Impacientarse Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish
impacientarse means "to get impatient" 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 impacientarse with the train delay, the bank queue, his brother in the shop and the morning traffic — the situations where Spanish speakers really use it. A good first sentence to learn is: Cada día, yo me impaciento con el retraso del tren. — "Every day, I get impatient at the train delay." Read the examples aloud, notice which tense each one uses, and then try the dialogues and the quiz.
impacientarse in everyday sentences
Twelve sentences with impacientarse, 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 me impaciento con el retraso del tren. — "Every day, I get impatient at the train delay." The present tense fits a habit here.
- Ayer, yo me impacienté en la cola del banco. — "Yesterday, I got impatient in the bank queue." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, yo me impacientaba con su hermano en la tienda. — "In the past, I used to get impatient with his brother in the shop." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, nosotros nos impacientaremos por el tráfico de la mañana. — "Tomorrow, we will get impatient over the morning traffic." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Si pudieras, tú te impacientarías con el retraso del tren. — "If you could, you would get impatient at the train delay." The conditional fits something that would happen.
- Yo me he impacientado en la cola del banco. — "I have got impatient in the bank queue." The present perfect fits an action with present relevance.
More situations
- Normalmente, él se impacienta con su hermano en la tienda. — "Normally, he/she gets impatient with his brother in the shop." The present tense fits a general truth here.
- Ayer, él se impacientó por el tráfico de la mañana. — "Yesterday, he/she got impatient over the morning traffic." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, nosotros nos impacientábamos con el retraso del tren. — "In the past, we used to get impatient at the train delay." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, yo me impacientaré en la cola del banco. — "Tomorrow, I will get impatient in the bank queue." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Espero que él se impaciente con su hermano en la tienda. — "I hope that he/she gets impatient with his brother in the shop." The present subjunctive follows espero que.
- ¡No te impacientes por el tráfico de la mañana! — "Do not get impatient over the morning traffic!" The imperative fits a direct order or request.
The verb in context
Two short dialogues using impacientarse naturally. Notice how the verb changes person and tense as the conversation moves, and how the complements stay the same kind of situation: the train delay, the bank queue, his brother in the shop and the morning traffic.
Dialogue 1: talking about the train delay
Sofía: ¿Tú te impacientas con el retraso del tren? — "Do you get impatient at the train delay?" Diego: Sí, yo me impaciento con el retraso del tren. — "I get impatient at the train delay." Sofía: ¿Y ayer? — "And yesterday?" Diego: Ayer, yo me impacienté en la cola del banco. — "Yesterday, I got impatient in the bank queue." Sofía: Mañana, nosotros nos impacientaremos con su hermano en la tienda. — "Tomorrow, we will get impatient with his brother in the shop." Diego: Si pudiera, yo me impacientaría por el tráfico de la mañana. — "If I could, I would get impatient over the morning traffic." Sofía: Antes, yo me impacientaba en la cola del banco. — "In the past, I used to get impatient in the bank queue." Diego: Yo me he impacientado con el retraso del tren. — "I have got impatient at the train delay." Sofía: ¡No te impacientes con su hermano en la tienda! — "Do not get impatient with his brother in the shop!"
In this dialogue impacientarse 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 brother in the shop
Sofía: Él se impacienta con su hermano en la tienda. — "he/she gets impatient with his brother in the shop." Diego: ¿De verdad? ¿Él se impacienta con su hermano en la tienda todos los días? — "Really? Does he/she gets impatient with his brother in the shop every day?" Sofía: Sí, y ellos se impacientan por el tráfico de la mañana. — "they get impatient over the morning traffic." Diego: Ayer, ellos se impacientaron con su hermano en la tienda. — "Yesterday, they got impatient with his brother in the shop." Sofía: Espero que él se impaciente por el tráfico de la mañana. — "I hope that he/she gets impatient over the morning traffic." Diego: Mañana, él se impacientará con su hermano en la tienda. — "Tomorrow, he/she will get impatient with his brother in the shop." Sofía: Antes, nosotros nos impacientábamos por el tráfico de la mañana. — "In the past, we used to get impatient over the morning traffic." Diego: Nosotros nos impacientamos con el retraso del tren también. — "we get impatient at the train delay too."
This dialogue shows impacientarse 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 impacientarse
The errors learners actually make with impacientarse in everyday use, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why it is wrong.
Mistake 1: Forgetting the reflexive pronoun
- Wrong: Yo impaciento con el retraso del tren.
- Right: Yo me impaciento con el retraso del tren.
- Why: impacientarse is reflexive, so the pronoun is part of the verb: Yo me impaciento con el retraso del tren.. Without me the sentence is incomplete.
Mistake 2: Using the infinitive as a conjugated form
- Wrong: Yo impacientarse con el retraso del tren.
- Right: Yo me impaciento con el retraso del tren.
- Why: The infinitive impacientarse is the dictionary form, not a conjugated form. In a sentence with yo you need the present-tense form impaciento.
Mistake 3: Using the present tense for yesterday
- Wrong: Ayer, yo me impaciento en la cola del banco.
- Right: Ayer, yo me impacienté en la cola del banco.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite: Ayer, yo me impacienté en la cola del banco. — "Yesterday, I got impatient in the bank queue."
Mistake 4: Mixing up the gerund and the participle
- Wrong: Me estoy impacientado con su hermano en la tienda.
- Right: Me estoy impacientando con su hermano en la tienda.
- Why: After estar you need the gerund impacientando for the progressive. The participle impacientado goes with haber in the perfect tenses (me he impacientado), never after estar.
Mistake 5: Using the él form for nosotros
- Wrong: Nosotros nos impacienta con el retraso del tren.
- Right: Nosotros nos impacientamos con el retraso del tren.
- Why: The person and the ending must match: nosotros takes impacientamos, while impacienta belongs to él and ella.
Quiz: impacientarse in use
Test yourself with ten questions on impacientarse. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the yo form of impacientarse in the present tense?
- (a) impaciento
- (b) impacientas
- (c) impacienta
- (d) impacientamos
Answer: (a) impaciento. The yo form is impaciento.
2. What is the tú form of impacientarse in the present tense?
- (a) impaciento
- (b) impacienta
- (c) impacientamos
- (d) impacientas
Answer: (d) impacientas. The tú form is impacientas.
3. What is the él/ella form of impacientarse in the present tense?
- (a) impacientas
- (b) impacientamos
- (c) impacienta
- (d) impaciento
Answer: (c) impacienta. The él/ella form is impacienta.
4. Complete the sentence: Cada día, yo ___ con el retraso del tren.
- (a) impacientamos
- (b) impaciento
- (c) impacientas
- (d) impacienta
Answer: (b) impaciento. The sentence needs the yo form impaciento.
5. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ___ en la cola del banco.
- (a) impacienté
- (b) impacientaste
- (c) impacientó
- (d) impacientamos
Answer: (a) impacienté. Ayer needs the preterite, and the yo form is impacienté.
6. Complete the sentence: Antes, yo ___ con su hermano en la tienda.
- (a) impacientabas
- (b) impacientábamos
- (c) impacientabais
- (d) impacientaba
Answer: (d) impacientaba. Antes needs the imperfect, and the yo form is impacientaba.
7. Complete the sentence: Mañana, yo ___ por el tráfico de la mañana.
- (a) impacientará
- (b) impacientaremos
- (c) impacientaré
- (d) impacientarás
Answer: (c) impacientaré. Mañana needs the future, and the yo form is impacientaré.
8. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ con el retraso del tren.
- (a) se ha impacientado
- (b) nos hemos impacientado
- (c) me he impacientado
- (d) te has impacientado
Answer: (c) me he impacientado. The present perfect uses haber plus the participle: me he impacientado.
9. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ con su hermano en la tienda.
- (a) impaciente
- (b) impacientes
- (c) impacientemos
- (d) impacientéis
Answer: (a) impaciente. After espero que Spanish needs the subjunctive, and the él form is impaciente.
10. What does impacientarse mean in English?
- (a) to get impatient
- (b) to go too far
- (c) to get tired
- (d) to get used to
Answer: (a) to get impatient. impacientarse means "to get impatient" in English.
Frequently asked questions about impacientarse
What does impacientarse mean?
impacientarse means "to get impatient" in English. Use it when you talk about the train delay, the bank queue, his brother in the shop and the morning traffic — for example: Cada día, yo me impaciento con el retraso del tren. — "Every day, I get impatient at the train delay."
Is impacientarse reflexive?
Yes. impacientarse is reflexive, so it always travels with a pronoun: me, te, se, nos, os, se. Cada día, yo me impaciento con el retraso del tren. — "Every day, I get impatient at the train delay." If you drop the pronoun, the sentence is incomplete.
What is the most common mistake with impacientarse?
Forgetting the reflexive pronoun. Learners write the bare form — for example, Yo impaciento con el retraso del tren — when the verb needs its pronoun: Cada día, yo me impaciento con el retraso del tren. — "Every day, I get impatient at the train delay." Keep the pronoun with the verb and the mistake disappears.
How can I practise impacientarse?
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.