Envidiar Examples, Sentences & Quiz

Introduction

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

Envidiar in real example sentences

In the present: everyday use

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

  1. Yo envidio todos los días. — I envy every day.
  2. Tú envidias en el trabajo. — You envy at work.
  3. Él envidia con mi familia. — He envies with my family.
  4. Nosotros envidiamos por la mañana. — We envy 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 yo envidié por la tarde. — Yesterday I envied in the afternoon.
  2. Antes, yo envidiaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to envy every day.
  3. La semana pasada él envidió dos veces. — Last week He envied 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 yo envidiaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will envy without fail.
  2. Si tuviera más tiempo, yo envidiaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would envy right now.
  3. Hoy yo he envidiado dos veces. — Today I have envied twice.

More everyday uses

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

  1. Espero que tú envidies pronto. — I hope You envy soon.
  2. ¡envidia, por favor! — Envy, please!
  3. Ahora mismo yo estoy envidiando. — Right now I am envying.

Envidiar in context

A short dialogue

Ana: «Yo envidio en el trabajo.» — I envy at work. Luis: «¡Qué bien! Yo envidio con mi familia.» — I envy with my family. Ana: «Mañana yo envidiaré sin falta.» — Tomorrow I will envy without fail. Luis: «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo envidiaría ahora mismo.» — If I had more time, I would envy right now. Ana: «Hoy yo he envidiado dos veces.» — Today I have envied twice.

A short paragraph

Ayer yo envidié por la tarde. Antes, yo envidiaba todos los días. Hoy yo he envidiado dos veces. Mañana yo envidiaré sin falta.

Yesterday I envied in the afternoon. In the past, I used to envy every day. Today I have envied twice. Tomorrow I will envy without fail.

Common mistakes with envidiar

1. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer yo envidiaba.

Right: Ayer yo envidié.

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

2. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que tú envidias.

Right: Espero que tú envidies.

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

3. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No envidia.

Right: No envidies.

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

4. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

Wrong: Yo envidiar todos los días.

Right: Yo envidio todos los días.

The infinitive envidiar names the action; it never works as the main verb of a sentence. Conjugate it for the person: yo envidio.

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He envidiando.

Right: He envidiado.

The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he envidiado. The gerund envidiando goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy envidiando»), never with haber.

Quiz: envidiar in use

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

1. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of envidiar in the present indicative?

- (a) envidio
- (b) envidia
- (c) envidias
- (d) envidiamos

2. What is the nosotros/as form of envidiar in the preterite?

- (a) envidió
- (b) envidiamos
- (c) envidié
- (d) envidiaste

3. What is the vosotros/as form of envidiar in the future?

- (a) envidiaré
- (b) envidiará
- (c) envidiarás
- (d) envidiaréis

4. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of envidiar in the present perfect?

- (a) has envidiado
- (b) ha envidiado
- (c) han envidiado
- (d) he envidiado

5. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of envidiar in the imperfect?

- (a) envidiaba
- (b) envidiábamos
- (c) envidiaba
- (d) envidiabas

6. What is the gerund of envidiar?

- (a) envidio
- (b) envidiado
- (c) envidiando
- (d) envidiar

7. What is the past participle of envidiar?

- (a) envidiando
- (b) envidié
- (c) envidiado
- (d) envidiar

8. Which sentence uses envidiar correctly?

- (a) *Yo envidia todos los días.*
- (b) *Yo envidiar todos los días.*
- (c) *Yo envidias todos los días.*
- (d) *Yo envidio todos los días.* — I envy every day.

9. Which sentence uses envidiar correctly?

- (a) *Ayer yo envidié por la tarde.* — Yesterday I envied in the afternoon.
- (b) *Ayer yo envidiaba por la tarde.*
- (c) *Ayer yo envidio por la tarde.*
- (d) *Ayer yo envidiar por la tarde.*

10. What does envidiar mean?

- (a) to envy
- (b) to get excited
- (c) to excite
- (d) to balance

Answer key

1. (b) — In the present indicative, the él/ella/Ud. form of envidiar is envidia. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (b) — In the preterite, the nosotros/as form of envidiar is envidiamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (d) — In the future, the vosotros/as form of envidiar is envidiaréis. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (c) — In the present perfect, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of envidiar is han envidiado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (a) — In the imperfect, the él/ella/Ud. form of envidiar is envidiaba. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (c) — The gerund of envidiar is envidiando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy envidiando». 7. (c) — The past participle of envidiar is envidiado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he envidiado». 8. (d) — Only this sentence pairs the right person with the right form of envidiar; the others mix a person with another person's form, or use the infinitive instead of a conjugated form. 9. (a) — Only this sentence pairs the right person with the right form of envidiar; the others mix a person with another person's form, or use the infinitive instead of a conjugated form. 10. (a) — envidiar means «to envy».

Frequently asked questions

How do you say 'I envy' in Spanish?

Say «Yo envidio 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 envied' about yesterday?

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

Is envidiar reflexive?

No — envidiar is not reflexive. It conjugates without a pronoun: yo envidio, tú envidias, él envidia. If you see a -se form of a similar verb, that is a different verb with its own meaning.

Which tense do learners find hardest with envidiar?

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

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