Inquietarse Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish
inquietarse means "to get worried" 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 inquietarse with his son at school, his mother's health, tomorrow's exam and his family's future — the situations where Spanish speakers really use it. A good first sentence to learn is: Cada día, yo me inquieto por su hijo en la escuela. — "Every day, I get worried over his son at school." Read the examples aloud, notice which tense each one uses, and then try the dialogues and the quiz.
inquietarse in everyday sentences
Twelve sentences with inquietarse, 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 inquieto por su hijo en la escuela. — "Every day, I get worried over his son at school." The present tense fits a habit here.
- Ayer, yo me inquieté por la salud de su madre. — "Yesterday, I got worried over his mother's health." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, yo me inquietaba por el examen de mañana. — "In the past, I used to get worried over tomorrow's exam." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, nosotros nos inquietaremos por el futuro de su familia. — "Tomorrow, we will get worried over his family's future." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Si pudieras, tú te inquietarías por su hijo en la escuela. — "If you could, you would get worried over his son at school." The conditional fits something that would happen.
- Yo me he inquietado por la salud de su madre. — "I have got worried over his mother's health." The present perfect fits an action with present relevance.
More situations
- Normalmente, él se inquieta por el examen de mañana. — "Normally, he/she gets worried over tomorrow's exam." The present tense fits a general truth here.
- Ayer, él se inquietó por el futuro de su familia. — "Yesterday, he/she got worried over his family's future." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, nosotros nos inquietábamos por su hijo en la escuela. — "In the past, we used to get worried over his son at school." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, yo me inquietaré por la salud de su madre. — "Tomorrow, I will get worried over his mother's health." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Espero que él se inquiete por el examen de mañana. — "I hope that he/she gets worried over tomorrow's exam." The present subjunctive follows espero que.
- ¡No te inquietes por el futuro de su familia! — "Do not get worried over his family's future!" The imperative fits a direct order or request.
The verb in context
Two short dialogues using inquietarse naturally. Notice how the verb changes person and tense as the conversation moves, and how the complements stay the same kind of situation: his son at school, his mother's health, tomorrow's exam and his family's future.
Dialogue 1: talking about his son at school
Ana: ¿Tú te inquietas por su hijo en la escuela? — "Do you get worried over his son at school?" Luis: Sí, yo me inquieto por su hijo en la escuela. — "I get worried over his son at school." Ana: ¿Y ayer? — "And yesterday?" Luis: Ayer, yo me inquieté por la salud de su madre. — "Yesterday, I got worried over his mother's health." Ana: Mañana, nosotros nos inquietaremos por el examen de mañana. — "Tomorrow, we will get worried over tomorrow's exam." Luis: Si pudiera, yo me inquietaría por el futuro de su familia. — "If I could, I would get worried over his family's future." Ana: Antes, yo me inquietaba por la salud de su madre. — "In the past, I used to get worried over his mother's health." Luis: Yo me he inquietado por su hijo en la escuela. — "I have got worried over his son at school." Ana: ¡No te inquietes por el examen de mañana! — "Do not get worried over tomorrow's exam!"
In this dialogue inquietarse 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 tomorrow's exam
Ana: Él se inquieta por el examen de mañana. — "he/she gets worried over tomorrow's exam." Luis: ¿De verdad? ¿Él se inquieta por el examen de mañana todos los días? — "Really? Does he/she gets worried over tomorrow's exam every day?" Ana: Sí, y ellos se inquietan por el futuro de su familia. — "they get worried over his family's future." Luis: Ayer, ellos se inquietaron por el examen de mañana. — "Yesterday, they got worried over tomorrow's exam." Ana: Espero que él se inquiete por el futuro de su familia. — "I hope that he/she gets worried over his family's future." Luis: Mañana, él se inquietará por el examen de mañana. — "Tomorrow, he/she will get worried over tomorrow's exam." Ana: Antes, nosotros nos inquietábamos por el futuro de su familia. — "In the past, we used to get worried over his family's future." Luis: Nosotros nos inquietamos por su hijo en la escuela también. — "we get worried over his son at school too."
This dialogue shows inquietarse 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 inquietarse
The errors learners actually make with inquietarse in everyday use, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why it is wrong.
Mistake 1: Forgetting the reflexive pronoun
- Wrong: Yo inquieto por su hijo en la escuela.
- Right: Yo me inquieto por su hijo en la escuela.
- Why: inquietarse is reflexive, so the pronoun is part of the verb: Yo me inquieto por su hijo en la escuela.. Without me the sentence is incomplete.
Mistake 2: Using the infinitive as a conjugated form
- Wrong: Yo inquietarse por su hijo en la escuela.
- Right: Yo me inquieto por su hijo en la escuela.
- Why: The infinitive inquietarse is the dictionary form, not a conjugated form. In a sentence with yo you need the present-tense form inquieto.
Mistake 3: Using the present tense for yesterday
- Wrong: Ayer, yo me inquieto por la salud de su madre.
- Right: Ayer, yo me inquieté por la salud de su madre.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite: Ayer, yo me inquieté por la salud de su madre. — "Yesterday, I got worried over his mother's health."
Mistake 4: Mixing up the gerund and the participle
- Wrong: Me estoy inquietado por el examen de mañana.
- Right: Me estoy inquietando por el examen de mañana.
- Why: After estar you need the gerund inquietando for the progressive. The participle inquietado goes with haber in the perfect tenses (me he inquietado), never after estar.
Mistake 5: Using the él form for nosotros
- Wrong: Nosotros nos inquieta por su hijo en la escuela.
- Right: Nosotros nos inquietamos por su hijo en la escuela.
- Why: The person and the ending must match: nosotros takes inquietamos, while inquieta belongs to él and ella.
Quiz: inquietarse in use
Test yourself with ten questions on inquietarse. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the yo form of inquietarse in the present tense?
- (a) inquietas
- (b) inquieta
- (c) inquietamos
- (d) inquieto
Answer: (d) inquieto. The yo form is inquieto.
2. What is the tú form of inquietarse in the present tense?
- (a) inquieta
- (b) inquietamos
- (c) inquietas
- (d) inquieto
Answer: (c) inquietas. The tú form is inquietas.
3. What is the él/ella form of inquietarse in the present tense?
- (a) inquietamos
- (b) inquieta
- (c) inquieto
- (d) inquietas
Answer: (b) inquieta. The él/ella form is inquieta.
4. Complete the sentence: Cada día, yo ___ por su hijo en la escuela.
- (a) inquieto
- (b) inquietas
- (c) inquieta
- (d) inquietamos
Answer: (a) inquieto. The sentence needs the yo form inquieto.
5. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ___ por la salud de su madre.
- (a) inquietaste
- (b) inquietó
- (c) inquietamos
- (d) inquieté
Answer: (d) inquieté. Ayer needs the preterite, and the yo form is inquieté.
6. Complete the sentence: Antes, yo ___ por el examen de mañana.
- (a) inquietábamos
- (b) inquietabais
- (c) inquietaba
- (d) inquietabas
Answer: (c) inquietaba. Antes needs the imperfect, and the yo form is inquietaba.
7. Complete the sentence: Mañana, yo ___ por el futuro de su familia.
- (a) inquietaremos
- (b) inquietaré
- (c) inquietarás
- (d) inquietará
Answer: (b) inquietaré. Mañana needs the future, and the yo form is inquietaré.
8. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ por su hijo en la escuela.
- (a) nos hemos inquietado
- (b) me he inquietado
- (c) te has inquietado
- (d) se ha inquietado
Answer: (b) me he inquietado. The present perfect uses haber plus the participle: me he inquietado.
9. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ por el examen de mañana.
- (a) inquietes
- (b) inquietemos
- (c) inquietéis
- (d) inquiete
Answer: (d) inquiete. After espero que Spanish needs the subjunctive, and the él form is inquiete.
10. What does inquietarse mean in English?
- (a) to imagine
- (b) to get impatient
- (c) to enrol
- (d) to get worried
Answer: (d) to get worried. inquietarse means "to get worried" in English.
Frequently asked questions about inquietarse
What does inquietarse mean?
inquietarse means "to get worried" in English. Use it when you talk about his son at school, his mother's health, tomorrow's exam and his family's future — for example: Cada día, yo me inquieto por su hijo en la escuela. — "Every day, I get worried over his son at school."
Is inquietarse reflexive?
Yes. inquietarse is reflexive, so it always travels with a pronoun: me, te, se, nos, os, se. Cada día, yo me inquieto por su hijo en la escuela. — "Every day, I get worried over his son at school." If you drop the pronoun, the sentence is incomplete.
What is the most common mistake with inquietarse?
Forgetting the reflexive pronoun. Learners write the bare form — for example, Yo inquieto por su hijo en la escuela — when the verb needs its pronoun: Cada día, yo me inquieto por su hijo en la escuela. — "Every day, I get worried over his son at school." Keep the pronoun with the verb and the mistake disappears.
How can I practise inquietarse?
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.