Cazar Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

cazar means to hunt, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Cazar means to hunt, and it covers hunting rabbits in the fields, hunting with a bow and, figuratively, hunting for bargains in the sales. It is a spelling-change verb: the z becomes c before e, so the preterite is cacé. This page puts cazar 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 cazar, and the full tables are on the cazar conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo cazo conejos en el campo. — I hunt rabbits in the fields.
  2. Él caza con arco en el bosque. — He/she hunts with a bow in the forest.
  3. Ayer, yo cacé gangas en las rebajas. — Yesterday, I hunted bargains in the sales.
  4. Antes, nosotros cazábamos mariposas con una red. — Before, we used to hunt butterflies with a net.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú cazarás conejos en el campo. — Tomorrow, you will hunt rabbits in the fields.
  2. Yo cazaría con arco en el bosque. — I would hunt with a bow in the forest.
  3. Él ha cazado gangas en las rebajas. — He/she has hunted bargains in the sales.
  4. Espero que él cace mariposas con una red. — I hope he/she hunts butterflies with a net.

With other people

  1. Nosotros cazamos conejos en el campo. — We hunt rabbits in the fields.
  2. Vosotros cazáis con arco en el bosque. — You all hunt with a bow in the forest.
  3. Antes, ellos cazaban gangas en las rebajas. — Before, they used to hunt bargains in the sales.
  4. Mañana, él cazará mariposas con una red. — Tomorrow, he/she will hunt butterflies with a net.

Cazar in context

Two short dialogues that use cazar 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 cazo conejos en el campo." — "Today I hunt rabbits in the fields."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, cacé gangas en las rebajas." — "Yesterday I hunted bargains in the sales."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú cazarás con arco en el bosque?" — "And tomorrow, will you will hunt with a bow in the forest?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros cazamos mariposas con una red." — "Tomorrow we hunt butterflies with a net."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo cazaría con arco en el bosque si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would hunt with a bow in the forest if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él cace conejos en el campo." — "I hope he hunts rabbits in the fields."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha cazado gangas en las rebajas." — "Surely. He has already has hunted bargains in the sales."
  • 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 caza conejos en el campo. — Right: Yo cazo conejos en el campo. — The person matters: caza is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is cazo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo cazé con arco en el bosque. — Right: Yo cacé con arco en el bosque. — In the preterite, the correct first-person form is cacé, not cazé. cazar is a spelling-change verb: z becomes c before e, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
  3. Wrong: Treating cazar and pescar as identical in every context. — Right: Cazar means to hunt, while pescar means to fish, the water partner. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: cazar fits sentences such as Cazo conejos en el campo, while pescar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy cazado con arco en el bosque. — Right: Yo he cazado con arco en el bosque. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he cazado, has cazado, ha cazado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo cacé gangas en las rebajas todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo cazaba gangas en las rebajas todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (cazaba), not the preterite. The preterite (cacé) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on cazar: 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 ___ conejos en el campo. (present tense) A. cazo B. cazas C. caza D. cazamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ con arco en el bosque. (preterite tense) A. cacé B. cazaste C. cazamos D. cazó

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ gangas en las rebajas. (future tense) A. cazará B. cazaremos C. cazarás D. cazaré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ mariposas con una red. (imperfect tense) A. cazabais B. cazábamos C. cazaba D. cazabas

  5. What does "Yo cazo conejos en el campo." mean in English? A. I hunt rabbits in the fields. B. I hunt with a bow in the forest. C. I hunt bargains in the sales. D. I hunt butterflies with a net.

  6. What does "Él cazó con arco en el bosque." mean in English? A. He/she hunted rabbits in the fields. B. He/she hunted bargains in the sales. C. He/she hunted butterflies with a net. D. He/she hunted with a bow in the forest.

  7. What does "Nosotros cazaremos gangas en las rebajas." mean in English? A. We will hunt with a bow in the forest. B. We will hunt butterflies with a net. C. We will hunt bargains in the sales. D. We will hunt rabbits in the fields.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo cazan con arco en el bosque. B. Yo caza con arco en el bosque. C. Yo cazo con arco en el bosque.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él cacé gangas en las rebajas. B. Él cazó gangas en las rebajas. C. Él cazaron gangas en las rebajas.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo cace mariposas con una red. B. Yo caze mariposas con una red. C. Yo cace mariposas con una red.

Answer key

  1. cazo — The yo present form of cazar is cazo.
  2. cazó — The el preterite form of cazar is cazó.
  3. cazarás — The tu future form of cazar is cazarás.
  4. cazábamos — The nosotros imperfect form of cazar is cazábamos.
  5. I hunt rabbits in the fields. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form cazo, so the English is "I hunt rabbits in the fields." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she hunted with a bow in the forest. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form cazó, so the English is "He/she hunted with a bow in the forest." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will hunt bargains in the sales. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form cazaremos, so the English is "We will hunt bargains in the sales." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo cazo con arco en el bosque. — The correct sentence is "Yo cazo con arco en el bosque." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él cazó gangas en las rebajas. — The correct sentence is "Él cazó gangas en las rebajas." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo cace mariposas con una red. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo cace mariposas con una red." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

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

Cazar means to hunt. Cazar means to hunt, and it covers hunting rabbits in the fields, hunting with a bow and, figuratively, hunting for bargains in the sales. It is a spelling-change verb: the z becomes c before e, so the preterite is cacé. A good first sentence to remember is Yo cazo conejos en el campo. — "I hunt rabbits in the fields."

What is the difference between cazar and pescar?

Cazar means to hunt, while pescar means to fish, the water partner. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use cazar when you mean to hunt, as in Yo cazo con arco en el bosque., and use pescar for to fish, the water partner.

How do I say "I hunt" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo cacé con arco en el bosque.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo cazaba gangas en las rebajas.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he cazado con arco en el bosque..

How do I practise cazar?

Start with the cazar conjugation page for the full tables, then the cazar in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Spelling change: z becomes c before e, so the preterite is cacé and the subjunctive is cace, never cazé.

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