Competir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

competir means "to compete" 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. Competir means to compete: competir en el torneo, competir con los mejores, competir por el primer premio. The stem changes e to i in the present. 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 competir; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the competir present tense page.

competir 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 compito en el torneo de ajedrez — "I compete in the chess tournament"
  2. Mi amigo compite con los mejores atletas — "My friend competes against the best athletes"
  3. Mañana, tú competirás por el primer premio — "Tomorrow, you will compete for the first prize"
  4. Yo competiría en la liga nacional si pudiera — "I would compete in the national league 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 competí en el torneo de ajedrez — "Yesterday, I competed in the chess tournament"
  2. Antes, nosotros competíamos con los mejores atletas — "Before, we used to compete against the best athletes"
  3. Él ha competido por el primer premio — "He has competed for the first prize"
  4. Yo ya había competido en la liga nacional antes de salir — "I already had competed in the national league 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 compita en el torneo de ajedrez — "I hope he competes in the chess tournament"
  2. Si yo compitiera con los mejores atletas, todo cambiaría — "If I competed against the best athletes, everything would change"
  3. Compite por el primer premio. — "Compete for the first prize."
  4. Yo habría competido en la liga nacional con más tiempo — "I would have competed in the national league with more time"

competir in conversation

Two short dialogues that use competir 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 compito en el torneo de ajedrez — "I compete in the chess tournament"
  • Marcos: Él compite con los mejores atletas — "He competes against the best athletes"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo competí por el primer premio — "Yesterday, I competed for the first prize"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú competirás en la liga nacional — "Tomorrow, you will compete in the national league"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Compite con su hermano en todo. — "Compete with his brother in everything."
  • Lucía: Él ha competido en el torneo de ajedrez — "He has competed in the chess tournament"
  • Marcos: Espero que él compita con los mejores atletas — "I hope he competes against the best athletes"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo competía por el primer premio — "Before, I used to compete for the first prize"

Common mistakes with competir

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

✗ *Yo competo en la liga nacional.

✓ Correct: Yo compito en la liga nacional.

competir is a stem-changing verb (e → i): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is compito, not competo.

✗ *Espero que él compite en la liga nacional

✓ Correct: Espero que él compita en la liga nacional

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él compita en la liga nacional — not the indicative Espero que él compite en la liga nacional.

✗ *Ayer, yo compito con su hermano en todo

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo competí con su hermano en todo

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo competí con su hermano en todo.

✗ *De niño, yo competí en el torneo de ajedrez todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo competía en el torneo de ajedrez todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo competía en el torneo de ajedrez todos los días.

✗ *Yo compito el primer premio.

✓ Correct: Yo compito por el primer premio.

competir takes por before this complement: Yo compito por el primer premio. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.

Quiz: competir in use

Ten questions on competir — 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 ______ en el torneo de ajedrez — "I compete in the chess tournament" (present) A. competimos B. compito C. compites D. compite

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ con los mejores atletas — "Yesterday, I competed against the best athletes" (preterite) A. compitió B. competimos C. competí D. competiste

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ por el primer premio — "Before, we used to compete for the first prize" (imperfect) A. competíamos B. competía C. competías D. competíais

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ en la liga nacional — "Tomorrow, you will compete in the national league" (future) A. competirá B. competiremos C. competirás D. competiré

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ con su hermano en todo — "I would compete with his brother in everything" (conditional) A. competiríamos B. competiríais C. competiría D. competirías

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ en el torneo de ajedrez — "He has competed in the chess tournament" (present perfect) A. he competido B. has competido C. hemos competido D. ha competido

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ con los mejores atletas — "I hope he competes against the best athletes" (present subjunctive) A. compita B. compitas C. compitamos D. compitáis

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ por el primer premio. — "Compete for the first prize." (affirmative imperative) A. compite B. compita C. compitamos D. competid

  9. Which is the gerund of competir, used with estar for the progressive? A. competido B. compito C. competí D. compitiendo

  10. What does competir mean in English? A. to cross B. to compete C. to take part in a contest D. to enjoy

Answer key

  1. compito — The present form for yo is compito.
  2. competí — The preterite form for yo is competí.
  3. competíamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is competíamos.
  4. competirás — The future form for tú is competirás.
  5. competiría — The conditional form for yo is competiría.
  6. ha competido — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha competido.
  7. compita — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is compita.
  8. compite — The affirmative imperative form is compite.
  9. compitiendo — The gerund of competir is compitiendo: estoy compitiendo. The participle competido is used with haber instead.
  10. to compete — competir means to compete.

Frequently asked questions

What does competir mean in English?

competir means to compete. For example: Yo compito en el torneo de ajedrez — "I compete in the chess tournament". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with competir?

competir takes en 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 competir.

Is competir regular?

No. competir is a stem-changing -ir verb (e → i). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: compito, compites, compite and compiten — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: competimos, competís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: compitió, compitieron, and the gerund is compitiendo.

How do I practise competir?

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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