qu before e, so the yo preterite is busqué. It never means to fetch — for that Spanish uses ir a por or recoger.

Is buscar regular?

No. buscar is an irregular -ar verb. It is irregular in , and those forms have to be learnt as a set rather than built by rule. The full conjugation page shows every tense.

When do I use buscar in the past — preterite or imperfect?

Use the preterite — busqué, buscaste, buscó — for a finished action at a specific moment, and the imperfect — buscaba, buscabas, buscaba — for what was happening, what used to happen, or the background. The same rule applies to buscar as to every Spanish verb; the tense changes the meaning, not the verb.

How can I practise buscar?

Start with the examples above, say them aloud, then take the quiz on this page. For more practice, use the Spanish Verb Quiz and the Buscar Conjugator, and read the full conjugation page for buscar to see the verb in every tense.

Say it yourself

Reading is not enough — say the verb aloud before you move on. Use the forms from the tables on this page and answer these three prompts as full sentences. First, say a sentence about yourself in the present tense: “Yo busco…”. Second, say a sentence about yesterday in the preterite: “Ayer yo busqué…”. Third, say a sentence about tomorrow in the future: “Mañana yo buscaré…”. If you can answer all three without looking at the tables, the forms are starting to stick. If you hesitate, go back to the examples above, read them aloud twice, and try again. Speaking the forms is what turns a table you have seen into a verb you can use.

Related pages