Marcar Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

marcar means to mark, to dial, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Marcar means to mark or to dial, and it covers dialling a phone number, marking a date on a calendar, making the difference in a match and scoring a goal. It is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e, so the preterite is marqué. This page puts marcar 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 marcar, and the full tables are on the marcar conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo marco el número de teléfono. — I mark the phone number.
  2. Él marca la fecha en el calendario. — He/she marks the date on the calendar.
  3. Ayer, yo marqué la diferencia en el partido. — Yesterday, I marked the difference in the match.
  4. Antes, nosotros marcábamos un gol en el minuto diez. — Before, we used to mark a goal in the tenth minute.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú marcarás el número de teléfono. — Tomorrow, you will mark the phone number.
  2. Yo marcaría la fecha en el calendario. — I would mark the date on the calendar.
  3. Él ha marcado la diferencia en el partido. — He/she has marked the difference in the match.
  4. Espero que él marque un gol en el minuto diez. — I hope he/she marks a goal in the tenth minute.

With other people

  1. Nosotros marcamos el número de teléfono. — We mark the phone number.
  2. Vosotros marcáis la fecha en el calendario. — You all mark the date on the calendar.
  3. Antes, ellos marcaban la diferencia en el partido. — Before, they used to mark the difference in the match.
  4. Mañana, él marcará un gol en el minuto diez. — Tomorrow, he/she will mark a goal in the tenth minute.

Marcar in context

Two short dialogues that use marcar 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 marco el número de teléfono." — "Today I mark the phone number."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, marqué la diferencia en el partido." — "Yesterday I marked the difference in the match."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú marcarás la fecha en el calendario?" — "And tomorrow, will you will mark the date on the calendar?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros marcamos un gol en el minuto diez." — "Tomorrow we mark a goal in the tenth minute."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo marcaría la fecha en el calendario si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would mark the date on the calendar if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él marque el número de teléfono." — "I hope he marks the phone number."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha marcado la diferencia en el partido." — "Surely. He has already has marked the difference in the match."
  • 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 marca el número de teléfono. — Right: Yo marco el número de teléfono. — The person matters: marca is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is marco. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo marcé la fecha en el calendario. — Right: Yo marqué la fecha en el calendario. — In the preterite, the correct first-person form is marqué, not marcé. marcar is a spelling-change verb: c becomes qu before e, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
  3. Wrong: Treating marcar and señalar as identical in every context. — Right: Marcar means to mark, to dial, while señalar means to point out, the close verb. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: marcar fits sentences such as Marco el número de teléfono, while señalar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy marcado la fecha en el calendario. — Right: Yo he marcado la fecha en el calendario. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he marcado, has marcado, ha marcado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo marqué la diferencia en el partido todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo marcaba la diferencia en el partido todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (marcaba), not the preterite. The preterite (marqué) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on marcar: 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 ___ el número de teléfono. (present tense) A. marco B. marcas C. marca D. marcamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ la fecha en el calendario. (preterite tense) A. marqué B. marcaste C. marcamos D. marcó

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ la diferencia en el partido. (future tense) A. marcará B. marcaremos C. marcarás D. marcaré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ un gol en el minuto diez. (imperfect tense) A. marcabais B. marcábamos C. marcaba D. marcabas

  5. What does "Yo marco el número de teléfono." mean in English? A. I mark the phone number. B. I mark the date on the calendar. C. I mark the difference in the match. D. I mark a goal in the tenth minute.

  6. What does "Él marcó la fecha en el calendario." mean in English? A. He/she marked the phone number. B. He/she marked the difference in the match. C. He/she marked a goal in the tenth minute. D. He/she marked the date on the calendar.

  7. What does "Nosotros marcaremos la diferencia en el partido." mean in English? A. We will mark the date on the calendar. B. We will mark a goal in the tenth minute. C. We will mark the difference in the match. D. We will mark the phone number.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo marcan la fecha en el calendario. B. Yo marca la fecha en el calendario. C. Yo marco la fecha en el calendario.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él marqué la diferencia en el partido. B. Él marcó la diferencia en el partido. C. Él marcaron la diferencia en el partido.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo marque un gol en el minuto diez. B. Yo marce un gol en el minuto diez. C. Yo marque un gol en el minuto diez.

Answer key

  1. marco — The yo present form of marcar is marco.
  2. marcó — The el preterite form of marcar is marcó.
  3. marcarás — The tu future form of marcar is marcarás.
  4. marcábamos — The nosotros imperfect form of marcar is marcábamos.
  5. I mark the phone number. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form marco, so the English is "I mark the phone number." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she marked the date on the calendar. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form marcó, so the English is "He/she marked the date on the calendar." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will mark the difference in the match. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form marcaremos, so the English is "We will mark the difference in the match." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo marco la fecha en el calendario. — The correct sentence is "Yo marco la fecha en el calendario." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él marcó la diferencia en el partido. — The correct sentence is "Él marcó la diferencia en el partido." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo marque un gol en el minuto diez. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo marque un gol en el minuto diez." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

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

Marcar means to mark, to dial. Marcar means to mark or to dial, and it covers dialling a phone number, marking a date on a calendar, making the difference in a match and scoring a goal. It is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e, so the preterite is marqué. A good first sentence to remember is Yo marco el número de teléfono. — "I mark the phone number."

What is the difference between marcar and señalar?

Marcar means to mark, to dial, while señalar means to point out, the close verb. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use marcar when you mean to mark, to dial, as in Yo marco la fecha en el calendario., and use señalar for to point out, the close verb.

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

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo marqué la fecha en el calendario.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo marcaba la diferencia en el partido.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he marcado la fecha en el calendario..

How do I practise marcar?

Start with the marcar conjugation page for the full tables, then the marcar in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Spelling change: c becomes qu before e, so the preterite is marqué and the subjunctive is marque. Marcar un número is to dial a number.

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