Investir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

investir means "to invest (with office)" 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. Investir is a formal verb meaning to invest someone with an office: investir al presidente, investir al alcalde. It takes a person as its object and often adds con or de for the office. 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 investir; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the investir present tense page.

investir 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 invisto al nuevo presidente — "I invest the new president"
  2. Mi amigo inviste al alcalde en la ceremonia — "My friend invests the mayor at the ceremony"
  3. Mañana, tú investirás al juez con su cargo — "Tomorrow, you will invest the judge with his office"
  4. Yo investiría al embajador en Madrid si pudiera — "I would invest the ambassador in Madrid 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 investí al nuevo presidente — "Yesterday, I invested the new president"
  2. Antes, nosotros investíamos al alcalde en la ceremonia — "Before, we used to invest the mayor at the ceremony"
  3. Él ha investido al juez con su cargo — "He has invested the judge with his office"
  4. Yo ya había investido al embajador en Madrid antes de salir — "I already had invested the ambassador in Madrid 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 invista al nuevo presidente — "I hope he invests the new president"
  2. Si yo invistiera al alcalde en la ceremonia, todo cambiaría — "If I invested the mayor at the ceremony, everything would change"
  3. Inviste al juez con su cargo. — "Invest the judge with his office."
  4. Yo habría investido al embajador en Madrid con más tiempo — "I would have invested the ambassador in Madrid with more time"

investir in conversation

Two short dialogues that use investir 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 invisto al nuevo presidente — "I invest the new president"
  • Marcos: Él inviste al alcalde en la ceremonia — "He invests the mayor at the ceremony"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo investí al juez con su cargo — "Yesterday, I invested the judge with his office"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú investirás al embajador en Madrid — "Tomorrow, you will invest the ambassador in Madrid"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Inviste a la rectora de la universidad. — "Invest the university rector."
  • Lucía: Él ha investido al nuevo presidente — "He has invested the new president"
  • Marcos: Espero que él invista al alcalde en la ceremonia — "I hope he invests the mayor at the ceremony"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo investía al juez con su cargo — "Before, I used to invest the judge with his office"

Common mistakes with investir

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

✗ *Yo investo al embajador en Madrid.

✓ Correct: Yo invisto al embajador en Madrid.

investir is a stem-changing verb (e → i): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is invisto, not investo.

✗ *Espero que él inviste al embajador en Madrid

✓ Correct: Espero que él invista al embajador en Madrid

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él invista al embajador en Madrid — not the indicative Espero que él inviste al embajador en Madrid.

✗ *Ayer, yo invisto a la rectora de la universidad

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo investí a la rectora de la universidad

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo investí a la rectora de la universidad.

✗ *De niño, yo investí al nuevo presidente todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo investía al nuevo presidente todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo investía al nuevo presidente todos los días.

✗ *Yo invisto juez con su cargo.

✓ Correct: Yo invisto al juez con su cargo.

investir takes al before this complement: Yo invisto al juez con su cargo. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.

Quiz: investir in use

Ten questions on investir — 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 ______ al nuevo presidente — "I invest the new president" (present) A. invistes B. inviste C. investimos D. invisto

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ al alcalde en la ceremonia — "Yesterday, I invested the mayor at the ceremony" (preterite) A. investiste B. invistió C. investimos D. investí

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ al juez con su cargo — "Before, we used to invest the judge with his office" (imperfect) A. investíamos B. investía C. investías D. investíais

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ al embajador en Madrid — "Tomorrow, you will invest the ambassador in Madrid" (future) A. investiremos B. investirás C. investiré D. investirá

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a la rectora de la universidad — "I would invest the university rector" (conditional) A. investirías B. investiríamos C. investiríais D. investiría

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ al nuevo presidente — "He has invested the new president" (present perfect) A. ha investido B. he investido C. has investido D. hemos investido

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ al alcalde en la ceremonia — "I hope he invests the mayor at the ceremony" (present subjunctive) A. invistamos B. invistáis C. invista D. invistas

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ al juez con su cargo. — "Invest the judge with his office." (affirmative imperative) A. inviste B. invista C. invistamos D. investid

  9. Which is the gerund of investir, used with estar for the progressive? A. invisto B. investí C. invistiendo D. investido

  10. What does investir mean in English? A. to invest (with office) B. to appoint C. to enjoy D. to cross

Answer key

  1. invisto — The present form for yo is invisto.
  2. investí — The preterite form for yo is investí.
  3. investíamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is investíamos.
  4. investirás — The future form for tú is investirás.
  5. investiría — The conditional form for yo is investiría.
  6. ha investido — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha investido.
  7. invista — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is invista.
  8. inviste — The affirmative imperative form is inviste.
  9. invistiendo — The gerund of investir is invistiendo: estoy invistiendo. The participle investido is used with haber instead.
  10. to invest (with office) — investir means to invest (with office).

Frequently asked questions

What does investir mean in English?

investir means to invest (with office). For example: Yo invisto al nuevo presidente — "I invest the new president". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with investir?

investir takes al before this kind of complement, as in the examples above. Keep the preposition with the verb — dropping it is one of the most common learner errors with investir.

Is investir regular?

No. investir is a stem-changing -ir verb (e → i). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: invisto, invistes, inviste and invisten — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: investimos, investís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: invistió, invistieron, and the gerund is invistiendo.

How do I practise investir?

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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