Esquiar Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Esquiar means “to ski”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Esquiar means to ski, and it is used for skiing down a mountain, in a resort or on a school trip. It is fully regular, and it pairs with en la nieve, en los Pirineos and con los esquís. This page shows esquiar 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 esquío en los Pirineos en invierno.” — I ski in the Pyrenees in winter.
Esquiar in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how esquiar 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 esquiar in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Esquío en los Pirineos en invierno.” — I ski in the Pyrenees in winter.
“¿Tú esquías con los amigos en la estación?” — Do you ski with friends at the resort?
“Esquía por la pista azul.” — He/she skis down the blue slope.
“Esquiamos en la nieve por la mañana.” — We ski in the snow in the morning.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show esquiar in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo esquié en los Pirineos en invierno.” — Yesterday, I skied in the Pyrenees in winter. (preterite)
“Él esquiaba con los amigos en la estación todos los días.” — He used to ski with friends at the resort 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 esquiar stays the same.
“Nosotros esquiaremos por la pista azul mañana.” — We will ski down the blue slope tomorrow. (future)
“¿Tú has esquiado en la nieve por la mañana?” — Have you skied in the snow in the morning? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Esquiáis en los Pirineos en invierno.” — You ski in the Pyrenees in winter.
“Esquían con los amigos en la estación.” — They ski with friends at the resort.
“Esquío por la pista azul.” — I ski down the blue slope.
“Esquía en la nieve por la mañana.” — He/she skis in the snow in the morning.
Esquiar 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 esquiar appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú esquías en los Pirineos en invierno?” — Do you ski in the Pyrenees in winter?
Carlos: “Sí, yo esquío en los Pirineos en invierno.” — Yes, I ski in the Pyrenees in winter.
Lucía: “Nosotros esquiamos con los amigos en la estación.” — We ski with friends at the resort.
Carlos: “Y ellos esquían por la pista azul.” — And they ski down the blue slope.
Lucía: “Vosotros esquiáis en la nieve por la mañana.” — You ski in the snow in the morning.
Carlos: “Sí, y él esquía con los amigos en la estación.” — Yes, and he skis with friends at the resort.
A short paragraph
Lucía esquía en los Pirineos en invierno, y Carlos esquía con los amigos en la estación. Nosotros esquiamos por la pista azul, y ellos esquían en la nieve por la mañana. Yo esquío por la pista azul, y mi padre esquía en la nieve por la mañana. Esquiar is part of everyday life, because to ski is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with esquiar
These are the errors learners actually make with esquiar. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo esquía en los Pirineos en invierno.” Right: “Yo esquío en los Pirineos en invierno.” Why: The person matters: esquía is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is esquío. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
Wrong: “Ayer yo esquío con los amigos en la estación.” Right: “Ayer yo esquié con los amigos en la estación.” Why: The present and the preterite are different tenses: esquío is happening now, while esquié is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
Wrong: “Treating esquiar and patinar as identical in every context.” Right: “Esquiar means to ski, while patinar means to skate.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: esquiar fits sentences such as Esquío en los Pirineos en invierno, while patinar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy esquiado con los amigos en la estación.” Right: “Yo he esquiado con los amigos en la estación.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he esquiado, has esquiado, ha esquiado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo esquié por la pista azul todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo esquiaba por la pista azul todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (esquiaba), not the preterite. The preterite (esquié) is for one finished action.
Quiz: esquiar in use
Ten questions on esquiar in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ en los Pirineos en invierno.” (In the pyrenees in winter.)
- (a) esquiáis
- (b) esquío
- (c) esquías
Answer: esquiáis — The vosotros/as form of esquiar in the present is esquiáis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ con los amigos en la estación.” (With friends at the resort.)
- (a) esquío
- (b) esquías
- (c) esquían
Answer: esquían — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of esquiar in the present is esquían.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ en los Pirineos en invierno.” (In the pyrenees in winter.)
- (a) esquió
- (b) esquié
- (c) esquiaste
Answer: esquié — The yo form of esquiar in the preterite is esquié.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ con los amigos en la estación.” (With friends at the resort.)
- (a) esquiaba
- (b) esquiabas
- (c) esquiábamos
Answer: esquiaba — The él/ella/Ud. form of esquiar in the imperfect is esquiaba.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ por la pista azul.” (Down the blue slope.)
- (a) esquiaré
- (b) esquiarás
- (c) esquiaremos
Answer: esquiaremos — The nosotros/as form of esquiar in the future is esquiaremos.
6. What does esquiar mean in English?
- (a) to dive, to snorkel
- (b) to ski
- (c) to skate
Answer: to ski — Esquiar means “to ski”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo esquío en los Pirineos en invierno.
- (b) Ellos esquía en los Pirineos en invierno.
- (c) Yo esquío con los amigos en la estación ayer.
Answer: Yo esquío en los Pirineos en invierno. — “Yo esquío en los Pirineos en invierno.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I ski in the Pyrenees in winter.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo esquían en los Pirineos en invierno.
- (b) Yo esquié en los Pirineos en invierno.
- (c) Yo esquío en los Pirineos en invierno.
Answer: Yo esquío en los Pirineos en invierno. — “Yo esquío en los Pirineos en invierno.” 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 esquiar in the present tense?
- (a) esquías
- (b) esquiamos
- (c) esquío
Answer: esquiamos — The nosotros form is esquiamos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo esquié en los Pirineos en invierno.
- (b) Nosotros esquiaremos en los Pirineos en invierno mañana.
- (c) Yo esquío en los Pirineos en invierno.
Answer: Yo esquío en los Pirineos en invierno. — “Yo esquío en los Pirineos en invierno.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I ski' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo esquío en los Pirineos en invierno'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo esquío en los Pirineos en invierno todos los días'.
How do you say 'I ski' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo esquié con los amigos en la estación'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo esquiaba con los amigos en la estación todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo he esquiado con los amigos en la estación'.
What is the difference between esquiar and patinar?
Esquiar means to ski, while patinar means to skate. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use esquiar when you mean to ski, as in Esquío en los Pirineos en invierno.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of esquiar — every tense of esquiar in one place.
- Esquiar in the present 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 esquiar and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of esquiar until they are automatic.