Entretener Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Entretener means “to entertain”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Entretener means to entertain, and it is used for entertaining children, entertaining guests and keeping someone busy. It follows the pattern of tener, with the present entretengo, the preterite entretuve and the future entretendré. This page shows entretener in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct present-tense form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo entretengo a los niños con un juego.” — I entertain the children with a game.
Entretener in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how entretener is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.
In the present: everyday use
These sentences use entretener in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Entretengo a los niños con un juego.” — I entertain the children with a game.
“¿Tú entretienes a los invitados en la fiesta?” — Do you entertain the guests at the party?
“Entretiene a su abuela con historias.” — He/she entertains his grandmother with stories.
“Entretenemos al público con música.” — We entertain the audience with music.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show entretener in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo entretuve a los niños con un juego.” — Yesterday, I entertained the children with a game. (preterite)
“Él entretenía a los invitados en la fiesta todos los días.” — He used to entertain the guests at the party every day. (imperfect)
Plans and things already done
These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of entretener stays the same.
“Nosotros entretendremos a su abuela con historias mañana.” — We will entertain his grandmother with stories tomorrow. (future)
“¿Tú has entretenido al público con música?” — Have you entertained the audience with music? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Entretenéis a los niños con un juego.” — You entertain the children with a game.
“Entretienen a los invitados en la fiesta.” — They entertain the guests at the party.
“Entretengo a su abuela con historias.” — I entertain his grandmother with stories.
“Entretiene al público con música.” — He/she entertains the audience with music.
Entretener in context
Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how entretener appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú entretienes a los niños con un juego?” — Do you entertain the children with a game?
Carlos: “Sí, yo entretengo a los niños con un juego.” — Yes, I entertain the children with a game.
Lucía: “Nosotros entretenemos a los invitados en la fiesta.” — We entertain the guests at the party.
Carlos: “Y ellos entretienen a su abuela con historias.” — And they entertain his grandmother with stories.
Lucía: “Vosotros entretenéis al público con música.” — You entertain the audience with music.
Carlos: “Sí, y él entretiene a los invitados en la fiesta.” — Yes, and he entertains the guests at the party.
A short paragraph
Lucía entretiene a los niños con un juego, y Carlos entretiene a los invitados en la fiesta. Nosotros entretenemos a su abuela con historias, y ellos entretienen al público con música. Yo entretengo a su abuela con historias, y mi padre entretiene al público con música. Entretener is part of everyday life, because to entertain is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with entretener
These are the errors learners actually make with entretener. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo entretiene a los niños con un juego.” Right: “Yo entretengo a los niños con un juego.” Why: The person matters: entretiene is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is entretengo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
Wrong: “Yo entreteno a los invitados en la fiesta.” Right: “Yo entretengo a los invitados en la fiesta.” Why: Entretener is a stem-changing verb (e → ie), so the stem changes in the present singular and third-person plural. The nosotros form keeps the original stem.
Wrong: “Treating entretener and divertir as identical in every context.” Right: “Entretener means to entertain, while divertir means to amuse.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: entretener fits sentences such as Entretengo a los niños con un juego, while divertir belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy entretenido a los invitados en la fiesta.” Right: “Yo he entretenido a los invitados en la fiesta.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he entretenido, has entretenido, ha entretenido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo entretuve a su abuela con historias todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo entretenía a su abuela con historias todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (entretenía), not the preterite. The preterite (entretuve) is for one finished action.
Quiz: entretener in use
Ten questions on entretener in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ a los niños con un juego.” (The children with a game.)
- (a) entretenéis
- (b) entretengo
- (c) entretienes
Answer: entretenéis — The vosotros/as form of entretener in the present is entretenéis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ a los invitados en la fiesta.” (The guests at the party.)
- (a) entretengo
- (b) entretienes
- (c) entretienen
Answer: entretienen — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of entretener in the present is entretienen.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ a los niños con un juego.” (The children with a game.)
- (a) entretuvo
- (b) entretuve
- (c) entretuviste
Answer: entretuve — The yo form of entretener in the preterite is entretuve.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ a los invitados en la fiesta.” (The guests at the party.)
- (a) entretenía
- (b) entretenías
- (c) entreteníamos
Answer: entretenía — The él/ella/Ud. form of entretener in the imperfect is entretenía.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ a su abuela con historias.” (His grandmother with stories.)
- (a) entretendré
- (b) entretendrás
- (c) entretendremos
Answer: entretendremos — The nosotros/as form of entretener in the future is entretendremos.
6. What does entretener mean in English?
- (a) to retain, to hold back
- (b) to entertain
- (c) to amuse
Answer: to entertain — Entretener means “to entertain”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo entretengo a los niños con un juego.
- (b) Ellos entretiene a los niños con un juego.
- (c) Yo entretengo a los invitados en la fiesta ayer.
Answer: Yo entretengo a los niños con un juego. — “Yo entretengo a los niños con un juego.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I entertain the children with a game.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo entretienen a los niños con un juego.
- (b) Yo entretuve a los niños con un juego.
- (c) Yo entretengo a los niños con un juego.
Answer: Yo entretengo a los niños con un juego. — “Yo entretengo a los niños con un juego.” is the correct translation. The second option uses the wrong person's form, and the third uses the preterite.
9. What is the nosotros form of entretener in the present tense?
- (a) entretienes
- (b) entretenemos
- (c) entretengo
Answer: entretenemos — The nosotros form is entretenemos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo entretuve a los niños con un juego.
- (b) Nosotros entretendremos a los niños con un juego mañana.
- (c) Yo entretengo a los niños con un juego.
Answer: Yo entretengo a los niños con un juego. — “Yo entretengo a los niños con un juego.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I entertain' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo entretengo a los niños con un juego'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo entretengo a los niños con un juego todos los días'.
How do you say 'I entertain' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo entretuve a los invitados en la fiesta'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo entretenía a los invitados en la fiesta todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo he entretenido a los invitados en la fiesta'.
What is the difference between entretener and divertir?
Entretener means to entertain, while divertir means to amuse. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use entretener when you mean to entertain, as in Entretengo a los niños con un juego.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of entretener — every tense of entretener in one place.
- Entretener in the preterite tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on entretener and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of entretener until they are automatic.