Circular Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

circular means “to circulate” 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. Circular means to circulate, and it is used for traffic circulating through a city, blood circulating in the body, a rumour circulating in a village and money circulating in an economy. It takes por for the place of circulation, as in circular por la ciudad. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by tense, 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 circular; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the circular present tense page.

circular in everyday use: examples with translations

In the present

Four sentences with circular in the present tense, for habits, facts and things happening right now.

  1. Yo circulo por la ciudad en bicicleta. — I circulate round the city by bicycle.
  2. Él/Ella circula por la autopista cada día. — He circulates on the motorway every day.
  3. Nosotros/as circulamos por las calles del centro. — We circulate through the streets of the centre.
  4. Ellos/as circulan por el pueblo en moto. — They circulate round the village by motorbike.

In the past

Four sentences with circular in the past: the preterite for finished actions and the imperfect for habits and background.

  1. Ayer, Yo circulé por las calles del centro. — Yesterday, I circulated through the streets of the centre.
  2. Antes, Nosotros/as circulábamos por el pueblo en moto. — Before, We used to circulate round the village by motorbike.
  3. Ayer, Él/Ella circuló por la ciudad en bicicleta. — Yesterday, He circulated round the city by bicycle.
  4. De niños, Ellos/as circulaban por la autopista cada día. — As children, They used to circulate on the motorway every day.

Plans, hopes and wishes

Four sentences with circular in the future, the conditional, the subjunctive and the present perfect — for plans, hypotheticals and things that have just happened.

  1. Mañana, Tú circularás por la ciudad en bicicleta. — Tomorrow, You will circulate round the city by bicycle.
  2. Yo circularía por la autopista cada día. — I would circulate on the motorway every day.
  3. Espero que él circule por las calles del centro. — I hope he circulates through the streets of the centre.
  4. Él/Ella ha circulado por el pueblo en moto. — He has circulated round the village by motorbike.

circular in context: two short dialogues

Making plans

Ana: ¿Tú circulas por la ciudad en bicicleta mañana? — Are you going to circulate round the city by bicycle tomorrow? Luis: Sí, yo circulo por la ciudad en bicicleta todos los días. — Yes, I circulate round the city by bicycle every day. Ana: ¿Y mañana circularás por la autopista cada día? — And tomorrow, will you circulate on the motorway every day? Luis: Claro, mañana circularé por la autopista cada día sin falta. — Of course, tomorrow I will circulate on the motorway every day without fail. Ana: Perfecto. Yo circularé por las calles del centro también. — Perfect. I will circulate through the streets of the centre too. Luis: Entonces quedamos mañana. ¡Hasta luego! — Then see you tomorrow. Bye!

Yesterday

Ana: ¿Qué hiciste ayer? — What did you do yesterday? Luis: Ayer circulé por las calles del centro. — Yesterday, I circulated through the streets of the centre. Ana: ¿Y antes circulabas por el pueblo en moto? — And before, did you use to circulate round the village by motorbike? Luis: Sí, antes circulaba por el pueblo en moto todos los días. — Yes, before, I used to circulate round the village by motorbike every day. Ana: ¿Y tus hermanos circularon por la ciudad en bicicleta? — And did your brothers circulated round the city by bicycle? Luis: Sí, ellos circularon por la ciudad en bicicleta por la tarde. — Yes, they circulated round the city by bicycle in the afternoon.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo circula por la ciudad en bicicleta. — Right: Yo circulo por la ciudad en bicicleta. — The person matters: circula is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is circulo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Treating circular and moverse as identical in every context. — Right: Circular means to circulate, while moverse means to move around a place. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: circular fits sentences such as Circulo por la ciudad en bicicleta, while moverse belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  3. Wrong: Yo soy circulado por la autopista cada día. — Right: Yo he circulado por la autopista cada día. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he circulado, has circulado, ha circulado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  4. Wrong: De niño, yo circulé por las calles del centro todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo circulaba por las calles del centro todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (circulaba), not the preterite. The preterite (circulé) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on circular in use. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ por el pueblo en moto. (present tense) A. circulan B. circulo C. circulas D. circula

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, Nosotros/as ___ por la ciudad en bicicleta. (preterite tense) A. circulé B. circulaste C. circuló D. circulamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, Tú ___ por la autopista cada día. (imperfect tense) A. circulábamos B. circulabais C. circulabas D. circulaba

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, Él/Ella ___ por las calles del centro. (future tense) A. circularemos B. circulará C. circularé D. circularás

  5. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ por el pueblo en moto. (conditional tense) A. circularíamos B. circularía C. circularías D. circularíais

  6. Complete the sentence: Hoy, Yo ___ por la ciudad en bicicleta. (present-perfect tense) A. has circulado B. ha circulado C. hemos circulado D. he circulado

  7. What does circular mean in English? A. to disturb B. to address as tú C. to circulate D. to move around a place

  8. Which of these sentences is WRONG? A. Ayer, Yo circulé por las calles del centro. B. Yo circula por la ciudad en bicicleta. C. Yo circulo por la ciudad en bicicleta. D. Él/Ella circula por la autopista cada día.

  9. Which is the gerund of circular, used with estar for the progressive? A. circulando B. circulado C. circulo D. circulé

  10. Which is the past participle of circular, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. circulando B. circulo C. circulé D. circulado

Answer key

  1. circulan — The correct form here is circulan.
  2. circulamos — The correct form here is circulamos.
  3. circulabas — The correct form here is circulabas.
  4. circulará — The correct form here is circulará.
  5. circularíamos — The correct form here is circularíamos.
  6. he circulado — The correct form here is he circulado.
  7. to circulate — Circular means to circulate. Moverse means to move around a place, which is a different verb.
  8. Yo circula por la ciudad en bicicleta. — The first sentence is wrong: the correct form is Yo circulo por la ciudad en bicicleta.. The person matters: circula is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is circulo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  9. circulando — The gerund of circular is circulando: estoy circulando.
  10. circulado — The past participle of circular is circulado: he circulado, has circulado, ha circulado.

Frequently asked questions

What does circular mean?

Circular means to circulate. Circular means to circulate, and it is used for traffic circulating through a city, blood circulating in the body, a rumour circulating in a village and money circulating in an economy. It takes por for the place of circulation, as in circular por la ciudad.

When do people use circular most?

People use circular most in everyday situations such as Yo circulo por la ciudad en bicicleta. and Ayer, Yo circulé por las calles del centro.. Learn the present tense first, then the preterite and the imperfect, since those are the forms you will hear most often.

What is the difference between circular and moverse?

Circular means to circulate, while moverse means to move around a place. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable — check the meaning you want before you choose.

How can I remember the forms of circular?

Practise the present tense table first, then add the preterite and the imperfect. Use the full conjugation of circular as your reference, the circular present tense page for one tense in depth, and the Spanish Verb Quiz to test yourself.

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