Cansar Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish
Introduction
cansar means "to tire" in English, and it is a verb you will use constantly once you start speaking Spanish for real. This page shows cansar in everyday sentences, grouped by meaning, then puts it into two short conversations, lists the mistakes learners actually make, and finishes with a ten-question quiz and answers to the most common questions. Every sentence below uses a real form of cansar, so you can copy the patterns and change the person, the tense and the complement to make your own versions. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then try the quiz without looking back.
Example sentences with cansar
Something tires you
Cansar often works like gustar: me cansa el ruido means the noise tires me. The thing that tires you is the subject, and you are the indirect object.
- Cada día, me cansa el ruido de la calle. — "Every day, the street noise tires me."
- Hoy, le cansan las clases largas. — "Today, long lessons tire him."
- Ayer, me cansó el calor del verano. — "Yesterday, the summer heat tired me."
- Antes, me cansaba esperar en la cola. — "Before, waiting in the queue used to tire me."
- Mañana, me cansará el ruido de la calle. — "Tomorrow, the street noise will tire me."
- Hoy, me han cansado las clases largas. — "Today, long lessons have tired me."
Getting tired yourself
Cansar also has a reflexive use: me canso means I get tired. The two uses look similar but the grammar is different, and learners need to keep them apart.
- Cada día, me cansa el calor del verano. — "Every day, the summer heat tires me."
- Hoy, le cansa esperar en la cola. — "Today, waiting in the queue tires him."
- Ayer, me cansó el ruido de la calle. — "Yesterday, the street noise tired me."
- Antes, me cansaban las clases largas. — "Before, long lessons used to tire me."
- Mañana, me cansará el calor del verano. — "Tomorrow, the summer heat will tire me."
- Hoy, me ha cansado esperar en la cola. — "Today, waiting in the queue has tired me."
Cansar in conversation
The two dialogues below show cansar in natural conversation. The first is about something tires you, and the second is about getting tired yourself. Read both parts aloud, then try to continue each dialogue with a sentence of your own.
Dialogue 1
- ¿Te cansa el ruido de la calle? — "Does the street noise tire you?"
- Sí, me cansa el ruido de la calle mucho. — "The street noise tires me a lot."
- ¿Y ayer? ¿Te cansaron las clases largas? — "And yesterday? Did long lessons tired you?"
- Sí, ayer me cansaron las clases largas mucho. — "Yesterday, long lessons tired me a lot."
- Mañana me cansará el calor del verano también. — "Tomorrow, the summer heat will tire me. too."
Dialogue 2
- ¿Os cansa el calor del verano? — "Does the summer heat tire you?"
- Sí, nos cansa el calor del verano mucho. — "The summer heat tires us a lot."
- ¿Y a ellos? ¿Les cansa esperar en la cola? — "And them? Does waiting in the queue tire them?"
- Sí, les cansa esperar en la cola también. — "Waiting in the queue tires them. too."
- Mañana nos cansará el calor del verano otra vez. — "Tomorrow, the summer heat will tire us. again."
Common mistakes with cansar in everyday use
Mistake 1
- Wrong: Yo canso el ruido.
- Right: Me cansa el ruido.
- Why: When something tires you, cansar works like gustar: me cansa el ruido. Yo canso would mean I tire someone else.
Mistake 2
- Wrong: Me cansa las clases largas.
- Right: Me cansan las clases largas.
- Why: The verb agrees with the subject. Las clases is plural, so the verb must be cansan.
Mistake 3
- Wrong: Me canso el ruido.
- Right: Me cansa el ruido. / Me canso con el ruido.
- Why: Me canso means I get tired. To say the noise tires you, use me cansa el ruido. The two structures are not interchangeable.
Mistake 4
- Wrong: Cada día, me cansó el ruido de la calle.
- Right: Cada día, me cansa el ruido de la calle.
- Why: Cada día means every day, so the action is a habit and needs the present tense. The preterite is for one finished action, not for routines.
Mistake 5
- Wrong: Yo canso el ruido de la calle.
- Right: Me cansa el ruido de la calle.
- Why: Cansar works like gustar: the thing is the subject and you are the indirect object. Do not start the sentence with yo and the verb.
Quiz: cansar in use
Ten questions on cansar across the tenses. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the i form of cansar in the present tense?
- (a) le cansa
- (b) nos cansa
- (c) me cansa
- (d) te cansa
Answer: (c) me cansa. The i form in the present is me cansa.
2. What is the he / she form of cansar in the present tense?
- (a) nos cansa
- (b) le cansa
- (c) me cansa
- (d) te cansa
Answer: (b) le cansa. The he / she form in the present is le cansa.
3. What is the he / she form of cansar in the preterite tense?
- (a) le cansó
- (b) me cansó
- (c) te cansó
- (d) nos cansó
Answer: (a) le cansó. The he / she form in the preterite is le cansó.
4. What is the i form of cansar in the imperfect tense?
- (a) me cansa
- (b) me cansó
- (c) me cansará
- (d) me cansaba
Answer: (d) me cansaba. The i form in the imperfect is me cansaba. The other options are the same person in the present, preterite and future.
5. What is the i form of cansar in the future tense?
- (a) le cansará
- (b) nos cansará
- (c) me cansará
- (d) te cansará
Answer: (c) me cansará. The i form in the future is me cansará.
6. Which is the correct present perfect form for i?
- (a) cansé
- (b) cansaba
- (c) canso
- (d) he cansado
Answer: (d) he cansado. The present perfect is haber + the past participle: he cansado.
7. Complete the sentence: Espero que te ___ el ruido de la calle.
- (a) cansaba
- (b) canse
- (c) cansa
- (d) cansó
Answer: (b) canse. After espero que, Spanish needs the present subjunctive: te canse. The indicative form would be wrong here.
8. What is the we form of cansar in the present tense?
- (a) me cansa
- (b) te cansa
- (c) le cansa
- (d) nos cansa
Answer: (d) nos cansa. The we form in the present is nos cansa.
9. What is the i form of cansar in the preterite tense?
- (a) le cansó
- (b) nos cansó
- (c) me cansó
- (d) te cansó
Answer: (c) me cansó. The i form in the preterite is me cansó.
10. What is the they form of cansar in the present tense?
- (a) le cansa
- (b) les cansa
- (c) me cansa
- (d) te cansa
Answer: (b) les cansa. The they form in the present is les cansa.
Frequently asked questions about cansar
What is the difference between me cansa and me canso?
Me cansa el ruido means the noise tires me; the noise is the subject. Me canso means I get tired; you are the subject and me is reflexive.
Is cansar regular?
Yes. Cansar is a regular -ar verb: canso, cansaste, cansaba, cansaré. The challenge is the sentence structure, not the conjugation.
Can cansar mean 'to bore'?
Sometimes, in context: me cansa esta película can mean the film bores me as well as tires me. But for pure boredom, aburrir is the standard verb.
How can I practise cansar?
Start with the examples above: say each sentence aloud, then change the person and the complement. Then take the quiz, and finish with the Verb Quiz and the Conjugation Practice tools, which test the same forms in a different order. A few minutes a day with one verb is worth more than an hour once a week.