Introduction

cubrir means “to cover”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to cover” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows cubrir 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 cubro la mesa con un mantel por la mañana.” — “I cover the table with a cloth.”

cubrir in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how cubrir 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 cubro la mesa con un mantel cada día.” — “I cover the table with a cloth.”
  2. “Tú cubres la mesa con un mantel cada día.” — “you cover the table with a cloth.”
  3. “Él cubre la mesa con un mantel siempre.” — “He covers the table with a cloth.”
  4. “Nosotros cubrimos la mesa con un mantel todos los días.” — “We cover the table with a cloth.”

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 cubrí la mesa con un mantel ayer.” — “I covered the table with a cloth.” (preterite) 6. “Él cubrió la mesa con un mantel ayer.” — “He covered the table with a cloth.” (preterite) 7. “Yo cubría la mesa con un mantel cuando era joven.” — “I used to cover the table with a cloth.” (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 cubriremos la mesa con un mantel mañana.” — “We will cover the table with a cloth.” (future) 9. “Tú has cubierto la mesa con un mantel hoy.” — “you have covered the table with a cloth.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo cubra la mesa con un mantel.” — “I hope that I cover the table with a cloth.” (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 cubrís la mesa con un mantel cada semana.” — “You cover the table with a cloth.” 12. “Ellos cubren la mesa con un mantel normalmente.” — “They cover the table with a cloth.”

cubrir 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 cubrir appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.

Dialogue in a café

Sofía: “¿Tú cubres la mesa con un mantel?” — Do you cover the table with a cloth?

Diego: “Sí, yo cubro la mesa con un mantel cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I cover the table with a cloth every day. It is part of my routine.

Sofía: “¿Y ayer? ¿También cubres la mesa con un mantel?” — And yesterday? Did you cover the table with a cloth too?

Diego: “Sí, ayer yo cubrí la mesa con un mantel. Mañana nosotros cubriremos la mesa con un mantel otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I covered the table with a cloth. Tomorrow we will cover the table with a cloth again.

A short paragraph

Él cubre la mesa con un mantel cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how cubrir 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 cubro la mesa con un mantel — 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 cubrir yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

Common mistakes

Guessing the past participle

A common error is writing cubrido as the past participle of cubrir. The correct participle is cubierto. That matters in every perfect tense: it is he cubierto, había cubierto, habré cubierto. Memorise the participle on its own and the perfect tenses take care of themselves.

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is cubrí, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — cubri — 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 cubrir.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For cubrir, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: cubrimos. 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 cubierto la mesa con un mantel. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy cubierto is not the present perfect of cubrir — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing cubrir with descubrir

cubrir and descubrir 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 cubrir — cover — the sentence needs cubrir; if it needs the meaning of descubrir, use that verb instead.

Quiz

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

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

  • A. cubres
  • B. cubre
  • C. cubrimos
  • D. cubro

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

  • A. cubrimos
  • B. cubriste
  • C. cubrí
  • D. cubrió

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

  • A. cubrías
  • B. cubríamos
  • C. cubríais
  • D. cubría

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

  • A. cubrirá
  • B. cubriremos
  • C. cubriré
  • D. cubrirás

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

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

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

  • A. cubra
  • B. cubran
  • C. cubra
  • D. cubras

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

  • A. cubriste
  • B. cubrió
  • C. cubrimos
  • D. cubrí

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

  • A. cubríamos
  • B. cubrías
  • C. cubría
  • D. cubría

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

  • A. cubriré
  • B. cubrirás
  • C. cubriremos
  • D. cubrirá

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

  • A. cubriría
  • B. cubriríamos
  • C. cubriría
  • D. cubrirías

Answer key

  1. cubro — The present table gives yo = cubro.
  2. cubriste — The preterite table gives tu = cubriste.
  3. cubría — The imperfect table gives el = cubría.
  4. cubriremos — The future table gives nosotros = cubriremos.
  5. habéis cubierto — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis cubierto.
  6. cubran — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = cubran.
  7. cubrí — The preterite table gives yo = cubrí.
  8. cubrías — The imperfect table gives tu = cubrías.
  9. cubrirá — The future table gives el = cubrirá.
  10. cubriríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = cubriríamos.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use cubrir in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo cubro la mesa con un mantel.” — “I cover the table with a cloth.” Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

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

Learn the present yo form cubro first, then the preterite yo form cubrí and the participle cubierto. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund cubriendo next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is cubrir reflexive?

No — cubrir is not reflexive. It takes a direct object, not a reflexive pronoun: yo cubro la mesa con un mantel. 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 cubrir?

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

Related links