Enterrar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

enterrar means "to bury" 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. Enterrar means to bury: enterrar el tesoro, enterrar las semillas. It is used literally for people and objects, and figuratively for the past: enterrar el pasado. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by use, 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 enterrar; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the enterrar present tense page.

enterrar in everyday use: examples with translations

Everyday present uses

How the verb sounds in the present, the future and in hypotheticals — the forms you will use most often.

  1. Yo entierro el tesoro en el jardín — "I bury the treasure in the garden"
  2. Mi amigo entierra a su abuelo en el cementerio — "My friend buries his grandfather in the cemetery"
  3. Mañana, tú enterrarás las semillas en la tierra — "Tomorrow, you will bury the seeds in the soil"
  4. Yo enterraría el pasado para siempre si pudiera — "I would bury the past for ever if I could"

Talking about the past

The same verb in the past: one finished action, a habit, something that has just happened, and something that had already happened.

  1. Ayer, yo enterré el tesoro en el jardín — "Yesterday, I buried the treasure in the garden"
  2. Antes, nosotros enterrábamos a su abuelo en el cementerio — "Before, we used to bury his grandfather in the cemetery"
  3. Él ha enterrado las semillas en la tierra — "He has buried the seeds in the soil"
  4. Yo ya había enterrado el pasado para siempre antes de salir — "I already had buried the past for ever before leaving"

Wishes, conditions and commands

The verb after espero que, in si clauses, as a command — and in the conditional perfect, for what would have happened.

  1. Espero que él entierre el tesoro en el jardín — "I hope he buries the treasure in the garden"
  2. Si yo enterrara a su abuelo en el cementerio, todo cambiaría — "If I buried his grandfather in the cemetery, everything would change"
  3. Entierra las semillas en la tierra. — "Bury the seeds in the soil."
  4. Yo habría enterrado el pasado para siempre con más tiempo — "I would have buried the past for ever with more time"

enterrar in conversation

Two short dialogues that use enterrar 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 it.

  • Lucía: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Lucía: Yo entierro el tesoro en el jardín — "I bury the treasure in the garden"
  • Marcos: Él entierra a su abuelo en el cementerio — "He buries his grandfather in the cemetery"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo enterré las semillas en la tierra — "Yesterday, I buried the seeds in the soil"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú enterrarás el pasado para siempre — "Tomorrow, you will bury the past for ever"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Entierra una cápsula del tiempo. — "Bury a time capsule."
  • Lucía: Él ha enterrado el tesoro en el jardín — "He has buried the treasure in the garden"
  • Marcos: Espero que él entierre a su abuelo en el cementerio — "I hope he buries his grandfather in the cemetery"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo enterraba las semillas en la tierra — "Before, I used to bury the seeds in the soil"

Common mistakes with enterrar

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

✗ *Yo enterro el pasado para siempre.

✓ Correct: Yo entierro el pasado para siempre.

enterrar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is entierro, not enterro.

✗ *Espero que él entierra el pasado para siempre

✓ Correct: Espero que él entierre el pasado para siempre

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él entierre el pasado para siempre — not the indicative Espero que él entierra el pasado para siempre.

✗ *Ayer, yo entierro una cápsula del tiempo

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo enterré una cápsula del tiempo

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo enterré una cápsula del tiempo.

✗ *De niño, yo enterré el tesoro en el jardín todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo enterraba el tesoro en el jardín todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo enterraba el tesoro en el jardín todos los días.

✗ *Yo entierro en las semillas en la tierra.

✓ Correct: Yo entierro las semillas en la tierra.

enterrar takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo entierro las semillas en la tierra.

Quiz: enterrar in use

Ten questions on enterrar — 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: Yo ______ el tesoro en el jardín — "I bury the treasure in the garden" (present) A. entierra B. enterramos C. entierro D. entierras

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ a su abuelo en el cementerio — "Yesterday, I buried his grandfather in the cemetery" (preterite) A. enterramos B. enterré C. enterraste D. enterró

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ las semillas en la tierra — "Before, we used to bury the seeds in the soil" (imperfect) A. enterrabais B. enterrábamos C. enterraba D. enterrabas

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ el pasado para siempre — "Tomorrow, you will bury the past for ever" (future) A. enterrarás B. enterraré C. enterrará D. enterraremos

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ una cápsula del tiempo — "I would bury a time capsule" (conditional) A. enterraríais B. enterraría C. enterrarías D. enterraríamos

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ el tesoro en el jardín — "He has buried the treasure in the garden" (present perfect) A. he enterrado B. has enterrado C. hemos enterrado D. ha enterrado

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ a su abuelo en el cementerio — "I hope he buries his grandfather in the cemetery" (present subjunctive) A. entierres B. enterremos C. enterréis D. entierre

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ las semillas en la tierra. — "Bury the seeds in the soil." (affirmative imperative) A. enterrad B. entierra C. entierre D. enterremos

  9. Which is the gerund of enterrar, used with estar for the progressive? A. enterrado B. entierro C. enterré D. enterrando

  10. What does enterrar mean in English? A. to draw B. to bury C. to enjoy D. to cross

Answer key

  1. entierro — The present form for yo is entierro.
  2. enterré — The preterite form for yo is enterré.
  3. enterrábamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is enterrábamos.
  4. enterrarás — The future form for tú is enterrarás.
  5. enterraría — The conditional form for yo is enterraría.
  6. ha enterrado — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha enterrado.
  7. entierre — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is entierre.
  8. entierra — The affirmative imperative form is entierra.
  9. enterrando — The gerund of enterrar is enterrando: estoy enterrando. The participle enterrado is used with haber instead.
  10. to bury — enterrar means to bury.

Frequently asked questions

What does enterrar mean in English?

enterrar means to bury. For example: Yo entierro el tesoro en el jardín — "I bury the treasure in the garden". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with enterrar?

enterrar takes its complement directly, with no preposition, as in the examples above. Adding an extra preposition is a common learner error.

Is enterrar regular?

No. enterrar is a stem-changing -ar verb (e → ie). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: entierro, entierras, entierra and entierran — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: enterramos, enterráis.

How do I practise enterrar?

Start with the present tense table on the full conjugation page, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure, and come back to the sentences above until you can say them without looking.

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