Introduction
Irritar means “to irritate”, and it is one of the verbs you will use again and again in Spanish. Irritar means to irritate, and it covers irritating a person and irritating the skin or the eyes: el humo irrita los ojos. It is fully regular. Its reflexive partner irritarse means to get irritated or annoyed yourself. This page shows irritar in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct present-tense form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Irrito a su hermano con preguntas.” — I irritate his brother with questions.
Irritar in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how irritar is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.
In the present: everyday use
These sentences use irritar in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Irrito a su hermano con preguntas.” — I irritate his brother with questions.
“¿Irritas los ojos con el humo?” — Do you irritate the eyes with smoke?
“Irrita a los vecinos con el ruido.” — He/she irritates the neighbours with the noise.
“Nosotros irritamos la piel con el sol.” — We irritate the skin with the sun.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show irritar in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo irrité a su hermano con preguntas.” — Yesterday, I irritated his brother with questions. (preterite)
“Antes, él irritaba los ojos con el humo.” — Before, he used to irritate the eyes with smoke. (imperfect)
Plans and things already done
These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of irritar stays the same.
“Mañana, nosotros irritaremos a los vecinos con el ruido.” — Tomorrow, we will irritate the neighbours with the noise. (future)
“¿Tú has irritado la piel con el sol?” — Have you irritated the skin with the sun? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Vosotros irritáis a su hermano con preguntas.” — You irritate his brother with questions.
“Ellos irritan los ojos con el humo.” — They irritate the eyes with smoke.
“Yo irrito a los vecinos con el ruido.” — I irritate the neighbours with the noise.
“Mi padre irrita la piel con el sol.” — My father irritates the skin with the sun.
Irritar in context
Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how irritar appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Marta: “¿Tú irritas los ojos con el humo?” — Do you irritate the eyes with smoke?
Pedro: “Sí, yo irrito a su hermano con preguntas.” — Yes, I irritate his brother with questions.
Marta: “Nosotros irritamos la piel con el sol.” — We irritate the skin with the sun.
Pedro: “Y ellos irritan los ojos con el humo.” — And they irritate the eyes with smoke.
Marta: “Vosotros irritáis a los vecinos con el ruido.” — You irritate the neighbours with the noise.
Pedro: “Sí, y él irrita a su hermano con preguntas.” — Yes, and he irritates his brother with questions.
A short paragraph
Irrita a su hermano con preguntas, y nosotros irritamos la piel con el sol. Yo irrito los ojos con el humo, y ellos irritan a los vecinos con el ruido. Irritar is part of everyday life, because irritate is something people do in work, at home and with friends, in the present, the past and the future.
Common mistakes with irritar
These are the errors learners actually make with irritar. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo irrita a su hermano con preguntas.” Right: “Yo irrito a su hermano con preguntas.” Why: The person matters: irrita is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is irrito. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
Wrong: “Ayer yo irrito los ojos con el humo.” Right: “Ayer yo irrité los ojos con el humo.” Why: The present and the preterite are different tenses: irrito is happening now, while irrité is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
Wrong: “Treating irritar and irritarse as identical in every context.” Right: “Irritar means to irritate, while irritarse means to get irritated yourself.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: irritar fits sentences such as Irrito a su hermano con preguntas, while irritarse belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy irritado los ojos con el humo.” Right: “Yo he irritado los ojos con el humo.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he irritado, has irritado, ha irritado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo irrité a los vecinos con el ruido todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo irritaba a los vecinos con el ruido todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (irritaba), not the preterite. The preterite (irrité) is for one finished action.
Quiz: irritar in use
Ten questions on irritar in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ a su hermano con preguntas.” (You irritate his brother with questions.)
- (a) irritáis
- (b) irrito
- (c) irritas
Answer: irritáis — The vosotros/as form of irritar in the present tense is irritáis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ los ojos con el humo.” (They irritate the eyes with smoke.)
- (a) irritas
- (b) irritan
- (c) irrito
Answer: irritan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of irritar in the present tense is irritan.
3. Complete the sentence (preterite): “Ayer yo ______ a su hermano con preguntas.” (Yesterday I irritated his brother with questions.)
- (a) irritaste
- (b) irritó
- (c) irrité
Answer: irrité — In the preterite, the yo form of irritar is irrité.
4. Complete the sentence (imperfect): “Antes, él ______ los ojos con el humo.” (Before, he used to irritate the eyes with smoke.)
- (a) irritaba
- (b) irrito
- (c) irritabas
Answer: irritaba — In the imperfect, the él/ella/Ud. form of irritar is irritaba.
5. Complete the sentence (future): “Mañana, nosotros ______ a los vecinos con el ruido.” (Tomorrow we will irritate the neighbours with the noise.)
- (a) irritarás
- (b) irritaremos
- (c) irritaré
Answer: irritaremos — In the future, the nosotros/as form of irritar is irritaremos.
6. What does irritar mean in English?
- (a) to irritate
- (b) to involve
- (c) to get irritated yourself
Answer: to irritate — Irritar means “to irritate”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo irrita a su hermano con preguntas.
- (b) Ellos irrita los ojos con el humo.
- (c) Yo irrito a su hermano con preguntas.
Answer: Yo irrito a su hermano con preguntas. — “Yo irrito a su hermano con preguntas.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I irritate his brother with questions.” in Spanish?
- (a) Mi padre irrita la piel con el sol.
- (b) Irrito a su hermano con preguntas.
- (c) Irritan a su hermano con preguntas.
Answer: Irrito a su hermano con preguntas. — “Irrito a su hermano con preguntas.” is the correct translation.
9. What is the nosotros form of irritar in the present tense?
- (a) irrito
- (b) irritas
- (c) irritamos
Answer: irritamos — The nosotros form is irritamos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Mañana, nosotros irritaremos a los vecinos con el ruido.
- (b) Irrito a su hermano con preguntas.
- (c) Ayer, yo irrité a su hermano con preguntas.
Answer: Irrito a su hermano con preguntas. — “Irrito a su hermano con preguntas.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I irritate his brother with questions' in Spanish?
Say 'Irrito a su hermano con preguntas'. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Irrito a su hermano con preguntas todos los días'.
How do you say 'He irritates the eyes with smoke' in Spanish?
Say 'Él irrita los ojos con el humo'. The subject comes first, and the verb agrees with it: él takes irrita.
What is the difference between irritar and irritarse?
Irritar means to irritate, while irritarse means to get irritated yourself. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use irritar when you mean to irritate, as in 'Irrito a su hermano con preguntas', and use irritarse for to get irritated yourself.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of irritar — every tense of irritar in one place.
- Irritar in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on irritar and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of irritar until they are automatic.