Coser Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

coser means to sew, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Coser means to sew, and it covers sewing a button back on, sewing a dress, mending a tear and sewing by hand or by machine. It is a regular -er verb, and it is not to be confused with cocer, to cook or boil, which is spelled with a c. This page puts coser 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 coser, and the full tables are on the coser conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo coso un botón de la camisa. — I sew a button on the shirt.
  2. Él cose un vestido para la boda. — He/she sews a dress for the wedding.
  3. Ayer, yo cosí a mano en el taller. — Yesterday, I sewed by hand in the workshop.
  4. Antes, nosotros cosíamos la ropa rota de los niños. — Before, we used to sew the children's torn clothes.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú coserás un botón de la camisa. — Tomorrow, you will sew a button on the shirt.
  2. Yo cosería un vestido para la boda. — I would sew a dress for the wedding.
  3. Él ha cosido a mano en el taller. — He/she has sewn by hand in the workshop.
  4. Espero que él cosa la ropa rota de los niños. — I hope he/she sews the children's torn clothes.

With other people

  1. Nosotros cosemos un botón de la camisa. — We sew a button on the shirt.
  2. Vosotros coséis un vestido para la boda. — You all sew a dress for the wedding.
  3. Antes, ellos cosían a mano en el taller. — Before, they used to sew by hand in the workshop.
  4. Mañana, él coserá la ropa rota de los niños. — Tomorrow, he/she will sew the children's torn clothes.

Coser in context

Two short dialogues that use coser 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 coso un botón de la camisa." — "Today I sew a button on the shirt."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, cosí a mano en el taller." — "Yesterday I sewed by hand in the workshop."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú coserás un vestido para la boda?" — "And tomorrow, will you will sew a dress for the wedding?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros cosemos la ropa rota de los niños." — "Tomorrow we sew the children's torn clothes."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo cosería un vestido para la boda si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would sew a dress for the wedding if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él cosa un botón de la camisa." — "I hope he sews a button on the shirt."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha cosido a mano en el taller." — "Surely. He has already has sewn by hand in the workshop."
  • 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 cose un botón de la camisa. — Right: Yo coso un botón de la camisa. — The person matters: cose is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is coso. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Vosotros coseis un vestido para la boda. — Right: Vosotros coséis un vestido para la boda. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: coséis, not coseis. The accent marks the stressed vowel.
  3. Wrong: Treating coser and tejer as identical in every context. — Right: Coser means to sew, while tejer means to knit, the other craft verb. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: coser fits sentences such as Coso un botón de la camisa, while tejer belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy cosido un vestido para la boda. — Right: Yo he cosido un vestido para la boda. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he cosido, has cosido, ha cosido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo cosí a mano en el taller todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo cosía a mano en el taller todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (cosía), not the preterite. The preterite (cosí) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on coser: 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 ___ un botón de la camisa. (present tense) A. coso B. coses C. cose D. cosemos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ un vestido para la boda. (preterite tense) A. cosí B. cosiste C. cosimos D. cosió

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ a mano en el taller. (future tense) A. coserá B. coseremos C. coserás D. coseré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ la ropa rota de los niños. (imperfect tense) A. cosíais B. cosíamos C. cosía D. cosías

  5. What does "Yo coso un botón de la camisa." mean in English? A. I sew a button on the shirt. B. I sew a dress for the wedding. C. I sew by hand in the workshop. D. I sew the children's torn clothes.

  6. What does "Él cosió un vestido para la boda." mean in English? A. He/she sewed a button on the shirt. B. He/she sewed by hand in the workshop. C. He/she sewed the children's torn clothes. D. He/she sewed a dress for the wedding.

  7. What does "Nosotros coseremos a mano en el taller." mean in English? A. We will sew a dress for the wedding. B. We will sew the children's torn clothes. C. We will sew by hand in the workshop. D. We will sew a button on the shirt.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo cosen un vestido para la boda. B. Yo cose un vestido para la boda. C. Yo coso un vestido para la boda.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él cosí a mano en el taller. B. Él cosió a mano en el taller. C. Él cosieron a mano en el taller.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo cosa la ropa rota de los niños. B. Yo cosan la ropa rota de los niños. C. Yo cosa la ropa rota de los niños.

Answer key

  1. coso — The yo present form of coser is coso.
  2. cosió — The el preterite form of coser is cosió.
  3. coserás — The tu future form of coser is coserás.
  4. cosíamos — The nosotros imperfect form of coser is cosíamos.
  5. I sew a button on the shirt. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form coso, so the English is "I sew a button on the shirt." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she sewed a dress for the wedding. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form cosió, so the English is "He/she sewed a dress for the wedding." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will sew by hand in the workshop. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form coseremos, so the English is "We will sew by hand in the workshop." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo coso un vestido para la boda. — The correct sentence is "Yo coso un vestido para la boda." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él cosió a mano en el taller. — The correct sentence is "Él cosió a mano en el taller." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo cosa la ropa rota de los niños. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo cosa la ropa rota de los niños." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

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

Coser means to sew. Coser means to sew, and it covers sewing a button back on, sewing a dress, mending a tear and sewing by hand or by machine. It is a regular -er verb, and it is not to be confused with cocer, to cook or boil, which is spelled with a c. A good first sentence to remember is Yo coso un botón de la camisa. — "I sew a button on the shirt."

What is the difference between coser and tejer?

Coser means to sew, while tejer means to knit, the other craft verb. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use coser when you mean to sew, as in Yo coso un vestido para la boda., and use tejer for to knit, the other craft verb.

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

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo cosí un vestido para la boda.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo cosía a mano en el taller.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he cosido un vestido para la boda..

How do I practise coser?

Start with the coser conjugation page for the full tables, then the coser in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Coser is spelled with an s and means to sew; cocer, with a c, means to cook or boil. Do not mix them up.

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