Distraer Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Distraer means “to distract”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Distraer means to distract, and it is used for distracting someone from work, distracting a child with a game and getting distracted by noise. It follows the pattern of traer, with the present distraigo, the preterite distraje, the gerund distrayendo and the participle distraído. This page shows distraer 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 distraigo a los niños con un juego.” — I distract the children with a game.
Distraer in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how distraer 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 distraer in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Distraigo a los niños con un juego.” — I distract the children with a game.
“¿Tú distraes a su amigo del trabajo?” — Do you distract his friend from work?
“Distrae la atención con el ruido.” — He/she distracts attention with the noise.
“Distraemos a los alumnos en clase.” — We distract the pupils in class.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show distraer in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo distraje a los niños con un juego.” — Yesterday, I distracted the children with a game. (preterite)
“Él distraía a su amigo del trabajo todos los días.” — He used to distract his friend from work 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 distraer stays the same.
“Nosotros distraeremos la atención con el ruido mañana.” — We will distract attention with the noise tomorrow. (future)
“¿Tú has distraído a los alumnos en clase?” — Have you distracted the pupils in class? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Distraéis a los niños con un juego.” — You distract the children with a game.
“Distraen a su amigo del trabajo.” — They distract his friend from work.
“Distraigo la atención con el ruido.” — I distract attention with the noise.
“Distrae a los alumnos en clase.” — He/she distracts the pupils in class.
Distraer 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 distraer appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú distraes a los niños con un juego?” — Do you distract the children with a game?
Carlos: “Sí, yo distraigo a los niños con un juego.” — Yes, I distract the children with a game.
Lucía: “Nosotros distraemos a su amigo del trabajo.” — We distract his friend from work.
Carlos: “Y ellos distraen la atención con el ruido.” — And they distract attention with the noise.
Lucía: “Vosotros distraéis a los alumnos en clase.” — You distract the pupils in class.
Carlos: “Sí, y él distrae a su amigo del trabajo.” — Yes, and he distracts his friend from work.
A short paragraph
Lucía distrae a los niños con un juego, y Carlos distrae a su amigo del trabajo. Nosotros distraemos la atención con el ruido, y ellos distraen a los alumnos en clase. Yo distraigo la atención con el ruido, y mi padre distrae a los alumnos en clase. Distraer is part of everyday life, because to distract is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with distraer
These are the errors learners actually make with distraer. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo distrae a los niños con un juego.” Right: “Yo distraigo a los niños con un juego.” Why: The person matters: distrae is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is distraigo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
Wrong: “Ayer yo distraí a su amigo del trabajo.” Right: “Ayer yo distraje a su amigo del trabajo.” Why: Distraer has an irregular preterite: the correct first-person form is distraje, not the regular distraí. Learn the preterite forms in the table as a set.
Wrong: “Treating distraer and concentrarse as identical in every context.” Right: “Distraer means to distract, while concentrarse means to concentrate.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: distraer fits sentences such as Distraigo a los niños con un juego, while concentrarse belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy distraído a su amigo del trabajo.” Right: “Yo he distraído a su amigo del trabajo.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he distraído, has distraído, ha distraído. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo distraje la atención con el ruido todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo distraía la atención con el ruido todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (distraía), not the preterite. The preterite (distraje) is for one finished action.
Quiz: distraer in use
Ten questions on distraer in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ a los niños con un juego.” (The children with a game.)
- (a) distraéis
- (b) distraigo
- (c) distraes
Answer: distraéis — The vosotros/as form of distraer in the present is distraéis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ a su amigo del trabajo.” (His friend from work.)
- (a) distraigo
- (b) distraes
- (c) distraen
Answer: distraen — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of distraer in the present is distraen.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ a los niños con un juego.” (The children with a game.)
- (a) distrajo
- (b) distraje
- (c) distrajiste
Answer: distraje — The yo form of distraer in the preterite is distraje.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ a su amigo del trabajo.” (His friend from work.)
- (a) distraía
- (b) distraías
- (c) distraíamos
Answer: distraía — The él/ella/Ud. form of distraer in the imperfect is distraía.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ la atención con el ruido.” (Attention with the noise.)
- (a) distraeré
- (b) distraerás
- (c) distraeremos
Answer: distraeremos — The nosotros/as form of distraer in the future is distraeremos.
6. What does distraer mean in English?
- (a) to contract (a debt, a disease)
- (b) to distract
- (c) to concentrate
Answer: to distract — Distraer means “to distract”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo distraigo a los niños con un juego.
- (b) Ellos distrae a los niños con un juego.
- (c) Yo distraigo a su amigo del trabajo ayer.
Answer: Yo distraigo a los niños con un juego. — “Yo distraigo a los niños con un juego.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I distract the children with a game.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo distraen a los niños con un juego.
- (b) Yo distraje a los niños con un juego.
- (c) Yo distraigo a los niños con un juego.
Answer: Yo distraigo a los niños con un juego. — “Yo distraigo a los niños con un juego.” 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 distraer in the present tense?
- (a) distraes
- (b) distraemos
- (c) distraigo
Answer: distraemos — The nosotros form is distraemos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo distraje a los niños con un juego.
- (b) Nosotros distraeremos a los niños con un juego mañana.
- (c) Yo distraigo a los niños con un juego.
Answer: Yo distraigo a los niños con un juego. — “Yo distraigo a los niños con un juego.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I distract' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo distraigo a los niños con un juego'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo distraigo a los niños con un juego todos los días'.
How do you say 'I distract' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo distraje a su amigo del trabajo'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo distraía a su amigo del trabajo todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo he distraído a su amigo del trabajo'.
What is the difference between distraer and concentrarse?
Distraer means to distract, while concentrarse means to concentrate. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use distraer when you mean to distract, as in Distraigo a los niños con un juego.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of distraer — every tense of distraer in one place.
- Distraer 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 distraer and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of distraer until they are automatic.