Encontrar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

encontrar — to find — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Encontrar means to find and to meet: encontrar las llaves, encontrar a un amigo. It is an o → ue stem-changing verb (encuentro, encuentras, encuentra) and it is reflexive as encontrarse — to meet up or to find oneself. The personal a appears before people found. On this page you will find encontrar in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself.

Example sentences with encontrar

In the present tense

  • “Yo encuentro mis llaves en el bolsillo.” — “I find my keys in my pocket.”
  • “Ella encuentra a su amiga en el mercado.” — “She meets her friend at the market.”
  • “Nosotros encontramos la solución juntos.” — “We find the solution together.”
  • “Ellos encuentran trabajo fácilmente.” — “They find work easily.”
  • “¿Tú encuentras el libro interesante?” — “Do you find the book interesting?”
  • “Vosotros encontráis aparcamiento cerca?” — “Do you find parking nearby?”

In the preterite

  • “Ayer yo encontré mi cartera en el taxi.” — “Yesterday I found my wallet in the taxi.”
  • “Ella encontró un billete de veinte euros.” — “She found a twenty-euro note.”
  • “Nosotros encontramos un restaurante estupendo.” — “We found a wonderful restaurant.”
  • “Ellos encontraron a sus primos en la estación.” — “They met their cousins at the station.”
  • “¿Tú encontraste las gafas?” — “Did you find the glasses?”
  • “El niño encontró un tesoro en el jardín.” — “The child found a treasure in the garden.”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present perfect — the four tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “De niño, yo encontraba mis llaves en el bolsillo.” — “As a child, I used to find my keys in my pocket.”
  • “Mañana, yo encontraré mis llaves en el bolsillo.” — “Tomorrow, I will find my keys in my pocket.”
  • “Si pudiera, yo encontraría mis llaves en el bolsillo.” — “If I could, I would find my keys in my pocket.”
  • “Yo he encontrado mis llaves en el bolsillo.” — “I have found my keys in my pocket.”

Encontrar in context

Cada día, yo encuentro mis llaves en el bolsillo. Mi amigo también encuentra mis llaves en el bolsillo cuando tiene tiempo. Después, yo encuentro mis llaves de nuevo por la tarde. Es una parte normal de mi rutina, y por eso el presente de encontrar es la primera forma que conviene aprender.

Ayer, yo encontré mis llaves en el bolsillo. Mi amigo encontró mis llaves en el bolsillo también, y por la noche yo encontré mis llaves otra vez. Fue un día normal, pero es justo en días así cuando el pretérito de encontrar aparece una y otra vez: una acción terminada, un momento concreto, y la historia sigue.

Common mistakes with encontrar

Mistake 1

Wrong: Yo encontro mis llaves.

Right: Yo encuentro mis llaves.

Encontrar changes o to ue: encuentro, not encontro.

Mistake 2

Wrong: Encontré a el libro — wrong personal a.

Right: Yo encuentro el libro.

The personal a is for people, not things: encontrar el libro, but encontrar a María.

Mistake 3

Wrong: Using the plain stem instead of the changed stem.

Right: Use the changed stem in the stressed forms: encuentro.

The o → ue stem change applies to encontrar in the present — the yo form is encuentro, not the infinitive stem.

Mistake 4

Wrong: Treating encontrar as a regular verb.

Right: Learn the irregular forms: present encuentro, preterite encontré.

encontrar is irregular — its present and preterite do not follow the regular endings, so they have to be memorised as a set.

Quiz: encontrar in everyday use

Ten questions on encontrar across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

1. What is the yo form of encontrar in the present tense?

  • A) encuentro
  • B) encuentras
  • C) encuentra
  • D) encontramos

Answer: A — The yo form in the present tense is encuentro.

2. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of encontrar in the present tense?

  • A) encuentro
  • B) encuentras
  • C) encontramos
  • D) encuentra

Answer: D — The él/ella/Ud. form in the present tense is encuentra.

3. What is the yo form of encontrar in the preterite?

  • A) encontró
  • B) encontramos
  • C) encontré
  • D) encontraste

Answer: C — The yo form in the preterite is encontré.

4. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of encontrar in the preterite?

  • A) encontró
  • B) encontraron
  • C) encontré
  • D) encontraste

Answer: B — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form in the preterite is encontraron.

5. What is the yo form of encontrar in the imperfect?

  • A) encontraba
  • B) encontrabas
  • C) encontraba
  • D) encontrábamos

Answer: A — The yo form in the imperfect is encontraba.

6. What is the tú form of encontrar in the future?

  • A) encontraré
  • B) encontrará
  • C) encontraremos
  • D) encontrarás

Answer: D — The tú form in the future is encontrarás.

7. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of encontrar in the conditional?

  • A) encontrarías
  • B) encontraríamos
  • C) encontraría
  • D) encontraría

Answer: C — The él/ella/Ud. form in the conditional is encontraría.

8. What is the nosotros/as form of encontrar in the present perfect?

  • A) ha encontrado
  • B) hemos encontrado
  • C) he encontrado
  • D) has encontrado

Answer: B — The nosotros/as form in the present perfect is hemos encontrado.

9. Fill in the blank: “Yo ___ mis llaves en el bolsillo.” (I find my keys in my pocket.)

  • A) encuentro
  • B) encuentras
  • C) encuentra
  • D) encontramos

Answer: A — The sentence needs encuentro.

10. Which sentence is correct?

  • A) Yo encuentro mis llaves.
  • B) Yo encontro mis llaves.

Answer: A — Encontrar changes o to ue: encuentro, not encontro.

Frequently asked questions

What does encontrar mean?

encontrar means “to find” in English. Encontrar means to find and to meet: encontrar las llaves, encontrar a un amigo. It is an o → ue stem-changing verb (encuentro, encuentras, encuentra) and it is reflexive as encontrarse — to meet up or to find oneself. The personal a appears before people found.

Is encontrar regular?

No. encontrar is an o → ue stem-changing irregular -ar verb (irregular in present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative). It is irregular in present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, and those forms have to be learnt as a set rather than built by rule. The full conjugation page shows every tense.

When do I use encontrar in the past — preterite or imperfect?

Use the preterite — encontré, encontraste, encontró — for a finished action at a specific moment, and the imperfect — encontraba, encontrabas, encontraba — for what was happening, what used to happen, or the background. The same rule applies to encontrar as to every Spanish verb; the tense changes the meaning, not the verb.

How can I practise encontrar?

Start with the examples above, say them aloud, then take the quiz on this page. For more practice, use the Spanish Verb Quiz and the Encontrar Conjugator, and read the full conjugation page for encontrar to see the verb in every tense.

Say it yourself

Reading is not enough — say the verb aloud before you move on. Use the forms from the tables on this page and answer these three prompts as full sentences. First, say a sentence about yourself in the present tense: “Yo encuentro…”. Second, say a sentence about yesterday in the preterite: “Ayer yo encontré…”. Third, say a sentence about tomorrow in the future: “Mañana yo encontraré…”. If you can answer all three without looking at the tables, the forms are starting to stick. If you hesitate, go back to the examples above, read them aloud twice, and try again. Speaking the forms is what turns a table you have seen into a verb you can use.

Related pages