Familiarizar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish
familiarizar means "to familiarise" in English, and this page shows it in everyday use: real example sentences in several tenses, two short dialogues, the mistakes learners actually make, and a quiz to test yourself. You will see familiarizar with the children with English, the pupils with the computer, his dog with the house and the tourists with the city — the situations where Spanish speakers really use it. A good first sentence to learn is: Cada día, yo familiarizo a los niños con el inglés. — "Every day, I familiarise the children with English." Read the examples aloud, notice which tense each one uses, and then try the dialogues and the quiz.
familiarizar in everyday sentences
Twelve sentences with familiarizar, grouped by situation. Each one shows the verb in a different tense or person, with its English translation and a note on when to use that form.
Everyday use
- Cada día, yo familiarizo a los niños con el inglés. — "Every day, I familiarise the children with English." The present tense fits a habit here.
- Ayer, yo familiaricé a los alumnos con el ordenador. — "Yesterday, I familiarised the pupils with the computer." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, yo familiarizaba a su perro con la casa. — "In the past, I used to familiarise his dog with the house." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, nosotros familiarizaremos a los turistas con la ciudad. — "Tomorrow, we will familiarise the tourists with the city." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Si pudieras, tú familiarizarías a los niños con el inglés. — "If you could, you would familiarise the children with English." The conditional fits something that would happen.
- Yo he familiarizado a los alumnos con el ordenador. — "I have familiarised the pupils with the computer." The present perfect fits an action with present relevance.
More situations
- Normalmente, él familiariza a su perro con la casa. — "Normally, he/she familiarises his dog with the house." The present tense fits a general truth here.
- Ayer, él familiarizó a los turistas con la ciudad. — "Yesterday, he/she familiarised the tourists with the city." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, nosotros familiarizábamos a los niños con el inglés. — "In the past, we used to familiarise the children with English." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, yo familiarizaré a los alumnos con el ordenador. — "Tomorrow, I will familiarise the pupils with the computer." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Espero que él familiarice a su perro con la casa. — "I hope that he/she familiarises his dog with the house." The present subjunctive follows espero que.
- ¡Familiariza a los turistas con la ciudad! — "Familiarise the tourists with the city!" The imperative fits a direct order or request.
The verb in context
Two short dialogues using familiarizar naturally. Notice how the verb changes person and tense as the conversation moves, and how the complements stay the same kind of situation: the children with English, the pupils with the computer, his dog with the house and the tourists with the city.
Dialogue 1: talking about the children with English
Sofía: ¿Tú familiarizas a los niños con el inglés? — "Do you familiarise the children with English?" Diego: Sí, yo familiarizo a los niños con el inglés. — "I familiarise the children with English." Sofía: ¿Y ayer? — "And yesterday?" Diego: Ayer, yo familiaricé a los alumnos con el ordenador. — "Yesterday, I familiarised the pupils with the computer." Sofía: Mañana, nosotros familiarizaremos a su perro con la casa. — "Tomorrow, we will familiarise his dog with the house." Diego: Si pudiera, yo familiarizaría a los turistas con la ciudad. — "If I could, I would familiarise the tourists with the city." Sofía: Antes, yo familiarizaba a los alumnos con el ordenador. — "In the past, I used to familiarise the pupils with the computer." Diego: Yo he familiarizado a los niños con el inglés. — "I have familiarised the children with English." Sofía: ¡Familiariza a su perro con la casa! — "Familiarise his dog with the house!"
In this dialogue familiarizar appears in the present, the preterite, the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present perfect. That is the point: one verb, many tenses, and the complement tells you which situation you are in. Try the same dialogue with your own complements.
Dialogue 2: talking about his dog with the house
Sofía: Él familiariza a su perro con la casa. — "he/she familiarises his dog with the house." Diego: ¿De verdad? ¿Él familiariza a su perro con la casa todos los días? — "Really? Does he/she familiarises his dog with the house every day?" Sofía: Sí, y ellos familiarizan a los turistas con la ciudad. — "they familiarise the tourists with the city." Diego: Ayer, ellos familiarizaron a su perro con la casa. — "Yesterday, they familiarised his dog with the house." Sofía: Espero que él familiarice a los turistas con la ciudad. — "I hope that he/she familiarises the tourists with the city." Diego: Mañana, él familiarizará a su perro con la casa. — "Tomorrow, he/she will familiarise his dog with the house." Sofía: Antes, nosotros familiarizábamos a los turistas con la ciudad. — "In the past, we used to familiarise the tourists with the city." Diego: Nosotros familiarizamos a los niños con el inglés también. — "we familiarise the children with English too."
This dialogue shows familiarizar in the third person and in the plural, which is where learners most often hesitate. Read it aloud with a partner, swapping the names and the complements for your own life, and the forms will start to feel automatic.
Common mistakes with familiarizar
The errors learners actually make with familiarizar in everyday use, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why it is wrong.
Mistake 1: Adding a reflexive pronoun that does not belong
- Wrong: Yo me familiarizo a los niños con el inglés.
- Right: Yo familiarizo a los niños con el inglés.
- Why: familiarizar is not reflexive, so there is no pronoun to add: Yo familiarizo a los niños con el inglés. is the correct sentence.
Mistake 2: Using the infinitive as a conjugated form
- Wrong: Yo familiarizar a los niños con el inglés.
- Right: Yo familiarizo a los niños con el inglés.
- Why: The infinitive familiarizar is the dictionary form, not a conjugated form. In a sentence with yo you need the present-tense form familiarizo.
Mistake 3: Using the present tense for yesterday
- Wrong: Ayer, yo familiarizo a los alumnos con el ordenador.
- Right: Ayer, yo familiaricé a los alumnos con el ordenador.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite: Ayer, yo familiaricé a los alumnos con el ordenador. — "Yesterday, I familiarised the pupils with the computer."
Mistake 4: Mixing up the gerund and the participle
- Wrong: Estoy familiarizado a su perro con la casa.
- Right: Estoy familiarizando a su perro con la casa.
- Why: After estar you need the gerund familiarizando for the progressive. The participle familiarizado goes with haber in the perfect tenses (he familiarizado), never after estar.
Mistake 5: Using the él form for nosotros
- Wrong: Nosotros familiariza a los niños con el inglés.
- Right: Nosotros familiarizamos a los niños con el inglés.
- Why: The person and the ending must match: nosotros takes familiarizamos, while familiariza belongs to él and ella.
Quiz: familiarizar in use
Test yourself with ten questions on familiarizar. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the yo form of familiarizar in the present tense?
- (a) familiarizo
- (b) familiarizas
- (c) familiariza
- (d) familiarizamos
Answer: (a) familiarizo. The yo form is familiarizo.
2. What is the tú form of familiarizar in the present tense?
- (a) familiarizo
- (b) familiariza
- (c) familiarizamos
- (d) familiarizas
Answer: (d) familiarizas. The tú form is familiarizas.
3. What is the él/ella form of familiarizar in the present tense?
- (a) familiarizas
- (b) familiarizamos
- (c) familiariza
- (d) familiarizo
Answer: (c) familiariza. The él/ella form is familiariza.
4. Complete the sentence: Cada día, yo ___ a los niños con el inglés.
- (a) familiarizamos
- (b) familiarizo
- (c) familiarizas
- (d) familiariza
Answer: (b) familiarizo. The sentence needs the yo form familiarizo.
5. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ___ a los alumnos con el ordenador.
- (a) familiaricé
- (b) familiarizaste
- (c) familiarizó
- (d) familiarizamos
Answer: (a) familiaricé. Ayer needs the preterite, and the yo form is familiaricé.
6. Complete the sentence: Antes, yo ___ a su perro con la casa.
- (a) familiarizabas
- (b) familiarizábamos
- (c) familiarizabais
- (d) familiarizaba
Answer: (d) familiarizaba. Antes needs the imperfect, and the yo form is familiarizaba.
7. Complete the sentence: Mañana, yo ___ a los turistas con la ciudad.
- (a) familiarizará
- (b) familiarizaremos
- (c) familiarizaré
- (d) familiarizarás
Answer: (c) familiarizaré. Mañana needs the future, and the yo form is familiarizaré.
8. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a los niños con el inglés.
- (a) ha familiarizado
- (b) hemos familiarizado
- (c) he familiarizado
- (d) has familiarizado
Answer: (c) he familiarizado. The present perfect uses haber plus the participle: he familiarizado.
9. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ a su perro con la casa.
- (a) familiarice
- (b) familiarices
- (c) familiaricemos
- (d) familiaricéis
Answer: (a) familiarice. After espero que Spanish needs the subjunctive, and the él form is familiarice.
10. What does familiarizar mean in English?
- (a) to familiarise
- (b) to mistake
- (c) to burst, to explode
- (d) to stretch
Answer: (a) to familiarise. familiarizar means "to familiarise" in English.
Frequently asked questions about familiarizar
What does familiarizar mean?
familiarizar means "to familiarise" in English. Use it when you talk about the children with English, the pupils with the computer, his dog with the house and the tourists with the city — for example: Cada día, yo familiarizo a los niños con el inglés. — "Every day, I familiarise the children with English."
Is there a reflexive form of familiarizar?
No. familiarizar is not reflexive, so it is used without a pronoun: Cada día, yo familiarizo a los niños con el inglés. — "Every day, I familiarise the children with English."
What is the most common mistake with familiarizar?
The spelling change. Watch the spelling: the z becomes c before e, so the yo preterite is familiaricé and the subjunctive forms start with c, for example familiarice. Practise the yo form and the subjunctive forms until they feel automatic, and check them against the table on the conjugation page.
How can I practise familiarizar?
Take the quiz above, then make your own sentences: change the person in each example, change the complement to something from your own life, and say the sentence aloud. The verb quiz and the verb translator on this site give you more practice with the same forms.