Expedir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

expedir means "to dispatch, to issue" in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Expedir is a formal verb for issuing official documents: expedir un pasaporte, expedir un certificado. It is the verb you meet in administrative Spanish. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by use, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of expedir; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the expedir present tense page.

expedir in everyday use: examples with translations

Everyday present uses

How the verb sounds in the present, the future and in hypotheticals — the forms you will use most often.

  1. Yo expido un pasaporte nuevo — "I issue a new passport"
  2. Mi amigo expide una factura al cliente — "My friend issues an invoice to the client"
  3. Mañana, tú expedirás un certificado oficial — "Tomorrow, you will issue an official certificate"
  4. Yo expediría un visado urgente si pudiera — "I would issue an urgent visa if I could"

Talking about the past

The same verb in the past: one finished action, a habit, something that has just happened, and something that had already happened.

  1. Ayer, yo expedí un pasaporte nuevo — "Yesterday, I issued a new passport"
  2. Antes, nosotros expedíamos una factura al cliente — "Before, we used to issue an invoice to the client"
  3. Él ha expedido un certificado oficial — "He has issued an official certificate"
  4. Yo ya había expedido un visado urgente antes de salir — "I already had issued an urgent visa before leaving"

Wishes, conditions and commands

The verb after espero que, in si clauses, as a command — and in the conditional perfect, for what would have happened.

  1. Espero que él expida un pasaporte nuevo — "I hope he issues a new passport"
  2. Si yo expidiera una factura al cliente, todo cambiaría — "If I issued an invoice to the client, everything would change"
  3. Expide un certificado oficial. — "Issue an official certificate."
  4. Yo habría expedido un visado urgente con más tiempo — "I would have issued an urgent visa with more time"

expedir in conversation

Two short dialogues that use expedir the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

Two friends talk about it.

  • Lucía: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Lucía: Yo expido un pasaporte nuevo — "I issue a new passport"
  • Marcos: Él expide una factura al cliente — "He issues an invoice to the client"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo expedí un certificado oficial — "Yesterday, I issued an official certificate"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú expedirás un visado urgente — "Tomorrow, you will issue an urgent visa"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Expide una licencia de conducir. — "Issue a driving licence."
  • Lucía: Él ha expedido un pasaporte nuevo — "He has issued a new passport"
  • Marcos: Espero que él expida una factura al cliente — "I hope he issues an invoice to the client"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo expedía un certificado oficial — "Before, I used to issue an official certificate"

Common mistakes with expedir

The errors learners actually make with expedir, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ *Yo expedo un visado urgente.

✓ Correct: Yo expido un visado urgente.

expedir is a stem-changing verb (e → i): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is expido, not expedo.

✗ *Espero que él expide un visado urgente

✓ Correct: Espero que él expida un visado urgente

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él expida un visado urgente — not the indicative Espero que él expide un visado urgente.

✗ *Ayer, yo expido una licencia de conducir

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo expedí una licencia de conducir

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo expedí una licencia de conducir.

✗ *De niño, yo expedí un pasaporte nuevo todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo expedía un pasaporte nuevo todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo expedía un pasaporte nuevo todos los días.

✗ *Yo expido en un certificado oficial.

✓ Correct: Yo expido un certificado oficial.

expedir takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo expido un certificado oficial.

Quiz: expedir in use

Ten questions on expedir — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ un pasaporte nuevo — "I issue a new passport" (present) A. expides B. expide C. expedimos D. expido

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ una factura al cliente — "Yesterday, I issued an invoice to the client" (preterite) A. expedimos B. expedí C. expediste D. expidió

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ un certificado oficial — "Before, we used to issue an official certificate" (imperfect) A. expedíais B. expedíamos C. expedía D. expedías

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ un visado urgente — "Tomorrow, you will issue an urgent visa" (future) A. expediré B. expedirá C. expediremos D. expedirás

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ una licencia de conducir — "I would issue a driving licence" (conditional) A. expediría B. expedirías C. expediríamos D. expediríais

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ un pasaporte nuevo — "He has issued a new passport" (present perfect) A. hemos expedido B. ha expedido C. he expedido D. has expedido

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ una factura al cliente — "I hope he issues an invoice to the client" (present subjunctive) A. expidas B. expidamos C. expidáis D. expida

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ un certificado oficial. — "Issue an official certificate." (affirmative imperative) A. expedid B. expide C. expida D. expidamos

  9. Which is the gerund of expedir, used with estar for the progressive? A. expedí B. expidiendo C. expedido D. expido

  10. What does expedir mean in English? A. to send B. to enjoy C. to cross D. to dispatch

Answer key

  1. expido — The present form for yo is expido.
  2. expedí — The preterite form for yo is expedí.
  3. expedíamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is expedíamos.
  4. expedirás — The future form for tú is expedirás.
  5. expediría — The conditional form for yo is expediría.
  6. ha expedido — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha expedido.
  7. expida — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is expida.
  8. expide — The affirmative imperative form is expide.
  9. expidiendo — The gerund of expedir is expidiendo: estoy expidiendo. The participle expedido is used with haber instead.
  10. to dispatch — expedir means to dispatch.

Frequently asked questions

What does expedir mean in English?

expedir means to dispatch, to issue. For example: Yo expido un pasaporte nuevo — "I issue a new passport". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with expedir?

expedir takes its complement directly, with no preposition, as in the examples above. Adding an extra preposition is a common learner error.

Is expedir regular?

No. expedir is a stem-changing -ir verb (e → i). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: expido, expides, expide and expiden — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: expedimos, expedís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: expidió, expidieron, and the gerund is expidiendo.

How do I practise expedir?

Start with the present tense table on the full conjugation page, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure, and come back to the sentences above until you can say them without looking.

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