Encargarse Examples, Sentences & Quiz

Introduction

encargarse means to take charge of, and it is one of those verbs that shows up everywhere once you start listening for it. It is a spelling-changing -ar verb, reflexive 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 «Me encargo todos los días» — I take charge of every day. The rest of this page builds out from there, tense by tense, so you can use encargarse the way native speakers do — in the present for habits, in the past for finished events, and in the subjunctive after wishes and doubts.

Encargarse in real example sentences

In the present: everyday use

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

  1. Me encargo todos los días. — I take charge of every day.
  2. Te encargas en el trabajo. — You take charge of at work.
  3. Se encarga con mi familia. — He takes charge of with my family.
  4. Nos encargamos por la mañana. — We take charge of 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 me encargué por la tarde. — Yesterday I took charge of in the afternoon.
  2. Antes, me encargaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to take charge of every day.
  3. La semana pasada se encargó dos veces. — Last week He took charge of 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 me encargaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will take charge of without fail.
  2. Si tuviera más tiempo, me encargaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would take charge of right now.
  3. Hoy me he encargado dos veces. — Today I have took charge of twice.

More everyday uses

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

  1. Espero que te encargues pronto. — I hope You take charge of soon.
  2. ¡No te encargues! — Don't take charge of!
  3. Ahora mismo me estoy encargando. — Right now I am taking charge of.

Encargarse in context

A short dialogue

Ana: «Me encargo en el trabajo.» — I take charge of at work. Luis: «¡Qué bien! Me encargo con mi familia.» — I take charge of with my family. Ana: «Mañana me encargaré sin falta.» — Tomorrow I will take charge of without fail. Luis: «Si tuviera más tiempo, me encargaría ahora mismo.» — If I had more time, I would take charge of right now. Ana: «Hoy me he encargado dos veces.» — Today I have took charge of twice.

A short paragraph

Ayer me encargué por la tarde. Antes, me encargaba todos los días. Hoy me he encargado dos veces. Mañana me encargaré sin falta.

Yesterday I took charge of in the afternoon. In the past, I used to take charge of every day. Today I have took charge of twice. Tomorrow I will take charge of without fail.

Common mistakes with encargarse

1. Forgetting the reflexive pronoun

Wrong: yo encargo todos los días.

Right: me encargo todos los días.

encargarse is reflexive: the pronoun me belongs before every conjugated form. Without it, you are using the non-reflexive verb, which means something different — doing the action to someone else instead of to yourself.

2. Missing the spelling change in the preterite

Wrong: Yo encargé.

Right: Yo encargué.

The spelling changes so the pronunciation stays the same: the yo form in the preterite is encargué, not encargé. The endings are regular — only the spelling of the stem-final letter adjusts before e and i.

3. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer me encargaba.

Right: Ayer me encargué.

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

4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que te encargas.

Right: Espero que te encargues.

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

5. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No te encarga.

Right: No te encargues.

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

Quiz: encargarse in use

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

1. What is the tú form of encargarse in the present indicative?

- (a) encargo
- (b) encarga
- (c) encargamos
- (d) encargas

2. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of encargarse in the preterite?

- (a) encargué
- (b) encargamos
- (c) encargaste
- (d) encargó

3. What is the nosotros/as form of encargarse in the future?

- (a) encargaremos
- (b) encargaré
- (c) encargarás
- (d) encargará

4. What is the vosotros/as form of encargarse in the present perfect?

- (a) habéis encargado
- (b) he encargado
- (c) ha encargado
- (d) has encargado

5. What is the tú form of encargarse in the imperfect?

- (a) encargabas
- (b) encargaba
- (c) encargaba
- (d) encargábamos

6. What is the gerund of encargarse?

- (a) encargado
- (b) encargarse
- (c) encargo
- (d) encargando

7. What is the past participle of encargarse?

- (a) encargué
- (b) encargando
- (c) encargado
- (d) encargarse

8. Which sentence uses encargarse correctly?

- (a) *Yo encarga todos los días.*
- (b) *Yo encargarse todos los días.*
- (c) *Yo encargas todos los días.*
- (d) *Me encargo todos los días.* — I take charge of every day.

9. Which sentence uses encargarse correctly?

- (a) *Ayer yo encargarse por la tarde.*
- (b) *Ayer yo encargo por la tarde.*
- (c) *Ayer yo encargaba por la tarde.*
- (d) *Ayer me encargué por la tarde.* — Yesterday I took charge of in the afternoon.

10. What does encargarse mean?

- (a) to fall ill
- (b) to undertake
- (c) to win someone's love
- (d) to take charge of

Answer key

1. (d) — In the present indicative, the tú form of encargarse is encargas. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (d) — In the preterite, the él/ella/Ud. form of encargarse is encargó. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (a) — In the future, the nosotros/as form of encargarse is encargaremos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (a) — In the present perfect, the vosotros/as form of encargarse is habéis encargado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (a) — In the imperfect, the tú form of encargarse is encargabas. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (d) — The gerund of encargarse is encargando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy encargando». 7. (c) — The past participle of encargarse is encargado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he encargado». 8. (d) — Only this sentence pairs the right person with the right form of encargarse; the others mix a person with another person's form, or use the infinitive instead of a conjugated form. 9. (d) — Only this sentence pairs the right person with the right form of encargarse; the others mix a person with another person's form, or use the infinitive instead of a conjugated form. 10. (d) — encargarse means «to take charge of».

Frequently asked questions

How do you say 'I take charge of' in Spanish?

Say «Me encargo 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 took charge of' about yesterday?

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

Is encargarse reflexive?

Yes — encargarse is reflexive, so every conjugated form takes its pronoun: me encargo, te encargas, se encarga. The pronoun always comes before the verb, except in affirmative commands, where it attaches to the end.

Which tense do learners find hardest with encargarse?

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

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