Llover Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

llover means "to rain" 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. Llover is a weather verb, used almost only in the third person singular: llueve, llovió, llovía. It appears in the idiom llover a cántaros, to rain cats and dogs. 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 llover; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the llover present tense page.

llover 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. Llueve mucho en abril — "It rains a lot in April"
  2. Llueve toda la tarde — "It rains all afternoon"
  3. Mañana, lloverá a cántaros en la ciudad — "Tomorrow, It will rain cats and dogs in the city"
  4. Llovería sobre el campo si pudiera — "It would rain over the countryside 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, llovió mucho en abril — "Yesterday, It rained a lot in April"
  2. Antes, llovía toda la tarde — "Before, It used to rain all afternoon"
  3. Ha llovido a cántaros en la ciudad — "It has rained cats and dogs in the city"
  4. Ya había llovido sobre el campo antes de salir — "It had already rained over the countryside 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 llueva mucho en abril — "I hope It rains a lot in April"
  2. Si lloviera toda la tarde, todo cambiaría — "If It rained all afternoon, everything would change"
  3. ¡Que llueva a cántaros en la ciudad! — "I hope it rains cats and dogs in the city!"
  4. Habría llovido sobre el campo con más tiempo — "It would have rained over the countryside with more time"

llover in conversation

Two short dialogues that use llover 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: Llueve mucho en abril — "It rains a lot in April"
  • Marcos: Llueve toda la tarde — "It rains all afternoon"
  • Lucía: Ayer, llovió a cántaros en la ciudad — "Yesterday, It rained cats and dogs in the city"
  • Marcos: Mañana, lloverá sobre el campo — "Tomorrow, It will rain over the countryside"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: ¡Que llueva sin parar en invierno! — "I hope it rains without stopping in winter!"
  • Lucía: Ha llovido mucho en abril — "It has rained a lot in April"
  • Marcos: Espero que llueva toda la tarde — "I hope It rains all afternoon"
  • Lucía: Antes, llovía a cántaros en la ciudad — "Before, It used to rain cats and dogs in the city"

Common mistakes with llover

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

✗ *Yo lluevo a cántaros en la ciudad.

✓ Correct: Llueve a cántaros en la ciudad

llover is a weather verb, used in the third person singular: Llueve a cántaros en la ciudad. It has no personal subject.

✗ *Yo llovo sobre el campo.

✓ Correct: Yo lluevo sobre el campo.

llover is a stem-changing verb (o → ue): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is lluevo, not llovo.

✗ *Espero que llueve sobre el campo

✓ Correct: Espero que llueva sobre el campo

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que llueva sobre el campo — not the indicative Espero que llueve sobre el campo.

✗ *Ayer, llueve sin parar en invierno

✓ Correct: Ayer, llovió sin parar en invierno

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, llovió sin parar en invierno.

✗ *De niño, llovió mucho en abril todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, llovía mucho en abril todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, llovía mucho en abril todos los días.

Quiz: llover in use

Ten questions on llover — 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: ______ mucho en abril — "It rains a lot in April" (present) A. lloverá B. llueve C. llovió D. llovía

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, ______ toda la tarde — "Yesterday, It rained all afternoon" (preterite) A. llueve B. llovía C. lloverá D. llovió

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, ______ a cántaros en la ciudad — "Before, It used to rain cats and dogs in the city" (imperfect) A. llovió B. lloverá C. llovía D. llueve

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, ______ sobre el campo — "Tomorrow, It will rain over the countryside" (future) A. lloverá B. llueve C. llovió D. llovía

  5. Complete the sentence: ______ sin parar en invierno — "It would rain without stopping in winter" (conditional) A. llovía B. llovería C. llueve D. llovió

  6. Complete the sentence: ______ mucho en abril — "It has rained a lot in April" (present perfect) A. llovió B. llovía C. ha llovido D. llueve

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que ______ toda la tarde — "I hope It rains all afternoon" (present subjunctive) A. llueve B. llovió C. llovía D. llueva

  8. Complete the sentence: Si ______ a cántaros en la ciudad, todo cambiaría — "If It rained cats and dogs in the city, everything would change" (imperfect subjunctive) A. llovía B. lloviera C. llueve D. llovió

  9. Which is the gerund of llover, used with estar for the progressive? A. lluevo B. lloví C. lloviendo D. llovido

  10. What does llover mean in English? A. to rain B. to snow C. to enjoy D. to cross

Answer key

  1. llueve — The present form is llueve.
  2. llovió — The preterite form is llovió.
  3. llovía — The imperfect form is llovía.
  4. lloverá — The future form is lloverá.
  5. llovería — The conditional form is llovería.
  6. ha llovido — The present perfect form is ha llovido.
  7. llueva — The present subjunctive form is llueva.
  8. lloviera — The imperfect subjunctive form is lloviera.
  9. lloviendo — The gerund of llover is lloviendo: estoy lloviendo. The participle llovido is used with haber instead.
  10. to rain — llover means to rain.

Frequently asked questions

What does llover mean in English?

llover means to rain. For example: Llueve mucho en abril — "It rains a lot in April". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with llover?

llover takes no object at all — just the verb and a time or place phrase, as in llueve mucho en abril.

Is llover regular?

No. llover is a stem-changing -er verb (o → ue). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: lluevo, llueves, llueve and llueven — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: llovemos, llovéis.

How do I practise llover?

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.

Related links