Encerar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

encerar means “to wax” in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Encerar means to wax, to cover a surface with wax to protect it and make it shine. It is used for floors, cars, skis and shoes, and it is a fully regular verb. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by tense, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of encerar; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the encerar present tense page.

encerar in everyday use: examples with translations

In the present tense

  1. Yo encero el suelo de madera. — “I wax the wooden floor.”
  2. Él encera el coche el sábado. — “He waxes the car on Saturdays.”
  3. Nosotros enceramos los esquís antes de la temporada. — “We wax the skis before the season.”
  4. Ellos enceran los zapatos de cuero. — “They wax the leather shoes.”

In the past

  1. Ayer, yo enceré el coche el sábado. — “Yesterday, I waxed the car on Saturdays.”
  2. Antes, nosotros encerábamos los esquís antes de la temporada. — “Before, we used to wax the skis before the season.”
  3. Él enceró los zapatos de cuero. — “He waxed the leather shoes.”
  4. Yo ya había encerado el suelo de madera antes de salir. — “I had already waxed the wooden floor before leaving.”

Plans, hopes and possibilities

  1. Mañana, tú encerarás el suelo de madera. — “Tomorrow, you will wax the wooden floor.”
  2. Yo enceraría el coche el sábado si tuviera más tiempo. — “I would wax the car on Saturdays if I had more time.”
  3. Él ha encerado los esquís antes de la temporada. — “He has waxed the skis before the season.”
  4. Espero que él encere los zapatos de cuero. — “I hope he waxes the leather shoes.”

encerar in conversation

Two short dialogues that use encerar the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

Two friends talk about their day.

  • Ana: Yo encero el suelo de madera. — “I wax the wooden floor.”
  • Bea: Él encera el coche el sábado. — “He waxes the car on Saturdays.”
  • Ana: Ayer, yo enceré el coche el sábado. — “Yesterday, I waxed the car on Saturdays.”
  • Bea: Mañana, tú encerarás el suelo de madera. — “Tomorrow, you will wax the wooden floor.”

At home, talking about tomorrow.

  • Luis: Nosotros enceramos los esquís antes de la temporada. — “We wax the skis before the season.”
  • Marta: Antes, nosotros encerábamos los esquís antes de la temporada. — “Before, we used to wax the skis before the season.”
  • Luis: Yo enceraría el coche el sábado si tuviera más tiempo. — “I would wax the car on Saturdays if I had more time.”
  • Marta: Espero que él encere los zapatos de cuero. — “I hope he waxes the leather shoes.”

A short scene with encerar

A short scene shows how encerar works across the day. In the morning: Encero el suelo de madera. In the afternoon: Encera el coche el sábado. Yesterday it was different: Ayer, enceré los esquís antes de la temporada. And tomorrow: Mañana, enceraré los zapatos de cuero. Four small moments, four tenses, one verb — that is how encerar sounds in real life. Try changing the person in each sentence: say it about yourself, about a friend, and about your family, and the forms will start to feel automatic.

Common mistakes with encerar

The errors learners actually make with encerar, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ Yo encera el suelo de madera.

✓ Correct: Yo encero el suelo de madera.

The person matters: encera is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is encero. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.

✗ Ayer yo encero el coche el sábado.

✓ Correct: Ayer yo enceré el coche el sábado.

The present and the preterite are different tenses: encero is happening now, while enceré is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.

✗ Treating encerar and pulir as identical in every context.

✓ Correct: Encerar means to wax, while pulir means to polish.

They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: encerar fits sentences such as Encero el suelo de madera, while pulir belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.

✗ Yo soy encerado el coche el sábado.

✓ Correct: Yo he encerado el coche el sábado.

Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he encerado, has encerado, ha encerado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

✗ De niño, yo enceré los esquís antes de la temporada todos los días.

✓ Correct: De niño, yo enceraba los esquís antes de la temporada todos los días.

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (enceraba), not the preterite. The preterite (enceré) is for one finished action.

Quiz: encerar in use

Ten questions on encerar — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

1. Complete the sentence: Él ______ el coche el sábado. — “He/she waxes the car on Saturdays.”

  • a) encera
  • b) encero
  • c) enceras
  • d) enceramos

2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ los esquís antes de la temporada. — “Yesterday, I waxed the skis before the season.”

  • a) enceraste
  • b) enceró
  • c) enceraron
  • d) enceré

3. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ los zapatos de cuero cuando eran jóvenes. — “They used to wax the leather shoes when they were young.”

  • a) encerabas
  • b) encerábamos
  • c) enceraban
  • d) enceraba

4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, nosotros ______ el suelo de madera. — “Tomorrow, we will wax the wooden floor.”

  • a) encerarán
  • b) enceraremos
  • c) enceraré
  • d) encerarás

5. Complete the sentence: Él ______ el coche el sábado si pudiera. — “He would wax the car on Saturdays if he could.”

  • a) enceraría
  • b) encerarías
  • c) enceraríamos
  • d) encero

6. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ los esquís antes de la temporada. — “I have waxed the skis before the season.”

  • a) has encerado
  • b) ha encerado
  • c) han encerado
  • d) he encerado

7. Complete the sentence: Espero que tú ______ los zapatos de cuero. — “I hope you wax the leather shoes.”

  • a) enceremos
  • b) encero
  • c) enceres
  • d) encere

8. Which is the past participle of encerar, used with haber in the perfect tenses?

  • a) enceré
  • b) encerado
  • c) encerando
  • d) encero

9. What does encerar mean in English?

  • a) to wax
  • b) to polish
  • c) to ventilate
  • d) to air out

10. Which sentence is correct?

  • a) Él encera el coche el sábado.
  • b) Él encero el coche el sábado.
  • c) Nosotros encera los esquís antes de la temporada.
  • d) Yo encera el suelo de madera.

Answer key

  1. a) encera — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: encera.

  2. d) enceré — The sentence needs the yo form in the preterite: enceré, for one finished action yesterday.

  3. c) enceraban — The sentence needs the ellos/ellas form in the imperfect: enceraban, for a repeated past habit.

  4. b) enceraremos — The sentence needs the nosotros form in the future: enceraremos.

  5. a) enceraría — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the conditional: enceraría.

  6. d) he encerado — The sentence needs the yo form in the present perfect: he encerado, haber + encerado.

  7. c) enceres — After espero que, the subjunctive is required: the tú present subjunctive is enceres.

  8. b) encerado — The past participle is encerado: he encerado, has encerado, ha encerado. The gerund encerando is used with estar instead.

  9. a) to wax — encerar means to wax. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.

  10. a) Él encera el coche el sábado. — Él encera el coche el sábado. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences mix up the person and the form.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use encerar in everyday conversation?

Start with the phrases in the examples above — especially the common combinations such as Encero el suelo de madera and Encera el coche el sábado. Use the present tense for habits and general facts, and the preterite for things that happened once. Say the sentences aloud until the forms feel automatic, then swap in your own details: your own town, your own family, your own routine.

What is the difference between encerar and pulir?

Encerar means “to wax”, while pulir means “to polish”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use encerar when you mean “to wax” and pulir when you mean “to polish”.

Which tense do I need most with encerar?

The present tense, for habits, routines and general facts — that is where you will use encerar most. The preterite comes next, for things that happened once and ended. The examples on this page use both, plus the imperfect, the future and the present perfect, so you can see the verb across the tenses you actually need.

Is encerar formal or informal?

Encerar is neutral — it is used in both formal and informal Spanish, at home, at work and at school. There is no special formal version of it; the same forms work in a conversation with a friend and in a letter to a company. What changes is the situation, not the verb.

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