Marchar Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Marchar means “to work, to go, to march”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Marchar means to go, to work or to march, and it covers a machine working well, a plan going well and people marching in a parade. Its most common everyday use is for things working, as in la moto marcha bien, and it is fully regular. This page shows marchar 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: “Yo marcho bien desde la reparación.” — I work well since the repair.
Marchar in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how marchar 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 marchar in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Marcho bien desde la reparación.” — I work well since the repair.
“¿Tú marchas a buen ritmo por el camino?” — Do you work at a good pace along the road?
“Marcha sin parar hasta el pueblo.” — He/she works non-stop to the village.
“Marchamos con el grupo al amanecer.” — We work with the group at dawn.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show marchar in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo marché bien desde la reparación.” — Yesterday, I worked well since the repair. (preterite)
“Él marchaba a buen ritmo por el camino todos los días.” — He used to work at a good pace along the road every day. (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 marchar stays the same.
“Nosotros marcharemos sin parar hasta el pueblo mañana.” — We will work non-stop to the village tomorrow. (future)
“¿Tú has marchado con el grupo al amanecer?” — Have you worked with the group at dawn? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Marcháis bien desde la reparación.” — You work well since the repair.
“Marchan a buen ritmo por el camino.” — They work at a good pace along the road.
“Marcho sin parar hasta el pueblo.” — I work non-stop to the village.
“Marcha con el grupo al amanecer.” — He/she works with the group at dawn.
Marchar 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 marchar appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú marchas bien desde la reparación?” — Do you work well since the repair?
Carlos: “Sí, yo marcho bien desde la reparación.” — Yes, I work well since the repair.
Lucía: “Nosotros marchamos a buen ritmo por el camino.” — We work at a good pace along the road.
Carlos: “Y ellos marchan sin parar hasta el pueblo.” — And they work non-stop to the village.
Lucía: “Vosotros marcháis con el grupo al amanecer.” — You work with the group at dawn.
Carlos: “Sí, y él marcha a buen ritmo por el camino.” — Yes, and he works at a good pace along the road.
A short paragraph
Lucía marcha bien desde la reparación, y Carlos marcha a buen ritmo por el camino. Nosotros marchamos sin parar hasta el pueblo, y ellos marchan con el grupo al amanecer. Yo marcho sin parar hasta el pueblo, y mi padre marcha con el grupo al amanecer. Marchar is part of everyday life, because to work, to go, to march is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with marchar
These are the errors learners actually make with marchar. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo marcha bien desde la reparación.” Right: “Yo marcho bien desde la reparación.” Why: The person matters: marcha is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is marcho. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
Wrong: “Ayer yo marcho a buen ritmo por el camino.” Right: “Ayer yo marché a buen ritmo por el camino.” Why: The present and the preterite are different tenses: marcho is happening now, while marché is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
Wrong: “Treating marchar and funcionar as identical in every context.” Right: “Marchar means to work, to go, to march, while funcionar means to work.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: marchar fits sentences such as Marcho bien desde la reparación, while funcionar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy marchado a buen ritmo por el camino.” Right: “Yo he marchado a buen ritmo por el camino.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he marchado, has marchado, ha marchado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo marché sin parar hasta el pueblo todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo marchaba sin parar hasta el pueblo todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (marchaba), not the preterite. The preterite (marché) is for one finished action.
Quiz: marchar in use
Ten questions on marchar in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ bien desde la reparación.” (Well since the repair.)
- (a) marcháis
- (b) marcho
- (c) marchas
Answer: marcháis — The vosotros/as form of marchar in the present is marcháis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ a buen ritmo por el camino.” (At a good pace along the road.)
- (a) marcho
- (b) marchas
- (c) marchan
Answer: marchan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of marchar in the present is marchan.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ bien desde la reparación.” (Well since the repair.)
- (a) marchó
- (b) marché
- (c) marchaste
Answer: marché — The yo form of marchar in the preterite is marché.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ a buen ritmo por el camino.” (At a good pace along the road.)
- (a) marchaba
- (b) marchabas
- (c) marchábamos
Answer: marchaba — The él/ella/Ud. form of marchar in the imperfect is marchaba.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ sin parar hasta el pueblo.” (Non-stop to the village.)
- (a) marcharé
- (b) marcharás
- (c) marcharemos
Answer: marcharemos — The nosotros/as form of marchar in the future is marcharemos.
6. What does marchar mean in English?
- (a) to work, to function
- (b) to work, to go, to march
- (c) to work
Answer: to work, to go, to march — Marchar means “to work, to go, to march”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo marcho bien desde la reparación.
- (b) Ellos marcha bien desde la reparación.
- (c) Yo marcho a buen ritmo por el camino ayer.
Answer: Yo marcho bien desde la reparación. — “Yo marcho bien desde la reparación.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I work well since the repair.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo marchan bien desde la reparación.
- (b) Yo marché bien desde la reparación.
- (c) Yo marcho bien desde la reparación.
Answer: Yo marcho bien desde la reparación. — “Yo marcho bien desde la reparación.” is the correct translation. The second option uses the wrong person's form, and the third uses the preterite.
9. What is the nosotros form of marchar in the present tense?
- (a) marchas
- (b) marchamos
- (c) marcho
Answer: marchamos — The nosotros form is marchamos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo marché bien desde la reparación.
- (b) Nosotros marcharemos bien desde la reparación mañana.
- (c) Yo marcho bien desde la reparación.
Answer: Yo marcho bien desde la reparación. — “Yo marcho bien desde la reparación.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I work' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo marcho bien desde la reparación'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo marcho bien desde la reparación todos los días'.
How do you say 'I work' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo marché a buen ritmo por el camino'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo marchaba a buen ritmo por el camino todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo he marchado a buen ritmo por el camino'.
What is the difference between marchar and funcionar?
Marchar means to work, to go, to march, while funcionar means to work. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use marchar when you mean to work, to go, to march, as in Marcho bien desde la reparación.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of marchar — every tense of marchar in one place.
- Marchar 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 marchar and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of marchar until they are automatic.