Introduction

convivir means “to live together”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to live together” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows convivir in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo convivo con mi familia por la mañana.” — “I live together with my family.”

convivir in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how convivir is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.

In the present: everyday use

These sentences use {verb} in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.

  1. “Yo convivo con mi familia cada día.” — “I live together with my family.”
  2. “Tú convives con mi familia cada día.” — “you live together with my family.”
  3. “Él convive con mi familia siempre.” — “He lives together with my family.”
  4. “Nosotros convivimos con mi familia todos los días.” — “We live together with my family.”

Talking about the past

The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show {verb} in the past, so you can talk about what already happened. 5. “Yo conviví con mi familia ayer.” — “I lived together with my family.” (preterite) 6. “Él convivió con mi familia ayer.” — “He lived together with my family.” (preterite) 7. “Yo convivía con mi familia cuando era joven.” — “I used to live together with my family.” (imperfect)

Plans and things already done

These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of {verb} stays the same. 8. “Nosotros conviviremos con mi familia mañana.” — “We will live together with my family.” (future) 9. “Tú has convivido con mi familia hoy.” — “you have lived together with my family.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo conviva con mi familia.” — “I hope that I live together with my family.” (present-subjunctive)

More everyday uses

Two more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action. 11. “Vosotros convivís con mi familia cada semana.” — “You live together with my family.” 12. “Ellos conviven con mi familia normalmente.” — “They live together with my family.”

convivir in context

Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how convivir appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.

Dialogue at home in the evening

Ana: “¿Tú convives con mi familia?” — Do you live together with my family?

Luis: “Sí, yo convivo con mi familia cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I live together with my family every day. It is part of my routine.

Ana: “¿Y ayer? ¿También convives con mi familia?” — And yesterday? Did you live together with my family too?

Luis: “Sí, ayer yo conviví con mi familia. Mañana nosotros conviviremos con mi familia otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I lived together with my family. Tomorrow we will live together with my family again.

A short paragraph

Él convive con mi familia cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how convivir works in real Spanish: who does it, when, and with what. Around it you can build a whole paragraph: what happened yesterday, what is happening now, and what will happen tomorrow, all with the same verb. When you write your own paragraph, start with the present — yo convivo con mi familia — then add one past sentence and one future sentence, and you have practised three tenses with one verb. That is the fastest way to make convivir yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is conviví, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — convivi — is a spelling error, and in speech the stress lands in the wrong place. Preterite yo forms that end in a vowel carry that accent, so check it every time you write the preterite of convivir.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For convivir, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: convivimos. Only the context tells you which tense is meant, so pay attention to the time words around it — cada día points to the present, ayer points to the preterite. Do not invent a different form for one of the tenses.

Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses

Spanish perfect tenses always use haber, never ser: yo he convivido con mi familia. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy convivido is not the present perfect of convivir — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing convivir with conservar

convivir and conservar look similar, and learners mix them up. They are different verbs with different meanings, so check which one the sentence needs before you conjugate. If you can substitute the English meaning of convivir — live together — the sentence needs convivir; if it needs the meaning of conservar, use that verb instead.

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo conviva con mi familia. Using the indicative — Espero que yo convivo — is one of the most frequent learner errors with convivir. Whenever the main clause expresses a wish, doubt or emotion, switch to the subjunctive.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the best answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the yo form of convivir in the present?

  • A. convives
  • B. convive
  • C. convivimos
  • D. convivo

2. What is the tu form of convivir in the preterite?

  • A. convivimos
  • B. conviviste
  • C. conviví
  • D. convivió

3. What is the el form of convivir in the imperfect?

  • A. convivías
  • B. convivíamos
  • C. convivíais
  • D. convivía

4. What is the nosotros form of convivir in the future?

  • A. convivirá
  • B. conviviremos
  • C. conviviré
  • D. convivirás

5. What is the vosotros form of convivir in the present perfect?

  • A. he convivido
  • B. has convivido
  • C. ha convivido
  • D. habéis convivido

6. What is the ellos form of convivir in the present subjunctive?

  • A. conviva
  • B. convivan
  • C. conviva
  • D. convivas

7. What is the yo form of convivir in the preterite?

  • A. conviviste
  • B. convivió
  • C. convivimos
  • D. conviví

8. What is the tu form of convivir in the imperfect?

  • A. convivíamos
  • B. convivías
  • C. convivía
  • D. convivía

9. What is the el form of convivir in the future?

  • A. conviviré
  • B. convivirás
  • C. conviviremos
  • D. convivirá

10. What is the nosotros form of convivir in the conditional?

  • A. conviviría
  • B. conviviríamos
  • C. conviviría
  • D. convivirías

Answer key

  1. convivo — The present table gives yo = convivo.
  2. conviviste — The preterite table gives tu = conviviste.
  3. convivía — The imperfect table gives el = convivía.
  4. conviviremos — The future table gives nosotros = conviviremos.
  5. habéis convivido — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis convivido.
  6. convivan — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = convivan.
  7. conviví — The preterite table gives yo = conviví.
  8. convivías — The imperfect table gives tu = convivías.
  9. convivirá — The future table gives el = convivirá.
  10. conviviríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = conviviríamos.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use convivir in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo convivo con mi familia.” — “I live together with my family.” Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

What is the most useful form of convivir to learn first?

Learn the present yo form convivo first, then the preterite yo form conviví and the participle convivido. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund conviviendo next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is convivir reflexive?

No — convivir is not reflexive. It takes a direct object, not a reflexive pronoun: yo convivo con mi familia. Do not add me or se to it unless the sentence genuinely needs a pronoun for another reason.

Where can I see the full conjugation of convivir?

On the main conjugation page for convivir, which has every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, plus notes, examples and a quiz. The present-tense page covers one tense in depth if that is what you need right now.

Related links