Hervir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

hervir means "to boil" 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. Hervir means to boil: hierve el agua, hierve la leche. The stem changes e to ie in the present and e to i in the preterite third person and the gerund: hirvió, hirvieron, hirviendo. 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 hervir; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the hervir present tense page.

hervir 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 hiervo el agua para el té — "I boil the water for the tea"
  2. Mi amigo hierve la leche en la cacerola — "My friend boils the milk in the saucepan"
  3. Mañana, tú hervirás las patatas con sal — "Tomorrow, you will boil the potatoes with salt"
  4. Yo herviría el caldo a fuego fuerte si pudiera — "I would boil the stock over a high heat 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 herví el agua para el té — "Yesterday, I boiled the water for the tea"
  2. Antes, nosotros hervíamos la leche en la cacerola — "Before, we used to boil the milk in the saucepan"
  3. Él ha hervido las patatas con sal — "He has boiled the potatoes with salt"
  4. Yo ya había hervido el caldo a fuego fuerte antes de salir — "I already had boiled the stock over a high heat 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 hierva el agua para el té — "I hope he boils the water for the tea"
  2. Si yo hirviera la leche en la cacerola, todo cambiaría — "If I boiled the milk in the saucepan, everything would change"
  3. Hierve las patatas con sal. — "Boil the potatoes with salt."
  4. Yo habría hervido el caldo a fuego fuerte con más tiempo — "I would have boiled the stock over a high heat with more time"

hervir in conversation

Two short dialogues that use hervir 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 hiervo el agua para el té — "I boil the water for the tea"
  • Marcos: Él hierve la leche en la cacerola — "He boils the milk in the saucepan"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo herví las patatas con sal — "Yesterday, I boiled the potatoes with salt"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú hervirás el caldo a fuego fuerte — "Tomorrow, you will boil the stock over a high heat"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Hierve el agua de la tetera. — "Boil the water in the kettle."
  • Lucía: Él ha hervido el agua para el té — "He has boiled the water for the tea"
  • Marcos: Espero que él hierva la leche en la cacerola — "I hope he boils the milk in the saucepan"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo hervía las patatas con sal — "Before, I used to boil the potatoes with salt"

Common mistakes with hervir

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

✗ *Yo hervo el caldo a fuego fuerte.

✓ Correct: Yo hiervo el caldo a fuego fuerte.

hervir is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is hiervo, not hervo.

✗ *Espero que él hierve el caldo a fuego fuerte

✓ Correct: Espero que él hierva el caldo a fuego fuerte

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él hierva el caldo a fuego fuerte — not the indicative Espero que él hierve el caldo a fuego fuerte.

✗ *Ayer, yo hiervo el agua de la tetera

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo herví el agua de la tetera

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo herví el agua de la tetera.

✗ *De niño, yo herví el agua para el té todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo hervía el agua para el té todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo hervía el agua para el té todos los días.

✗ *Yo hiervo en las patatas con sal.

✓ Correct: Yo hiervo las patatas con sal.

hervir takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo hiervo las patatas con sal.

Quiz: hervir in use

Ten questions on hervir — 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 ______ el agua para el té — "I boil the water for the tea" (present) A. hervimos B. hiervo C. hierves D. hierve

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ la leche en la cacerola — "Yesterday, I boiled the milk in the saucepan" (preterite) A. herviste B. hirvió C. hervimos D. herví

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ las patatas con sal — "Before, we used to boil the potatoes with salt" (imperfect) A. hervíamos B. hervía C. hervías D. hervíais

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ el caldo a fuego fuerte — "Tomorrow, you will boil the stock over a high heat" (future) A. hervirá B. herviremos C. hervirás D. herviré

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el agua de la tetera — "I would boil the water in the kettle" (conditional) A. hervirías B. herviríamos C. herviríais D. herviría

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ el agua para el té — "He has boiled the water for the tea" (present perfect) A. has hervido B. hemos hervido C. ha hervido D. he hervido

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ la leche en la cacerola — "I hope he boils the milk in the saucepan" (present subjunctive) A. hirvamos B. hirváis C. hierva D. hiervas

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ las patatas con sal. — "Boil the potatoes with salt." (affirmative imperative) A. hierve B. hierva C. hirvamos D. hervid

  9. Which is the gerund of hervir, used with estar for the progressive? A. hiervo B. herví C. hirviendo D. hervido

  10. What does hervir mean in English? A. to boil B. to cook (boil/bake) C. to enjoy D. to cross

Answer key

  1. hiervo — The present form for yo is hiervo.
  2. herví — The preterite form for yo is herví.
  3. hervíamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is hervíamos.
  4. hervirás — The future form for tú is hervirás.
  5. herviría — The conditional form for yo is herviría.
  6. ha hervido — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha hervido.
  7. hierva — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is hierva.
  8. hierve — The affirmative imperative form is hierve.
  9. hirviendo — The gerund of hervir is hirviendo: estoy hirviendo. The participle hervido is used with haber instead.
  10. to boil — hervir means to boil.

Frequently asked questions

What does hervir mean in English?

hervir means to boil. For example: Yo hiervo el agua para el té — "I boil the water for the tea". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with hervir?

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

Is hervir regular?

No. hervir is a stem-changing -ir verb (e → ie). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: hiervo, hierves, hierve and hierven — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: hervimos, hervís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: hirvió, hirvieron, and the gerund is hirviendo.

How do I practise hervir?

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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