Cegar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

cegar means "to blind" in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Cegar means to blind someone, literally with light or dust, or figuratively: el amor ciega, la ambición ciega. It takes a person as its object and con for the cause. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by use, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of cegar; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the cegar present tense page.

cegar in everyday use: examples with translations

Everyday present uses

How the verb sounds in the present, the future and in hypotheticals — the forms you will use most often.

  1. Yo ciego a su enemigo con el sol — "I blind his enemy with the sun"
  2. Mi amigo ciega al conductor con las luces — "My friend blinds the driver with the headlights"
  3. Mañana, tú cegarás a los espectadores con el flash — "Tomorrow, you will blind the spectators with the flash"
  4. Yo cegaría la vista con el polvo si pudiera — "I would blind his sight with dust if I could"

Talking about the past

The same verb in the past: one finished action, a habit, something that has just happened, and something that had already happened.

  1. Ayer, yo cegué a su enemigo con el sol — "Yesterday, I blinded his enemy with the sun"
  2. Antes, nosotros cegábamos al conductor con las luces — "Before, we used to blind the driver with the headlights"
  3. Él ha cegado a los espectadores con el flash — "He has blinded the spectators with the flash"
  4. Yo ya había cegado la vista con el polvo antes de salir — "I already had blinded his sight with dust before leaving"

Wishes, conditions and commands

The verb after espero que, in si clauses, as a command — and in the conditional perfect, for what would have happened.

  1. Espero que él ciegue a su enemigo con el sol — "I hope he blinds his enemy with the sun"
  2. Si yo cegara al conductor con las luces, todo cambiaría — "If I blinded the driver with the headlights, everything would change"
  3. Ciega a los espectadores con el flash. — "Blind the spectators with the flash."
  4. Yo habría cegado la vista con el polvo con más tiempo — "I would have blinded his sight with dust with more time"

cegar in conversation

Two short dialogues that use cegar the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

Two friends talk about it.

  • Lucía: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Lucía: Yo ciego a su enemigo con el sol — "I blind his enemy with the sun"
  • Marcos: Él ciega al conductor con las luces — "He blinds the driver with the headlights"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo cegué a los espectadores con el flash — "Yesterday, I blinded the spectators with the flash"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú cegarás la vista con el polvo — "Tomorrow, you will blind his sight with dust"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Ciega a su rival con arena. — "Blind his rival with sand."
  • Lucía: Él ha cegado a su enemigo con el sol — "He has blinded his enemy with the sun"
  • Marcos: Espero que él ciegue al conductor con las luces — "I hope he blinds the driver with the headlights"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo cegaba a los espectadores con el flash — "Before, I used to blind the spectators with the flash"

Common mistakes with cegar

The errors learners actually make with cegar, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ *Yo cego la vista con el polvo.

✓ Correct: Yo ciego la vista con el polvo.

cegar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is ciego, not cego.

✗ *Espero que él ciega la vista con el polvo

✓ Correct: Espero que él ciegue la vista con el polvo

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él ciegue la vista con el polvo — not the indicative Espero que él ciega la vista con el polvo.

✗ *Ayer, yo ciego a su rival con arena

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo cegué a su rival con arena

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo cegué a su rival con arena.

✗ *De niño, yo cegué a su enemigo con el sol todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo cegaba a su enemigo con el sol todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo cegaba a su enemigo con el sol todos los días.

✗ *Yo ciego los espectadores con el flash.

✓ Correct: Yo ciego a los espectadores con el flash.

cegar takes a before this complement: Yo ciego a los espectadores con el flash. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.

Quiz: cegar in use

Ten questions on cegar — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a su enemigo con el sol — "I blind his enemy with the sun" (present) A. ciego B. ciegas C. ciega D. cegamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ al conductor con las luces — "Yesterday, I blinded the driver with the headlights" (preterite) A. cegamos B. cegué C. cegaste D. cegó

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ a los espectadores con el flash — "Before, we used to blind the spectators with the flash" (imperfect) A. cegaba B. cegabas C. cegabais D. cegábamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ la vista con el polvo — "Tomorrow, you will blind his sight with dust" (future) A. cegaremos B. cegarás C. cegaré D. cegará

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a su rival con arena — "I would blind his rival with sand" (conditional) A. cegaríais B. cegaría C. cegarías D. cegaríamos

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ a su enemigo con el sol — "He has blinded his enemy with the sun" (present perfect) A. hemos cegado B. ha cegado C. he cegado D. has cegado

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ al conductor con las luces — "I hope he blinds the driver with the headlights" (present subjunctive) A. ciegue B. ciegues C. ceguemos D. ceguéis

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ a los espectadores con el flash. — "Blind the spectators with the flash." (affirmative imperative) A. ciegue B. ceguemos C. cegad D. ciega

  9. Which is the gerund of cegar, used with estar for the progressive? A. cegando B. cegado C. ciego D. cegué

  10. What does cegar mean in English? A. to enjoy B. to cross C. to blind D. to dazzle

Answer key

  1. ciego — The present form for yo is ciego.
  2. cegué — The preterite form for yo is cegué.
  3. cegábamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is cegábamos.
  4. cegarás — The future form for tú is cegarás.
  5. cegaría — The conditional form for yo is cegaría.
  6. ha cegado — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha cegado.
  7. ciegue — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is ciegue.
  8. ciega — The affirmative imperative form is ciega.
  9. cegando — The gerund of cegar is cegando: estoy cegando. The participle cegado is used with haber instead.
  10. to blind — cegar means to blind.

Frequently asked questions

What does cegar mean in English?

cegar means to blind. For example: Yo ciego a su enemigo con el sol — "I blind his enemy with the sun". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with cegar?

cegar takes a before this kind of complement, as in the examples above. Keep the preposition with the verb — dropping it is one of the most common learner errors with cegar.

Is cegar regular?

No. cegar is a stem-changing -ar verb (e → ie). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: ciego, ciegas, ciega and ciegan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: cegamos, cegáis.

How do I practise cegar?

Start with the present tense table on the full conjugation page, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure, and come back to the sentences above until you can say them without looking.

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