Lanzar Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

lanzar means to throw, to launch, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Lanzar means to throw or to launch, and it covers throwing a ball into the air, launching a new product onto the market and launching a campaign on social media. It is stronger than tirar, and it is a spelling-change verb: the z becomes c before e, so the preterite is lancé. This page puts lanzar to work: twelve example sentences in different tenses and persons, grouped by use, then two short dialogues where the verb appears naturally, then the common mistakes to avoid, and finally a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every Spanish form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for lanzar, and the full tables are on the lanzar conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo lanzo la pelota al aire. — I throw the ball into the air.
  2. Él lanza un nuevo producto al mercado. — He/she throws a new product onto the market.
  3. Ayer, yo lancé una campaña en las redes. — Yesterday, I threw a campaign on social media.
  4. Antes, nosotros lanzábamos la moneda al aire. — Before, we used to throw the coin into the air.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú lanzarás la pelota al aire. — Tomorrow, you will throw the ball into the air.
  2. Yo lanzaría un nuevo producto al mercado. — I would throw a new product onto the market.
  3. Él ha lanzado una campaña en las redes. — He/she has thrown a campaign on social media.
  4. Espero que él lance la moneda al aire. — I hope he/she throws the coin into the air.

With other people

  1. Nosotros lanzamos la pelota al aire. — We throw the ball into the air.
  2. Vosotros lanzáis un nuevo producto al mercado. — You all throw a new product onto the market.
  3. Antes, ellos lanzaban una campaña en las redes. — Before, they used to throw a campaign on social media.
  4. Mañana, él lanzará la moneda al aire. — Tomorrow, he/she will throw the coin into the air.

Lanzar in context

Two short dialogues that use lanzar the way people really use it. Read them aloud — the verb forms will stick much faster in a conversation than in a table.

Dialogue 1: today and yesterday

  • Ana: "Hola, ¿qué tal?" — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Luis: "Hoy lanzo la pelota al aire." — "Today I throw the ball into the air."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, lancé una campaña en las redes." — "Yesterday I threw a campaign on social media."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú lanzarás un nuevo producto al mercado?" — "And tomorrow, will you will throw a new product onto the market?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros lanzamos la moneda al aire." — "Tomorrow we throw the coin into the air."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo lanzaría un nuevo producto al mercado si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would throw a new product onto the market if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él lance la pelota al aire." — "I hope he throws the ball into the air."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha lanzado una campaña en las redes." — "Surely. He has already has thrown a campaign on social media."
  • Marta: "Vale, nos vemos mañana." — "OK, see you tomorrow."

Notice how the same verb changes with the tense: the present for the plan, the conditional for the wish, the subjunctive after espero que, and the present perfect for what has already happened. That is the whole point of learning a verb across its tenses, not just in one form.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo lanza la pelota al aire. — Right: Yo lanzo la pelota al aire. — The person matters: lanza is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is lanzo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo lanzé un nuevo producto al mercado. — Right: Yo lancé un nuevo producto al mercado. — In the preterite, the correct first-person form is lancé, not lanzé. lanzar is a spelling-change verb: z becomes c before e, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
  3. Wrong: Treating lanzar and tirar as identical in every context. — Right: Lanzar means to throw, to launch, while tirar means to throw, the close verb. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: lanzar fits sentences such as Lanzo la pelota al aire, while tirar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy lanzado un nuevo producto al mercado. — Right: Yo he lanzado un nuevo producto al mercado. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he lanzado, has lanzado, ha lanzado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo lancé una campaña en las redes todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo lanzaba una campaña en las redes todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (lanzaba), not the preterite. The preterite (lancé) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on lanzar: four on the forms, three on the meaning, and three on spotting the correct sentence. Check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la pelota al aire. (present tense) A. lanzo B. lanzas C. lanza D. lanzamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ un nuevo producto al mercado. (preterite tense) A. lancé B. lanzaste C. lanzamos D. lanzó

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ una campaña en las redes. (future tense) A. lanzará B. lanzaremos C. lanzarás D. lanzaré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ la moneda al aire. (imperfect tense) A. lanzabais B. lanzábamos C. lanzaba D. lanzabas

  5. What does "Yo lanzo la pelota al aire." mean in English? A. I throw the ball into the air. B. I throw a new product onto the market. C. I throw a campaign on social media. D. I throw the coin into the air.

  6. What does "Él lanzó un nuevo producto al mercado." mean in English? A. He/she threw the ball into the air. B. He/she threw a campaign on social media. C. He/she threw the coin into the air. D. He/she threw a new product onto the market.

  7. What does "Nosotros lanzaremos una campaña en las redes." mean in English? A. We will throw a new product onto the market. B. We will throw the coin into the air. C. We will throw a campaign on social media. D. We will throw the ball into the air.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo lanzan un nuevo producto al mercado. B. Yo lanza un nuevo producto al mercado. C. Yo lanzo un nuevo producto al mercado.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él lancé una campaña en las redes. B. Él lanzó una campaña en las redes. C. Él lanzaron una campaña en las redes.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo lance la moneda al aire. B. Yo lanze la moneda al aire. C. Yo lance la moneda al aire.

Answer key

  1. lanzo — The yo present form of lanzar is lanzo.
  2. lanzó — The el preterite form of lanzar is lanzó.
  3. lanzarás — The tu future form of lanzar is lanzarás.
  4. lanzábamos — The nosotros imperfect form of lanzar is lanzábamos.
  5. I throw the ball into the air. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form lanzo, so the English is "I throw the ball into the air." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she threw a new product onto the market. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form lanzó, so the English is "He/she threw a new product onto the market." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will throw a campaign on social media. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form lanzaremos, so the English is "We will throw a campaign on social media." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo lanzo un nuevo producto al mercado. — The correct sentence is "Yo lanzo un nuevo producto al mercado." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él lanzó una campaña en las redes. — The correct sentence is "Él lanzó una campaña en las redes." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo lance la moneda al aire. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo lance la moneda al aire." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

What does lanzar mean, and when do I use it?

Lanzar means to throw, to launch. Lanzar means to throw or to launch, and it covers throwing a ball into the air, launching a new product onto the market and launching a campaign on social media. It is stronger than tirar, and it is a spelling-change verb: the z becomes c before e, so the preterite is lancé. A good first sentence to remember is Yo lanzo la pelota al aire. — "I throw the ball into the air."

What is the difference between lanzar and tirar?

Lanzar means to throw, to launch, while tirar means to throw, the close verb. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use lanzar when you mean to throw, to launch, as in Yo lanzo un nuevo producto al mercado., and use tirar for to throw, the close verb.

How do I say "I throw" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo lancé un nuevo producto al mercado.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo lanzaba una campaña en las redes.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he lanzado un nuevo producto al mercado..

How do I practise lanzar?

Start with the lanzar conjugation page for the full tables, then the lanzar in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Spelling change: z becomes c before e, so the preterite is lancé and the subjunctive is lance. Lanzar un producto is to launch a product.

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