Dominar Examples, Sentences & Quiz

Introduction

dominar means to dominate, to master, and it is one of those verbs that shows up everywhere once you start listening for it. It is a regular -ar verb verb, and this page puts it to work: real example sentences in several tenses, grouped by use, two short passages that show the verb in context, the mistakes learners make with it, a ten-question quiz and answers to common questions. If you only learn one sentence, make it «Yo domino todos los días» — I dominate every day. The rest of this page builds out from there, tense by tense, so you can use dominar the way native speakers do — in the present for habits, in the past for finished events, and in the subjunctive after wishes and doubts.

Dominar in real example sentences

In the present: everyday use

The present is where dominar lives most of the time — routines, facts and what is happening now:

  1. Yo domino todos los días. — I dominate every day.
  2. Tú dominas en el trabajo. — You dominate at work.
  3. Él domina con mi familia. — He dominates with my family.
  4. Nosotros dominamos por la mañana. — We dominate in the morning.

Talking about the past

In the past, choose the preterite for a finished event and the imperfect for a habit or background:

  1. Ayer yo dominé por la tarde. — Yesterday I dominated in the afternoon.
  2. Antes, yo dominaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to dominate every day.
  3. La semana pasada él dominó dos veces. — Last week He dominated twice.

Plans and things already done

The future, the conditional and the present perfect round out the picture — plans, hypotheticals and recent events:

  1. Mañana yo dominaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will dominate without fail.
  2. Si tuviera más tiempo, yo dominaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would dominate right now.
  3. Hoy yo he dominado dos veces. — Today I have dominated twice.

More everyday uses

The subjunctive, the imperative and the progressive cover wishes, commands and actions in progress:

  1. Espero que tú domines pronto. — I hope You dominate soon.
  2. ¡domina, por favor! — Dominate, please!
  3. Ahora mismo yo estoy dominando. — Right now I am dominating.

Dominar in context

A short dialogue

Ana: «Yo domino en el trabajo.» — I dominate at work. Luis: «¡Qué bien! Yo domino con mi familia.» — I dominate with my family. Ana: «Mañana yo dominaré sin falta.» — Tomorrow I will dominate without fail. Luis: «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo dominaría ahora mismo.» — If I had more time, I would dominate right now. Ana: «Hoy yo he dominado dos veces.» — Today I have dominated twice.

A short paragraph

Ayer yo dominé por la tarde. Antes, yo dominaba todos los días. Hoy yo he dominado dos veces. Mañana yo dominaré sin falta.

Yesterday I dominated in the afternoon. In the past, I used to dominate every day. Today I have dominated twice. Tomorrow I will dominate without fail.

Common mistakes with dominar

1. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer yo dominaba.

Right: Ayer yo dominé.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, dominé. The imperfect dominaba describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.

2. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que tú dominas.

Right: Espero que tú domines.

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: domines, not the indicative dominas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.

3. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No domina.

Right: No domines.

Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no domines. The affirmative domina can never follow no.

4. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

Wrong: Yo dominar todos los días.

Right: Yo domino todos los días.

The infinitive dominar names the action; it never works as the main verb of a sentence. Conjugate it for the person: yo domino.

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He dominando.

Right: He dominado.

The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he dominado. The gerund dominando goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy dominando»), never with haber.

Quiz: dominar in use

Test yourself on dominar in use. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of dominar in the present indicative?

- (a) domina
- (b) domino
- (c) dominan
- (d) dominas

2. What is the yo form of dominar in the preterite?

- (a) dominé
- (b) dominaste
- (c) dominó
- (d) dominamos

3. What is the tú form of dominar in the future?

- (a) dominaré
- (b) dominarás
- (c) dominaremos
- (d) dominará

4. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of dominar in the present perfect?

- (a) ha dominado
- (b) he dominado
- (c) has dominado
- (d) hemos dominado

5. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of dominar in the imperfect?

- (a) dominaba
- (b) dominabas
- (c) dominaba
- (d) dominaban

6. What is the gerund of dominar?

- (a) dominar
- (b) dominado
- (c) dominando
- (d) domino

7. What is the past participle of dominar?

- (a) dominé
- (b) dominando
- (c) dominado
- (d) dominar

8. Which sentence uses dominar correctly?

- (a) *Yo dominas todos los días.*
- (b) *Yo domino todos los días.* — I dominate every day.
- (c) *Yo dominar todos los días.*
- (d) *Yo domina todos los días.*

9. Which sentence uses dominar correctly?

- (a) *Ayer yo dominar por la tarde.*
- (b) *Ayer yo domino por la tarde.*
- (c) *Ayer yo dominé por la tarde.* — Yesterday I dominated in the afternoon.
- (d) *Ayer yo dominaba por la tarde.*

10. What does dominar mean?

- (a) to donate
- (b) to stand out
- (c) to dominate, to master
- (d) to get distracted

Answer key

1. (c) — In the present indicative, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of dominar is dominan. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (a) — In the preterite, the yo form of dominar is dominé. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (b) — In the future, the tú form of dominar is dominarás. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (a) — In the present perfect, the él/ella/Ud. form of dominar is ha dominado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (d) — In the imperfect, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of dominar is dominaban. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (c) — The gerund of dominar is dominando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy dominando». 7. (c) — The past participle of dominar is dominado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he dominado». 8. (b) — Only this sentence pairs the right person with the right form of dominar; the others mix a person with another person's form, or use the infinitive instead of a conjugated form. 9. (c) — Only this sentence pairs the right person with the right form of dominar; the others mix a person with another person's form, or use the infinitive instead of a conjugated form. 10. (c) — dominar means «to dominate, to master».

Frequently asked questions

How do you say 'I dominate' in Spanish?

Say «Yo domino todos los días». That is the present-tense yo form, and it is the sentence you will use most with this verb.

How do you say 'I dominated' about yesterday?

Say «Ayer yo dominé por la tarde». The preterite is the tense for a finished event: yesterday, last week, last night.

Is dominar reflexive?

No — dominar is not reflexive. It conjugates without a pronoun: yo domino, tú dominas, él domina. If you see a -se form of a similar verb, that is a different verb with its own meaning.

Which tense do learners find hardest with dominar?

Most learners struggle with choosing between the preterite and the imperfect, not with the forms themselves. Use the preterite (dominé) for a single finished event and the imperfect (dominaba) for habits and background. After that, the subjunctive is the next step.

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