Establecer Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

establecer means to establish, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Establecer means to establish, and it covers establishing a company, setting rules, establishing a routine and establishing contact. It is a -cer spelling-change verb, and it is more formal than poner or crear. This page puts establecer to work: twelve example sentences in different tenses and persons, grouped by use, then two short dialogues where the verb appears naturally, then the common mistakes to avoid, and finally a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every Spanish form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for establecer, and the full tables are on the establecer conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo establezco una empresa en Madrid. — I establish a company in Madrid.
  2. Él establece las reglas del juego. — He/she establishes the rules of the game.
  3. Ayer, yo establecí una rutina diaria. — Yesterday, I established a daily routine.
  4. Antes, nosotros establecíamos contacto con el cliente. — Before, we used to establish contact with the client.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú establecerás una empresa en Madrid. — Tomorrow, you will establish a company in Madrid.
  2. Yo establecería las reglas del juego. — I would establish the rules of the game.
  3. Él ha establecido una rutina diaria. — He/she has established a daily routine.
  4. Espero que él establezca contacto con el cliente. — I hope he/she establishes contact with the client.

With other people

  1. Nosotros establecemos una empresa en Madrid. — We establish a company in Madrid.
  2. Vosotros establecéis las reglas del juego. — You all establish the rules of the game.
  3. Antes, ellos establecían una rutina diaria. — Before, they used to establish a daily routine.
  4. Mañana, él establecerá contacto con el cliente. — Tomorrow, he/she will establish contact with the client.

Establecer in context

Two short dialogues that use establecer the way people really use it. Read them aloud — the verb forms will stick much faster in a conversation than in a table.

Dialogue 1: today and yesterday

  • Ana: "Hola, ¿qué tal?" — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Luis: "Hoy establezco una empresa en Madrid." — "Today I establish a company in Madrid."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, establecí una rutina diaria." — "Yesterday I established a daily routine."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú establecerás las reglas del juego?" — "And tomorrow, will you will establish the rules of the game?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros establecemos contacto con el cliente." — "Tomorrow we establish contact with the client."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo establecería las reglas del juego si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would establish the rules of the game if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él establezca una empresa en Madrid." — "I hope he establishes a company in Madrid."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha establecido una rutina diaria." — "Surely. He has already has established a daily routine."
  • Marta: "Vale, nos vemos mañana." — "OK, see you tomorrow."

Notice how the same verb changes with the tense: the present for the plan, the conditional for the wish, the subjunctive after espero que, and the present perfect for what has already happened. That is the whole point of learning a verb across its tenses, not just in one form.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo establece una empresa en Madrid. — Right: Yo establezco una empresa en Madrid. — The person matters: establece is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is establezco. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo estableco las reglas del juego. — Right: Yo establezco las reglas del juego. — In the present, the correct first-person form is establezco, not estableco. establecer is a spelling-change verb: c becomes zc before o and a, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
  3. Wrong: Treating establecer and crear as identical in every context. — Right: Establecer means to establish, while crear means to create, the close verb. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: establecer fits sentences such as Establezco una empresa en Madrid, while crear belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy establecido las reglas del juego. — Right: Yo he establecido las reglas del juego. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he establecido, has establecido, ha establecido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo establecí una rutina diaria todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo establecía una rutina diaria todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (establecía), not the preterite. The preterite (establecí) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on establecer: four on the forms, three on the meaning, and three on spotting the correct sentence. Check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ una empresa en Madrid. (present tense) A. establezco B. estableces C. establece D. establecemos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ las reglas del juego. (preterite tense) A. establecí B. estableciste C. establecimos D. estableció

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ una rutina diaria. (future tense) A. establecerá B. estableceremos C. establecerás D. estableceré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ contacto con el cliente. (imperfect tense) A. establecíais B. establecíamos C. establecía D. establecías

  5. What does "Yo establezco una empresa en Madrid." mean in English? A. I establish a company in Madrid. B. I establish the rules of the game. C. I establish a daily routine. D. I establish contact with the client.

  6. What does "Él estableció las reglas del juego." mean in English? A. He/she established a company in Madrid. B. He/she established a daily routine. C. He/she established contact with the client. D. He/she established the rules of the game.

  7. What does "Nosotros estableceremos una rutina diaria." mean in English? A. We will establish the rules of the game. B. We will establish contact with the client. C. We will establish a daily routine. D. We will establish a company in Madrid.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo estableco las reglas del juego. B. Yo establece las reglas del juego. C. Yo establezco las reglas del juego.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él establecí una rutina diaria. B. Él estableció una rutina diaria. C. Él establecieron una rutina diaria.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo establezca contacto con el cliente. B. Yo estableca contacto con el cliente. C. Yo establezca contacto con el cliente.

Answer key

  1. establezco — The yo present form of establecer is establezco.
  2. estableció — The el preterite form of establecer is estableció.
  3. establecerás — The tu future form of establecer is establecerás.
  4. establecíamos — The nosotros imperfect form of establecer is establecíamos.
  5. I establish a company in Madrid. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form establezco, so the English is "I establish a company in Madrid." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she established the rules of the game. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form estableció, so the English is "He/she established the rules of the game." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will establish a daily routine. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form estableceremos, so the English is "We will establish a daily routine." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo establezco las reglas del juego. — The correct sentence is "Yo establezco las reglas del juego." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él estableció una rutina diaria. — The correct sentence is "Él estableció una rutina diaria." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo establezca contacto con el cliente. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo establezca contacto con el cliente." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

What does establecer mean, and when do I use it?

Establecer means to establish. Establecer means to establish, and it covers establishing a company, setting rules, establishing a routine and establishing contact. It is a -cer spelling-change verb, and it is more formal than poner or crear. A good first sentence to remember is Yo establezco una empresa en Madrid. — "I establish a company in Madrid."

What is the difference between establecer and crear?

Establecer means to establish, while crear means to create, the close verb. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use establecer when you mean to establish, as in Yo establezco las reglas del juego., and use crear for to create, the close verb.

How do I say "I establish" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo establecí las reglas del juego.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo establecía una rutina diaria.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he establecido las reglas del juego..

How do I practise establecer?

Start with the establecer conjugation page for the full tables, then the establecer in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Spelling change: c becomes zc before o and a, so yo establezco and the subjunctive establezca.

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