Jactarse Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish
jactarse means "to boast" 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 jactarse with his new car, his school grades, his job in the office and his fortune in the village — the situations where Spanish speakers really use it. A good first sentence to learn is: Cada día, yo me jacto de su nuevo coche. — "Every day, I boast about his new car." Read the examples aloud, notice which tense each one uses, and then try the dialogues and the quiz.
jactarse in everyday sentences
Twelve sentences with jactarse, 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 jacto de su nuevo coche. — "Every day, I boast about his new car." The present tense fits a habit here.
- Ayer, yo me jacté de sus notas en la escuela. — "Yesterday, I boasted about his school grades." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, yo me jactaba de su trabajo en la oficina. — "In the past, I used to boast about his job in the office." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, nosotros nos jactaremos de su fortuna en el pueblo. — "Tomorrow, we will boast about his fortune in the village." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Si pudieras, tú te jactarías de su nuevo coche. — "If you could, you would boast about his new car." The conditional fits something that would happen.
- Yo me he jactado de sus notas en la escuela. — "I have boasted about his school grades." The present perfect fits an action with present relevance.
More situations
- Normalmente, él se jacta de su trabajo en la oficina. — "Normally, he/she boasts about his job in the office." The present tense fits a general truth here.
- Ayer, él se jactó de su fortuna en el pueblo. — "Yesterday, he/she boasted about his fortune in the village." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, nosotros nos jactábamos de su nuevo coche. — "In the past, we used to boast about his new car." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, yo me jactaré de sus notas en la escuela. — "Tomorrow, I will boast about his school grades." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Espero que él se jacte de su trabajo en la oficina. — "I hope that he/she boasts about his job in the office." The present subjunctive follows espero que.
- ¡No te jactes de su fortuna en el pueblo! — "Do not boast about his fortune in the village!" The imperative fits a direct order or request.
The verb in context
Two short dialogues using jactarse naturally. Notice how the verb changes person and tense as the conversation moves, and how the complements stay the same kind of situation: his new car, his school grades, his job in the office and his fortune in the village.
Dialogue 1: talking about his new car
Ana: ¿Tú te jactas de su nuevo coche? — "Do you boast about his new car?" Luis: Sí, yo me jacto de su nuevo coche. — "I boast about his new car." Ana: ¿Y ayer? — "And yesterday?" Luis: Ayer, yo me jacté de sus notas en la escuela. — "Yesterday, I boasted about his school grades." Ana: Mañana, nosotros nos jactaremos de su trabajo en la oficina. — "Tomorrow, we will boast about his job in the office." Luis: Si pudiera, yo me jactaría de su fortuna en el pueblo. — "If I could, I would boast about his fortune in the village." Ana: Antes, yo me jactaba de sus notas en la escuela. — "In the past, I used to boast about his school grades." Luis: Yo me he jactado de su nuevo coche. — "I have boasted about his new car." Ana: ¡No te jactes de su trabajo en la oficina! — "Do not boast about his job in the office!"
In this dialogue jactarse 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 job in the office
Ana: Él se jacta de su trabajo en la oficina. — "he/she boasts about his job in the office." Luis: ¿De verdad? ¿Él se jacta de su trabajo en la oficina todos los días? — "Really? Does he/she boasts about his job in the office every day?" Ana: Sí, y ellos se jactan de su fortuna en el pueblo. — "they boast about his fortune in the village." Luis: Ayer, ellos se jactaron de su trabajo en la oficina. — "Yesterday, they boasted about his job in the office." Ana: Espero que él se jacte de su fortuna en el pueblo. — "I hope that he/she boasts about his fortune in the village." Luis: Mañana, él se jactará de su trabajo en la oficina. — "Tomorrow, he/she will boast about his job in the office." Ana: Antes, nosotros nos jactábamos de su fortuna en el pueblo. — "In the past, we used to boast about his fortune in the village." Luis: Nosotros nos jactamos de su nuevo coche también. — "we boast about his new car too."
This dialogue shows jactarse 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 jactarse
The errors learners actually make with jactarse in everyday use, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why it is wrong.
Mistake 1: Forgetting the reflexive pronoun
- Wrong: Yo jacto de su nuevo coche.
- Right: Yo me jacto de su nuevo coche.
- Why: jactarse is reflexive, so the pronoun is part of the verb: Yo me jacto de su nuevo coche.. Without me the sentence is incomplete.
Mistake 2: Using the infinitive as a conjugated form
- Wrong: Yo jactarse de su nuevo coche.
- Right: Yo me jacto de su nuevo coche.
- Why: The infinitive jactarse is the dictionary form, not a conjugated form. In a sentence with yo you need the present-tense form jacto.
Mistake 3: Using the present tense for yesterday
- Wrong: Ayer, yo me jacto de sus notas en la escuela.
- Right: Ayer, yo me jacté de sus notas en la escuela.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite: Ayer, yo me jacté de sus notas en la escuela. — "Yesterday, I boasted about his school grades."
Mistake 4: Mixing up the gerund and the participle
- Wrong: Me estoy jactado de su trabajo en la oficina.
- Right: Me estoy jactando de su trabajo en la oficina.
- Why: After estar you need the gerund jactando for the progressive. The participle jactado goes with haber in the perfect tenses (me he jactado), never after estar.
Mistake 5: Using the él form for nosotros
- Wrong: Nosotros nos jacta de su nuevo coche.
- Right: Nosotros nos jactamos de su nuevo coche.
- Why: The person and the ending must match: nosotros takes jactamos, while jacta belongs to él and ella.
Quiz: jactarse in use
Test yourself with ten questions on jactarse. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the yo form of jactarse in the present tense?
- (a) jactas
- (b) jacta
- (c) jactamos
- (d) jacto
Answer: (d) jacto. The yo form is jacto.
2. What is the tú form of jactarse in the present tense?
- (a) jacta
- (b) jactamos
- (c) jactas
- (d) jacto
Answer: (c) jactas. The tú form is jactas.
3. What is the él/ella form of jactarse in the present tense?
- (a) jactamos
- (b) jacta
- (c) jacto
- (d) jactas
Answer: (b) jacta. The él/ella form is jacta.
4. Complete the sentence: Cada día, yo ___ de su nuevo coche.
- (a) jacto
- (b) jactas
- (c) jacta
- (d) jactamos
Answer: (a) jacto. The sentence needs the yo form jacto.
5. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ___ de sus notas en la escuela.
- (a) jactaste
- (b) jactó
- (c) jactamos
- (d) jacté
Answer: (d) jacté. Ayer needs the preterite, and the yo form is jacté.
6. Complete the sentence: Antes, yo ___ de su trabajo en la oficina.
- (a) jactábamos
- (b) jactabais
- (c) jactaba
- (d) jactabas
Answer: (c) jactaba. Antes needs the imperfect, and the yo form is jactaba.
7. Complete the sentence: Mañana, yo ___ de su fortuna en el pueblo.
- (a) jactaremos
- (b) jactaré
- (c) jactarás
- (d) jactará
Answer: (b) jactaré. Mañana needs the future, and the yo form is jactaré.
8. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ de su nuevo coche.
- (a) nos hemos jactado
- (b) me he jactado
- (c) te has jactado
- (d) se ha jactado
Answer: (b) me he jactado. The present perfect uses haber plus the participle: me he jactado.
9. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ de su trabajo en la oficina.
- (a) jactes
- (b) jactemos
- (c) jactéis
- (d) jacte
Answer: (d) jacte. After espero que Spanish needs the subjunctive, and the él form is jacte.
10. What does jactarse mean in English?
- (a) to die, to pass away
- (b) to float
- (c) to promote, to foster
- (d) to boast
Answer: (d) to boast. jactarse means "to boast" in English.
Frequently asked questions about jactarse
What does jactarse mean?
jactarse means "to boast" in English. Use it when you talk about his new car, his school grades, his job in the office and his fortune in the village — for example: Cada día, yo me jacto de su nuevo coche. — "Every day, I boast about his new car."
Is jactarse reflexive?
Yes. jactarse is reflexive, so it always travels with a pronoun: me, te, se, nos, os, se. Cada día, yo me jacto de su nuevo coche. — "Every day, I boast about his new car." If you drop the pronoun, the sentence is incomplete.
What is the most common mistake with jactarse?
Forgetting the reflexive pronoun. Learners write the bare form — for example, Yo jacto de su nuevo coche — when the verb needs its pronoun: Cada día, yo me jacto de su nuevo coche. — "Every day, I boast about his new car." Keep the pronoun with the verb and the mistake disappears.
How can I practise jactarse?
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.