Estacionar Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Estacionar means “to park”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Estacionar means to park, and it is the usual verb for parking in Latin America, while aparcar is more common in Spain. It is fully regular, and it is also used for stationing troops or vehicles in a place. This page shows estacionar 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 estaciono el coche en la plaza.” — I park the car in the square.
Estacionar in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how estacionar 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 estacionar in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Estaciono el coche en la plaza.” — I park the car in the square.
“¿Tú estacionas delante del hospital?” — Do you park in front of the hospital?
“Estaciona en el aparcamiento del centro.” — He/she parks in the car park in the centre.
“Estacionamos cerca del aeropuerto.” — We park near the airport.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show estacionar in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo estacioné el coche en la plaza.” — Yesterday, I parked the car in the square. (preterite)
“Él estacionaba delante del hospital todos los días.” — He used to park in front of the hospital 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 estacionar stays the same.
“Nosotros estacionaremos en el aparcamiento del centro mañana.” — We will park in the car park in the centre tomorrow. (future)
“¿Tú has estacionado cerca del aeropuerto?” — Have you parked near the airport? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Estacionáis el coche en la plaza.” — You park the car in the square.
“Estacionan delante del hospital.” — They park in front of the hospital.
“Estaciono en el aparcamiento del centro.” — I park in the car park in the centre.
“Estaciona cerca del aeropuerto.” — He/she parks near the airport.
Estacionar 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 estacionar appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú estacionas el coche en la plaza?” — Do you park the car in the square?
Carlos: “Sí, yo estaciono el coche en la plaza.” — Yes, I park the car in the square.
Lucía: “Nosotros estacionamos delante del hospital.” — We park in front of the hospital.
Carlos: “Y ellos estacionan en el aparcamiento del centro.” — And they park in the car park in the centre.
Lucía: “Vosotros estacionáis cerca del aeropuerto.” — You park near the airport.
Carlos: “Sí, y él estaciona delante del hospital.” — Yes, and he parks in front of the hospital.
A short paragraph
Lucía estaciona el coche en la plaza, y Carlos estaciona delante del hospital. Nosotros estacionamos en el aparcamiento del centro, y ellos estacionan cerca del aeropuerto. Yo estaciono en el aparcamiento del centro, y mi padre estaciona cerca del aeropuerto. Estacionar is part of everyday life, because to park is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with estacionar
These are the errors learners actually make with estacionar. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo estaciona el coche en la plaza.” Right: “Yo estaciono el coche en la plaza.” Why: The person matters: estaciona is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is estaciono. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
Wrong: “Ayer yo estaciono delante del hospital.” Right: “Ayer yo estacioné delante del hospital.” Why: The present and the preterite are different tenses: estaciono is happening now, while estacioné is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
Wrong: “Treating estacionar and aparcar as identical in every context.” Right: “Estacionar means to park, while aparcar means to park.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: estacionar fits sentences such as Estaciono el coche en la plaza, while aparcar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy estacionado delante del hospital.” Right: “Yo he estacionado delante del hospital.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he estacionado, has estacionado, ha estacionado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo estacioné en el aparcamiento del centro todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo estacionaba en el aparcamiento del centro todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (estacionaba), not the preterite. The preterite (estacioné) is for one finished action.
Quiz: estacionar in use
Ten questions on estacionar in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ el coche en la plaza.” (The car in the square.)
- (a) estacionáis
- (b) estaciono
- (c) estacionas
Answer: estacionáis — The vosotros/as form of estacionar in the present is estacionáis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ delante del hospital.” (In front of the hospital.)
- (a) estaciono
- (b) estacionas
- (c) estacionan
Answer: estacionan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of estacionar in the present is estacionan.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ el coche en la plaza.” (The car in the square.)
- (a) estacionó
- (b) estacioné
- (c) estacionaste
Answer: estacioné — The yo form of estacionar in the preterite is estacioné.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ delante del hospital.” (In front of the hospital.)
- (a) estacionaba
- (b) estacionabas
- (c) estacionábamos
Answer: estacionaba — The él/ella/Ud. form of estacionar in the imperfect is estacionaba.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ en el aparcamiento del centro.” (In the car park in the centre.)
- (a) estacionaré
- (b) estacionarás
- (c) estacionaremos
Answer: estacionaremos — The nosotros/as form of estacionar in the future is estacionaremos.
6. What does estacionar mean in English?
- (a) to brake
- (b) to park
- (c) to start (a vehicle), to pull out
Answer: to park — Estacionar means “to park”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo estaciono el coche en la plaza.
- (b) Ellos estaciona el coche en la plaza.
- (c) Yo estaciono delante del hospital ayer.
Answer: Yo estaciono el coche en la plaza. — “Yo estaciono el coche en la plaza.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I park the car in the square.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo estacionan el coche en la plaza.
- (b) Yo estacioné el coche en la plaza.
- (c) Yo estaciono el coche en la plaza.
Answer: Yo estaciono el coche en la plaza. — “Yo estaciono el coche en la plaza.” 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 estacionar in the present tense?
- (a) estacionas
- (b) estacionamos
- (c) estaciono
Answer: estacionamos — The nosotros form is estacionamos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo estacioné el coche en la plaza.
- (b) Nosotros estacionaremos el coche en la plaza mañana.
- (c) Yo estaciono el coche en la plaza.
Answer: Yo estaciono el coche en la plaza. — “Yo estaciono el coche en la plaza.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I park' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo estaciono el coche en la plaza'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo estaciono el coche en la plaza todos los días'.
How do you say 'I park' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo estacioné delante del hospital'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo estacionaba delante del hospital todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo he estacionado delante del hospital'.
What is the difference between estacionar and aparcar?
Estacionar means to park, while aparcar means to park. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use estacionar when you mean to park, as in Estaciono el coche en la plaza.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of estacionar — every tense of estacionar in one place.
- Estacionar 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 estacionar and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of estacionar until they are automatic.