Impresionar Examples, Sentences & Quiz

Introduction

impresionar means to impress, and it is one of those verbs that shows up everywhere once you start listening for it. It is a regular -ar verb verb, and this page puts it to work: real example sentences in several tenses, grouped by use, two short passages that show the verb in context, the mistakes learners make with it, a ten-question quiz and answers to common questions. If you only learn one sentence, make it «Yo impresiono todos los días» — I impress every day. The rest of this page builds out from there, tense by tense, so you can use impresionar the way native speakers do — in the present for habits, in the past for finished events, and in the subjunctive after wishes and doubts.

Impresionar in real example sentences

In the present: everyday use

The present is where impresionar lives most of the time — routines, facts and what is happening now:

  1. Yo impresiono todos los días. — I impress every day.
  2. Tú impresionas en el trabajo. — You impress at work.
  3. Él impresiona con mi familia. — He impresses with my family.
  4. Nosotros impresionamos por la mañana. — We impress in the morning.

Talking about the past

In the past, choose the preterite for a finished event and the imperfect for a habit or background:

  1. Ayer yo impresioné por la tarde. — Yesterday I impressed in the afternoon.
  2. Antes, yo impresionaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to impress every day.
  3. La semana pasada él impresionó dos veces. — Last week He impressed twice.

Plans and things already done

The future, the conditional and the present perfect round out the picture — plans, hypotheticals and recent events:

  1. Mañana yo impresionaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will impress without fail.
  2. Si tuviera más tiempo, yo impresionaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would impress right now.
  3. Hoy yo he impresionado dos veces. — Today I have impressed twice.

More everyday uses

The subjunctive, the imperative and the progressive cover wishes, commands and actions in progress:

  1. Espero que tú impresiones pronto. — I hope You impress soon.
  2. ¡impresiona, por favor! — Impress, please!
  3. Ahora mismo yo estoy impresionando. — Right now I am impressing.

Impresionar in context

A short dialogue

Ana: «Yo impresiono en el trabajo.» — I impress at work. Luis: «¡Qué bien! Yo impresiono con mi familia.» — I impress with my family. Ana: «Mañana yo impresionaré sin falta.» — Tomorrow I will impress without fail. Luis: «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo impresionaría ahora mismo.» — If I had more time, I would impress right now. Ana: «Hoy yo he impresionado dos veces.» — Today I have impressed twice.

A short paragraph

Ayer yo impresioné por la tarde. Antes, yo impresionaba todos los días. Hoy yo he impresionado dos veces. Mañana yo impresionaré sin falta.

Yesterday I impressed in the afternoon. In the past, I used to impress every day. Today I have impressed twice. Tomorrow I will impress without fail.

Common mistakes with impresionar

1. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer yo impresionaba.

Right: Ayer yo impresioné.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, impresioné. The imperfect impresionaba describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.

2. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que tú impresionas.

Right: Espero que tú impresiones.

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: impresiones, not the indicative impresionas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.

3. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No impresiona.

Right: No impresiones.

Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no impresiones. The affirmative impresiona can never follow no.

4. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

Wrong: Yo impresionar todos los días.

Right: Yo impresiono todos los días.

The infinitive impresionar names the action; it never works as the main verb of a sentence. Conjugate it for the person: yo impresiono.

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He impresionando.

Right: He impresionado.

The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he impresionado. The gerund impresionando goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy impresionando»), never with haber.

Quiz: impresionar in use

Test yourself on impresionar in use. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of impresionar in the present indicative?

- (a) impresiona
- (b) impresionas
- (c) impresionan
- (d) impresiono

2. What is the yo form of impresionar in the preterite?

- (a) impresioné
- (b) impresionaste
- (c) impresionamos
- (d) impresionó

3. What is the tú form of impresionar in the future?

- (a) impresionarás
- (b) impresionará
- (c) impresionaré
- (d) impresionaremos

4. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of impresionar in the present perfect?

- (a) ha impresionado
- (b) he impresionado
- (c) hemos impresionado
- (d) has impresionado

5. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of impresionar in the imperfect?

- (a) impresionaba
- (b) impresionaba
- (c) impresionaban
- (d) impresionabas

6. What is the gerund of impresionar?

- (a) impresionando
- (b) impresionado
- (c) impresionar
- (d) impresiono

7. What is the past participle of impresionar?

- (a) impresionado
- (b) impresionar
- (c) impresioné
- (d) impresionando

8. Which sentence uses impresionar correctly?

- (a) *Yo impresiono todos los días.* — I impress every day.
- (b) *Yo impresiona todos los días.*
- (c) *Yo impresionas todos los días.*
- (d) *Yo impresionar todos los días.*

9. Which sentence uses impresionar correctly?

- (a) *Ayer yo impresioné por la tarde.* — Yesterday I impressed in the afternoon.
- (b) *Ayer yo impresionaba por la tarde.*
- (c) *Ayer yo impresionar por la tarde.*
- (d) *Ayer yo impresiono por la tarde.*

10. What does impresionar mean?

- (a) to impress
- (b) to matter
- (c) to join
- (d) to imitate

Answer key

1. (c) — In the present indicative, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of impresionar is impresionan. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (a) — In the preterite, the yo form of impresionar is impresioné. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (a) — In the future, the tú form of impresionar is impresionarás. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (a) — In the present perfect, the él/ella/Ud. form of impresionar is ha impresionado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (c) — In the imperfect, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of impresionar is impresionaban. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (a) — The gerund of impresionar is impresionando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy impresionando». 7. (a) — The past participle of impresionar is impresionado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he impresionado». 8. (a) — Only this sentence pairs the right person with the right form of impresionar; the others mix a person with another person's form, or use the infinitive instead of a conjugated form. 9. (a) — Only this sentence pairs the right person with the right form of impresionar; the others mix a person with another person's form, or use the infinitive instead of a conjugated form. 10. (a) — impresionar means «to impress».

Frequently asked questions

How do you say 'I impress' in Spanish?

Say «Yo impresiono todos los días». That is the present-tense yo form, and it is the sentence you will use most with this verb.

How do you say 'I impressed' about yesterday?

Say «Ayer yo impresioné por la tarde». The preterite is the tense for a finished event: yesterday, last week, last night.

Is impresionar reflexive?

No — impresionar is not reflexive. It conjugates without a pronoun: yo impresiono, tú impresionas, él impresiona. If you see a -se form of a similar verb, that is a different verb with its own meaning.

Which tense do learners find hardest with impresionar?

Most learners struggle with choosing between the preterite and the imperfect, not with the forms themselves. Use the preterite (impresioné) for a single finished event and the imperfect (impresionaba) for habits and background. After that, the subjunctive is the next step.

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