Girar Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Girar means “to turn, to rotate”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Girar means to turn or to rotate, and it is used for turning a wheel, turning your head, a planet rotating and a car turning. It is fully regular, and it is the verb for turning as a movement rather than turning a corner. This page shows girar 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 giro a la derecha en el cruce.” — I turn to the right at the crossroads.
Girar in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how girar 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 girar in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Giro a la derecha en el cruce.” — I turn to the right at the crossroads.
“¿Tú giras la cabeza al oír su nombre?” — Do you turn my head on hearing his name?
“Gira el volante con las dos manos.” — He/she turns the steering wheel with both hands.
“Giramos sobre sí mismo en la pista.” — We turn around in the middle of the rink.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show girar in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo giré a la derecha en el cruce.” — Yesterday, I turned to the right at the crossroads. (preterite)
“Él giraba la cabeza al oír su nombre todos los días.” — He used to turn my head on hearing his name 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 girar stays the same.
“Nosotros giraremos el volante con las dos manos mañana.” — We will turn the steering wheel with both hands tomorrow. (future)
“¿Tú has girado sobre sí mismo en la pista?” — Have you turned around in the middle of the rink? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Giráis a la derecha en el cruce.” — You turn to the right at the crossroads.
“Giran la cabeza al oír su nombre.” — They turn my head on hearing his name.
“Giro el volante con las dos manos.” — I turn the steering wheel with both hands.
“Gira sobre sí mismo en la pista.” — He/she turns around in the middle of the rink.
Girar 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 girar appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú giras a la derecha en el cruce?” — Do you turn to the right at the crossroads?
Carlos: “Sí, yo giro a la derecha en el cruce.” — Yes, I turn to the right at the crossroads.
Lucía: “Nosotros giramos la cabeza al oír su nombre.” — We turn my head on hearing his name.
Carlos: “Y ellos giran el volante con las dos manos.” — And they turn the steering wheel with both hands.
Lucía: “Vosotros giráis sobre sí mismo en la pista.” — You turn around in the middle of the rink.
Carlos: “Sí, y él gira la cabeza al oír su nombre.” — Yes, and he turns my head on hearing his name.
A short paragraph
Lucía gira a la derecha en el cruce, y Carlos gira la cabeza al oír su nombre. Nosotros giramos el volante con las dos manos, y ellos giran sobre sí mismo en la pista. Yo giro el volante con las dos manos, y mi padre gira sobre sí mismo en la pista. Girar is part of everyday life, because to turn, to rotate is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with girar
These are the errors learners actually make with girar. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo gira a la derecha en el cruce.” Right: “Yo giro a la derecha en el cruce.” Why: The person matters: gira is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is giro. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
Wrong: “Ayer yo giro la cabeza al oír su nombre.” Right: “Ayer yo giré la cabeza al oír su nombre.” Why: The present and the preterite are different tenses: giro is happening now, while giré is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
Wrong: “Treating girar and doblar as identical in every context.” Right: “Girar means to turn, to rotate, while doblar means to turn.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: girar fits sentences such as Giro a la derecha en el cruce, while doblar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy girado la cabeza al oír su nombre.” Right: “Yo he girado la cabeza al oír su nombre.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he girado, has girado, ha girado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo giré el volante con las dos manos todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo giraba el volante con las dos manos todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (giraba), not the preterite. The preterite (giré) is for one finished action.
Quiz: girar in use
Ten questions on girar in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ a la derecha en el cruce.” (To the right at the crossroads.)
- (a) giráis
- (b) giro
- (c) giras
Answer: giráis — The vosotros/as form of girar in the present is giráis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ la cabeza al oír su nombre.” (My head on hearing his name.)
- (a) giro
- (b) giras
- (c) giran
Answer: giran — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of girar in the present is giran.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ a la derecha en el cruce.” (To the right at the crossroads.)
- (a) giró
- (b) giré
- (c) giraste
Answer: giré — The yo form of girar in the preterite is giré.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ la cabeza al oír su nombre.” (My head on hearing his name.)
- (a) giraba
- (b) girabas
- (c) girábamos
Answer: giraba — The él/ella/Ud. form of girar in the imperfect is giraba.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ el volante con las dos manos.” (The steering wheel with both hands.)
- (a) giraré
- (b) girarás
- (c) giraremos
Answer: giraremos — The nosotros/as form of girar in the future is giraremos.
6. What does girar mean in English?
- (a) to overtake, to advance
- (b) to turn, to rotate
- (c) to turn
Answer: to turn, to rotate — Girar means “to turn, to rotate”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo giro a la derecha en el cruce.
- (b) Ellos gira a la derecha en el cruce.
- (c) Yo giro la cabeza al oír su nombre ayer.
Answer: Yo giro a la derecha en el cruce. — “Yo giro a la derecha en el cruce.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I turn to the right at the crossroads.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo giran a la derecha en el cruce.
- (b) Yo giré a la derecha en el cruce.
- (c) Yo giro a la derecha en el cruce.
Answer: Yo giro a la derecha en el cruce. — “Yo giro a la derecha en el cruce.” 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 girar in the present tense?
- (a) giras
- (b) giramos
- (c) giro
Answer: giramos — The nosotros form is giramos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo giré a la derecha en el cruce.
- (b) Nosotros giraremos a la derecha en el cruce mañana.
- (c) Yo giro a la derecha en el cruce.
Answer: Yo giro a la derecha en el cruce. — “Yo giro a la derecha en el cruce.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I turn' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo giro a la derecha en el cruce'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo giro a la derecha en el cruce todos los días'.
How do you say 'I turn' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo giré la cabeza al oír su nombre'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo giraba la cabeza al oír su nombre todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo he girado la cabeza al oír su nombre'.
What is the difference between girar and doblar?
Girar means to turn, to rotate, while doblar means to turn. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use girar when you mean to turn, to rotate, as in Giro a la derecha en el cruce.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of girar — every tense of girar in one place.
- Girar 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 girar and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of girar until they are automatic.