Idealizar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish
idealizar means "to idealise" 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 idealizar with his first love, his village's past, his childhood hero and life in the country — the situations where Spanish speakers really use it. A good first sentence to learn is: Cada día, yo idealizo a su primer amor. — "Every day, I idealise his first love." Read the examples aloud, notice which tense each one uses, and then try the dialogues and the quiz.
idealizar in everyday sentences
Twelve sentences with idealizar, 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 idealizo a su primer amor. — "Every day, I idealise his first love." The present tense fits a habit here.
- Ayer, yo idealicé el pasado de su pueblo. — "Yesterday, I idealised his village's past." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, yo idealizaba a su héroe de la infancia. — "In the past, I used to idealise his childhood hero." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, nosotros idealizaremos la vida en el campo. — "Tomorrow, we will idealise life in the country." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Si pudieras, tú idealizarías a su primer amor. — "If you could, you would idealise his first love." The conditional fits something that would happen.
- Yo he idealizado el pasado de su pueblo. — "I have idealised his village's past." The present perfect fits an action with present relevance.
More situations
- Normalmente, él idealiza a su héroe de la infancia. — "Normally, he/she idealises his childhood hero." The present tense fits a general truth here.
- Ayer, él idealizó la vida en el campo. — "Yesterday, he/she idealised life in the country." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, nosotros idealizábamos a su primer amor. — "In the past, we used to idealise his first love." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, yo idealizaré el pasado de su pueblo. — "Tomorrow, I will idealise his village's past." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Espero que él idealice a su héroe de la infancia. — "I hope that he/she idealises his childhood hero." The present subjunctive follows espero que.
- ¡Idealiza la vida en el campo! — "Idealise life in the country!" The imperative fits a direct order or request.
The verb in context
Two short dialogues using idealizar naturally. Notice how the verb changes person and tense as the conversation moves, and how the complements stay the same kind of situation: his first love, his village's past, his childhood hero and life in the country.
Dialogue 1: talking about his first love
María: ¿Tú idealizas a su primer amor? — "Do you idealise his first love?" Carlos: Sí, yo idealizo a su primer amor. — "I idealise his first love." María: ¿Y ayer? — "And yesterday?" Carlos: Ayer, yo idealicé el pasado de su pueblo. — "Yesterday, I idealised his village's past." María: Mañana, nosotros idealizaremos a su héroe de la infancia. — "Tomorrow, we will idealise his childhood hero." Carlos: Si pudiera, yo idealizaría la vida en el campo. — "If I could, I would idealise life in the country." María: Antes, yo idealizaba el pasado de su pueblo. — "In the past, I used to idealise his village's past." Carlos: Yo he idealizado a su primer amor. — "I have idealised his first love." María: ¡Idealiza a su héroe de la infancia! — "Idealise his childhood hero!"
In this dialogue idealizar 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 childhood hero
María: Él idealiza a su héroe de la infancia. — "he/she idealises his childhood hero." Carlos: ¿De verdad? ¿Él idealiza a su héroe de la infancia todos los días? — "Really? Does he/she idealises his childhood hero every day?" María: Sí, y ellos idealizan la vida en el campo. — "they idealise life in the country." Carlos: Ayer, ellos idealizaron a su héroe de la infancia. — "Yesterday, they idealised his childhood hero." María: Espero que él idealice la vida en el campo. — "I hope that he/she idealises life in the country." Carlos: Mañana, él idealizará a su héroe de la infancia. — "Tomorrow, he/she will idealise his childhood hero." María: Antes, nosotros idealizábamos la vida en el campo. — "In the past, we used to idealise life in the country." Carlos: Nosotros idealizamos a su primer amor también. — "we idealise his first love too."
This dialogue shows idealizar 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 idealizar
The errors learners actually make with idealizar 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 idealizo a su primer amor.
- Right: Yo idealizo a su primer amor.
- Why: idealizar is not reflexive, so there is no pronoun to add: Yo idealizo a su primer amor. is the correct sentence.
Mistake 2: Using the infinitive as a conjugated form
- Wrong: Yo idealizar a su primer amor.
- Right: Yo idealizo a su primer amor.
- Why: The infinitive idealizar is the dictionary form, not a conjugated form. In a sentence with yo you need the present-tense form idealizo.
Mistake 3: Using the present tense for yesterday
- Wrong: Ayer, yo idealizo el pasado de su pueblo.
- Right: Ayer, yo idealicé el pasado de su pueblo.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite: Ayer, yo idealicé el pasado de su pueblo. — "Yesterday, I idealised his village's past."
Mistake 4: Mixing up the gerund and the participle
- Wrong: Estoy idealizado a su héroe de la infancia.
- Right: Estoy idealizando a su héroe de la infancia.
- Why: After estar you need the gerund idealizando for the progressive. The participle idealizado goes with haber in the perfect tenses (he idealizado), never after estar.
Mistake 5: Using the él form for nosotros
- Wrong: Nosotros idealiza a su primer amor.
- Right: Nosotros idealizamos a su primer amor.
- Why: The person and the ending must match: nosotros takes idealizamos, while idealiza belongs to él and ella.
Quiz: idealizar in use
Test yourself with ten questions on idealizar. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the yo form of idealizar in the present tense?
- (a) idealiza
- (b) idealizamos
- (c) idealizo
- (d) idealizas
Answer: (c) idealizo. The yo form is idealizo.
2. What is the tú form of idealizar in the present tense?
- (a) idealizamos
- (b) idealizas
- (c) idealizo
- (d) idealiza
Answer: (b) idealizas. The tú form is idealizas.
3. What is the él/ella form of idealizar in the present tense?
- (a) idealiza
- (b) idealizo
- (c) idealizas
- (d) idealizamos
Answer: (a) idealiza. The él/ella form is idealiza.
4. Complete the sentence: Cada día, yo ___ a su primer amor.
- (a) idealizas
- (b) idealiza
- (c) idealizamos
- (d) idealizo
Answer: (d) idealizo. The sentence needs the yo form idealizo.
5. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ___ el pasado de su pueblo.
- (a) idealizó
- (b) idealizamos
- (c) idealicé
- (d) idealizaste
Answer: (c) idealicé. Ayer needs the preterite, and the yo form is idealicé.
6. Complete the sentence: Antes, yo ___ a su héroe de la infancia.
- (a) idealizabais
- (b) idealizaba
- (c) idealizabas
- (d) idealizábamos
Answer: (b) idealizaba. Antes needs the imperfect, and the yo form is idealizaba.
7. Complete the sentence: Mañana, yo ___ la vida en el campo.
- (a) idealizaré
- (b) idealizarás
- (c) idealizará
- (d) idealizaremos
Answer: (a) idealizaré. Mañana needs the future, and the yo form is idealizaré.
8. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a su primer amor.
- (a) he idealizado
- (b) has idealizado
- (c) ha idealizado
- (d) hemos idealizado
Answer: (a) he idealizado. The present perfect uses haber plus the participle: he idealizado.
9. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ a su héroe de la infancia.
- (a) idealicemos
- (b) idealicéis
- (c) idealice
- (d) idealices
Answer: (c) idealice. After espero que Spanish needs the subjunctive, and the él form is idealice.
10. What does idealizar mean in English?
- (a) to civilise
- (b) to colonise
- (c) to idealise
- (d) to centralise
Answer: (c) to idealise. idealizar means "to idealise" in English.
Frequently asked questions about idealizar
What does idealizar mean?
idealizar means "to idealise" in English. Use it when you talk about his first love, his village's past, his childhood hero and life in the country — for example: Cada día, yo idealizo a su primer amor. — "Every day, I idealise his first love."
Is there a reflexive form of idealizar?
No. idealizar is not reflexive, so it is used without a pronoun: Cada día, yo idealizo a su primer amor. — "Every day, I idealise his first love."
What is the most common mistake with idealizar?
The spelling change. Watch the spelling: the z becomes c before e, so the yo preterite is idealicé and the subjunctive forms start with c, for example idealice. 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 idealizar?
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.