Habituar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

habituar means "to accustom" 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. Habituar means to accustom someone to something: habituar a su hijo a madrugar. With se it means to get used to it yourself: habituarse al ejercicio. 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 habituar; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the habituar present tense page.

habituar 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 habitúo a su hijo a madrugar — "I accustom his son to getting up early"
  2. Mi amigo habitúa el cuerpo al ejercicio — "My friend accustoms his body to exercise"
  3. Mañana, tú habituarás a su perro a pasear — "Tomorrow, you will accustom his dog to walks"
  4. Yo habituaría a sus alumnos al orden si pudiera — "I would accustom his pupils to order 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 habitué a su hijo a madrugar — "Yesterday, I accustomed his son to getting up early"
  2. Antes, nosotros habituábamos el cuerpo al ejercicio — "Before, we used to accustom his body to exercise"
  3. Él ha habituado a su perro a pasear — "He has accustomed his dog to walks"
  4. Yo ya había habituado a sus alumnos al orden antes de salir — "I already had accustomed his pupils to order 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 habitúe a su hijo a madrugar — "I hope he accustoms his son to getting up early"
  2. Si yo habituara el cuerpo al ejercicio, todo cambiaría — "If I accustomed his body to exercise, everything would change"
  3. Habitúa a su perro a pasear. — "Accustom his dog to walks."
  4. Yo habría habituado a sus alumnos al orden con más tiempo — "I would have accustomed his pupils to order with more time"

habituar in conversation

Two short dialogues that use habituar 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 habitúo a su hijo a madrugar — "I accustom his son to getting up early"
  • Marcos: Él habitúa el cuerpo al ejercicio — "He accustoms his body to exercise"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo habitué a su perro a pasear — "Yesterday, I accustomed his dog to walks"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú habituarás a sus alumnos al orden — "Tomorrow, you will accustom his pupils to order"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Habitúa la vista a la oscuridad. — "Accustom his eyes to the dark."
  • Lucía: Él ha habituado a su hijo a madrugar — "He has accustomed his son to getting up early"
  • Marcos: Espero que él habitúe el cuerpo al ejercicio — "I hope he accustoms his body to exercise"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo habituaba a su perro a pasear — "Before, I used to accustom his dog to walks"

Common mistakes with habituar

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

✗ *Espero que él habitúa a sus alumnos al orden

✓ Correct: Espero que él habitúe a sus alumnos al orden

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él habitúe a sus alumnos al orden — not the indicative Espero que él habitúa a sus alumnos al orden.

✗ *Ayer, yo habitúo la vista a la oscuridad

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo habitué la vista a la oscuridad

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo habitué la vista a la oscuridad.

✗ *De niño, yo habitué a su hijo a madrugar todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo habituaba a su hijo a madrugar todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo habituaba a su hijo a madrugar todos los días.

✗ *Yo habitúo su perro a pasear.

✓ Correct: Yo habitúo a su perro a pasear.

habituar takes a before this complement: Yo habitúo a su perro a pasear. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.

✗ *Vosotros habituais el cuerpo al ejercicio.

✓ Correct: Vosotros habituáis el cuerpo al ejercicio.

The vosotros present form carries a written accent: habituáis, not habituais.

Quiz: habituar in use

Ten questions on habituar — 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 ______ a su hijo a madrugar — "I accustom his son to getting up early" (present) A. habituamos B. habitúo C. habitúas D. habitúa

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ el cuerpo al ejercicio — "Yesterday, I accustomed his body to exercise" (preterite) A. habituó B. habituamos C. habitué D. habituaste

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ a su perro a pasear — "Before, we used to accustom his dog to walks" (imperfect) A. habituábamos B. habituaba C. habituabas D. habituabais

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ a sus alumnos al orden — "Tomorrow, you will accustom his pupils to order" (future) A. habituaré B. habituará C. habituaremos D. habituarás

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ la vista a la oscuridad — "I would accustom his eyes to the dark" (conditional) A. habituaríais B. habituaría C. habituarías D. habituaríamos

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ a su hijo a madrugar — "He has accustomed his son to getting up early" (present perfect) A. has habituado B. hemos habituado C. ha habituado D. he habituado

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ el cuerpo al ejercicio — "I hope he accustoms his body to exercise" (present subjunctive) A. habituéis B. habitúe C. habitúes D. habituemos

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ a su perro a pasear. — "Accustom his dog to walks." (affirmative imperative) A. habitúa B. habitúe C. habituemos D. habituad

  9. Which is the gerund of habituar, used with estar for the progressive? A. habitúo B. habitué C. habituando D. habituado

  10. What does habituar mean in English? A. to accustom B. to enjoy C. to cross D. to draw

Answer key

  1. habitúo — The present form for yo is habitúo.
  2. habitué — The preterite form for yo is habitué.
  3. habituábamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is habituábamos.
  4. habituarás — The future form for tú is habituarás.
  5. habituaría — The conditional form for yo is habituaría.
  6. ha habituado — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha habituado.
  7. habitúe — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is habitúe.
  8. habitúa — The affirmative imperative form is habitúa.
  9. habituando — The gerund of habituar is habituando: estoy habituando. The participle habituado is used with haber instead.
  10. to accustom — habituar means to accustom.

Frequently asked questions

What does habituar mean in English?

habituar means to accustom. For example: Yo habitúo a su hijo a madrugar — "I accustom his son to getting up early". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with habituar?

habituar takes a before this kind of complement, as in the examples above. Keep the preposition with the verb — dropping it is one of the most common learner errors with habituar.

Is habituar regular?

Yes. habituar is a regular -ar verb, so once you know the endings for its class you can conjugate it in every tense.

How do I practise habituar?

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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