Disponer Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Disponer means “to arrange, to have available”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Disponer means to arrange or to have available, and it is used for having time or money available, arranging furniture and disposing of something. It follows the pattern of poner, with the present dispongo, the preterite dispuse and the irregular participle dispuesto. This page shows disponer 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 present-tense form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo dispongo de poco tiempo libre.” — I arrange of little free time.
Disponer in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how disponer 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 disponer in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Dispongo de poco tiempo libre.” — I arrange of little free time.
“¿Tú dispones de dinero para el viaje?” — Do you arrange of money for the trip?
“Dispone las sillas en el salón.” — He/she arranges the chairs in the living room.
“Disponemos de una hora libre.” — We arrange of an hour free.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show disponer in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo dispuse de poco tiempo libre.” — Yesterday, I arranged of little free time. (preterite)
“Él disponía de dinero para el viaje todos los días.” — He used to arrange of money for the trip every day. (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 disponer stays the same.
“Nosotros dispondremos las sillas en el salón mañana.” — We will arrange the chairs in the living room tomorrow. (future)
“¿Tú has dispuesto de una hora libre?” — Have you arranged of an hour free? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Disponéis de poco tiempo libre.” — You arrange of little free time.
“Disponen de dinero para el viaje.” — They arrange of money for the trip.
“Dispongo las sillas en el salón.” — I arrange the chairs in the living room.
“Dispone de una hora libre.” — He/she arranges of an hour free.
Disponer 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 disponer appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú dispones de poco tiempo libre?” — Do you arrange of little free time?
Carlos: “Sí, yo dispongo de poco tiempo libre.” — Yes, I arrange of little free time.
Lucía: “Nosotros disponemos de dinero para el viaje.” — We arrange of money for the trip.
Carlos: “Y ellos disponen las sillas en el salón.” — And they arrange the chairs in the living room.
Lucía: “Vosotros disponéis de una hora libre.” — You arrange of an hour free.
Carlos: “Sí, y él dispone de dinero para el viaje.” — Yes, and he arranges of money for the trip.
A short paragraph
Lucía dispone de poco tiempo libre, y Carlos dispone de dinero para el viaje. Nosotros disponemos las sillas en el salón, y ellos disponen de una hora libre. Yo dispongo las sillas en el salón, y mi padre dispone de una hora libre. Disponer is part of everyday life, because to arrange, to have available is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with disponer
These are the errors learners actually make with disponer. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo dispone de poco tiempo libre.” Right: “Yo dispongo de poco tiempo libre.” Why: The person matters: dispone is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is dispongo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
Wrong: “Ayer yo disponí de dinero para el viaje.” Right: “Ayer yo dispuse de dinero para el viaje.” Why: Disponer has an irregular preterite: the correct first-person form is dispuse, not the regular disponí. Learn the preterite forms in the table as a set.
Wrong: “Treating disponer and tener as identical in every context.” Right: “Disponer means to arrange, to have available, while tener means to have.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: disponer fits sentences such as Dispongo de poco tiempo libre, while tener belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy dispuesto de dinero para el viaje.” Right: “Yo he dispuesto de dinero para el viaje.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he dispuesto, has dispuesto, ha dispuesto. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo dispuse las sillas en el salón todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo disponía las sillas en el salón todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (disponía), not the preterite. The preterite (dispuse) is for one finished action.
Quiz: disponer in use
Ten questions on disponer in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ de poco tiempo libre.” (Of little free time.)
- (a) disponéis
- (b) dispongo
- (c) dispones
Answer: disponéis — The vosotros/as form of disponer in the present is disponéis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ de dinero para el viaje.” (Of money for the trip.)
- (a) dispongo
- (b) dispones
- (c) disponen
Answer: disponen — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of disponer in the present is disponen.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ de poco tiempo libre.” (Of little free time.)
- (a) dispuso
- (b) dispuse
- (c) dispusiste
Answer: dispuse — The yo form of disponer in the preterite is dispuse.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ de dinero para el viaje.” (Of money for the trip.)
- (a) disponía
- (b) disponías
- (c) disponíamos
Answer: disponía — The él/ella/Ud. form of disponer in the imperfect is disponía.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ las sillas en el salón.” (The chairs in the living room.)
- (a) dispondré
- (b) dispondrás
- (c) dispondremos
Answer: dispondremos — The nosotros/as form of disponer in the future is dispondremos.
6. What does disponer mean in English?
- (a) to compose, to fix
- (b) to arrange, to have available
- (c) to have
Answer: to arrange, to have available — Disponer means “to arrange, to have available”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo dispongo de poco tiempo libre.
- (b) Ellos dispone de poco tiempo libre.
- (c) Yo dispongo de dinero para el viaje ayer.
Answer: Yo dispongo de poco tiempo libre. — “Yo dispongo de poco tiempo libre.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I arrange of little free time.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo disponen de poco tiempo libre.
- (b) Yo dispuse de poco tiempo libre.
- (c) Yo dispongo de poco tiempo libre.
Answer: Yo dispongo de poco tiempo libre. — “Yo dispongo de poco tiempo libre.” is the correct translation. The second option uses the wrong person's form, and the third uses the preterite.
9. What is the nosotros form of disponer in the present tense?
- (a) dispones
- (b) disponemos
- (c) dispongo
Answer: disponemos — The nosotros form is disponemos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo dispuse de poco tiempo libre.
- (b) Nosotros dispondremos de poco tiempo libre mañana.
- (c) Yo dispongo de poco tiempo libre.
Answer: Yo dispongo de poco tiempo libre. — “Yo dispongo de poco tiempo libre.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I arrange' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo dispongo de poco tiempo libre'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo dispongo de poco tiempo libre todos los días'.
How do you say 'I arrange' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo dispuse de dinero para el viaje'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo disponía de dinero para el viaje todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo he dispuesto de dinero para el viaje'.
What is the difference between disponer and tener?
Disponer means to arrange, to have available, while tener means to have. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use disponer when you mean to arrange, to have available, as in Dispongo de poco tiempo libre.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of disponer — every tense of disponer in one place.
- Disponer in the preterite tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on disponer and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of disponer until they are automatic.