Extrañarse Examples, Sentences & Quiz

Introduction

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

Extrañarse in real example sentences

In the present: everyday use

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

  1. Me extraño todos los días. — I be surprised every day.
  2. Te extrañas en el trabajo. — You be surprised at work.
  3. Se extraña con mi familia. — He bes surprised with my family.
  4. Nos extrañamos por la mañana. — We be surprised 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 me extrañé por la tarde. — Yesterday I bed surprised in the afternoon.
  2. Antes, me extrañaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to be surprised every day.
  3. La semana pasada se extrañó dos veces. — Last week He bed surprised 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 me extrañaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will be surprised without fail.
  2. Si tuviera más tiempo, me extrañaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would be surprised right now.
  3. Hoy me he extrañado dos veces. — Today I have bed surprised twice.

More everyday uses

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

  1. Espero que te extrañes pronto. — I hope You be surprised soon.
  2. ¡No te extrañes! — Don't be surprised!
  3. Ahora mismo me estoy extrañando. — Right now I am bing surprised.

Extrañarse in context

A short dialogue

Ana: «Me extraño en el trabajo.» — I be surprised at work. Luis: «¡Qué bien! Me extraño con mi familia.» — I be surprised with my family. Ana: «Mañana me extrañaré sin falta.» — Tomorrow I will be surprised without fail. Luis: «Si tuviera más tiempo, me extrañaría ahora mismo.» — If I had more time, I would be surprised right now. Ana: «Hoy me he extrañado dos veces.» — Today I have bed surprised twice.

A short paragraph

Ayer me extrañé por la tarde. Antes, me extrañaba todos los días. Hoy me he extrañado dos veces. Mañana me extrañaré sin falta.

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

Common mistakes with extrañarse

1. Forgetting the reflexive pronoun

Wrong: yo extraño todos los días.

Right: me extraño todos los días.

extrañarse is reflexive: the pronoun me belongs before every conjugated form. Without it, you are using the non-reflexive verb, which means something different — doing the action to someone else instead of to yourself.

2. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer me extrañaba.

Right: Ayer me extrañé.

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

3. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que te extrañas.

Right: Espero que te extrañes.

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

4. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No te extraña.

Right: No te extrañes.

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

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He extrañando.

Right: He extrañado.

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

Quiz: extrañarse in use

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

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

- (a) extrañas
- (b) extraña
- (c) extraño
- (d) extrañamos

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

- (a) extrañé
- (b) extrañaste
- (c) extrañó
- (d) extrañamos

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

- (a) extrañarás
- (b) extrañaré
- (c) extrañaréis
- (d) extrañará

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

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

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

- (a) extrañábamos
- (b) extrañaba
- (c) extrañabas
- (d) extrañaba

6. What is the gerund of extrañarse?

- (a) extrañarse
- (b) extraño
- (c) extrañado
- (d) extrañando

7. What is the past participle of extrañarse?

- (a) extrañé
- (b) extrañarse
- (c) extrañado
- (d) extrañando

8. Which sentence uses extrañarse correctly?

- (a) *Yo extraña todos los días.*
- (b) *Yo extrañarse todos los días.*
- (c) *Me extraño todos los días.* — I be surprised every day.
- (d) *Yo extrañas todos los días.*

9. Which sentence uses extrañarse correctly?

- (a) *Ayer me extrañé por la tarde.* — Yesterday I bed surprised in the afternoon.
- (b) *Ayer yo extrañarse por la tarde.*
- (c) *Ayer yo extraño por la tarde.*
- (d) *Ayer yo extrañaba por la tarde.*

10. What does extrañarse mean?

- (a) to be surprised
- (b) to be missing
- (c) to express oneself
- (d) to miss

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

How do you say 'I be surprised' in Spanish?

Say «Me extraño 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 bed surprised' about yesterday?

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

Is extrañarse reflexive?

Yes — extrañarse is reflexive, so every conjugated form takes its pronoun: me extraño, te extrañas, se extraña. The pronoun always comes before the verb, except in affirmative commands, where it attaches to the end.

Which tense do learners find hardest with extrañarse?

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

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