Marcharse Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Marcharse means “to leave, to go away”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Marcharse means to leave or to go away, and it is the everyday verb for leaving a place, a party or a job. It is the reflexive partner of marchar, and it is used constantly in farewells, as in marcharse a casa or marcharse de viaje. This page shows marcharse 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 me marcho de casa temprano por la mañana.” — I leave from home early in the morning.
Marcharse in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how marcharse 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 marcharse in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Me marcho de casa temprano por la mañana.” — I leave from home early in the morning.
“¿Tú te marchas a Madrid en tren?” — Do you leave to Madrid by train?
“Se marcha de la fiesta a medianoche.” — He/she leaves from the party at midnight.
“Nos marchamos de viaje el lunes.” — We leave on a trip on Monday.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show marcharse in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo me marché de casa temprano por la mañana.” — Yesterday, I left from home early in the morning. (preterite)
“Él se marchaba a Madrid en tren todos los días.” — He used to leave to Madrid by train 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 marcharse stays the same.
“Nosotros nos marcharemos de la fiesta a medianoche mañana.” — We will leave from the party at midnight tomorrow. (future)
“¿Te has marchado de viaje el lunes?” — Have you left on a trip on Monday? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Os marcháis de casa temprano por la mañana.” — You leave from home early in the morning.
“Se marchan a Madrid en tren.” — They leave to Madrid by train.
“Me marcho de la fiesta a medianoche.” — I leave from the party at midnight.
“Se marcha de viaje el lunes.” — He/she leaves on a trip on Monday.
Marcharse 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 marcharse appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú te marchas de casa temprano por la mañana?” — Do you leave from home early in the morning?
Carlos: “Sí, yo me marcho de casa temprano por la mañana.” — Yes, I leave from home early in the morning.
Lucía: “Nosotros nos marchamos a Madrid en tren.” — We leave to Madrid by train.
Carlos: “Y ellos se marchan de la fiesta a medianoche.” — And they leave from the party at midnight.
Lucía: “Vosotros os marcháis de viaje el lunes.” — You leave on a trip on Monday.
Carlos: “Sí, y él se marcha a Madrid en tren.” — Yes, and he leaves to Madrid by train.
A short paragraph
Lucía se marcha de casa temprano por la mañana, y Carlos se marcha a Madrid en tren. Nosotros nos marchamos de la fiesta a medianoche, y ellos se marchan de viaje el lunes. Yo me marcho de la fiesta a medianoche, y mi padre se marcha de viaje el lunes. Marcharse is part of everyday life, because to leave, to go away is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with marcharse
These are the errors learners actually make with marcharse. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo marcho de casa temprano por la mañana.” Right: “Yo me marcho de casa temprano por la mañana.” Why: Marcharse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required: without it the verb means something else, or nothing at all.
Wrong: “Ayer yo marcho a Madrid en tren.” Right: “Ayer yo marché a Madrid en tren.” 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 marcharse and irse as identical in every context.” Right: “Marcharse means to leave, to go away, while irse means to go away.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: marcharse fits sentences such as Me marcho de casa temprano por la mañana, while irse belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy marchado a Madrid en tren.” Right: “Yo he marchado a Madrid en tren.” 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 de la fiesta a medianoche todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo marchaba de la fiesta a medianoche 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: marcharse in use
Ten questions on marcharse in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ de casa temprano por la mañana.” (From home early in the morning.)
- (a) os marcháis
- (b) me marcho
- (c) te marchas
Answer: os marcháis — The vosotros/as form of marcharse in the present is os marcháis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ a Madrid en tren.” (To madrid by train.)
- (a) me marcho
- (b) te marchas
- (c) se marchan
Answer: se marchan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of marcharse in the present is se marchan.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ de casa temprano por la mañana.” (From home early in the morning.)
- (a) se marchó
- (b) me marché
- (c) te marchaste
Answer: me marché — The yo form of marcharse in the preterite is me marché.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ a Madrid en tren.” (To madrid by train.)
- (a) se marchaba
- (b) me marchaba
- (c) te marchabas
Answer: se marchaba — The él/ella/Ud. form of marcharse in the imperfect is se marchaba.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ de la fiesta a medianoche.” (From the party at midnight.)
- (a) me marcharé
- (b) te marcharás
- (c) nos marcharemos
Answer: nos marcharemos — The nosotros/as form of marcharse in the future is nos marcharemos.
6. What does marcharse mean in English?
- (a) to approach
- (b) to leave, to go away
- (c) to go away
Answer: to leave, to go away — Marcharse means “to leave, to go away”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo me marcho de casa temprano por la mañana.
- (b) Ellos marcha de casa temprano por la mañana.
- (c) Yo me marcho a Madrid en tren ayer.
Answer: Yo me marcho de casa temprano por la mañana. — “Yo me marcho de casa temprano por la mañana.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I leave from home early in the morning.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo se marchan de casa temprano por la mañana.
- (b) Yo me marché de casa temprano por la mañana.
- (c) Yo me marcho de casa temprano por la mañana.
Answer: Yo me marcho de casa temprano por la mañana. — “Yo me marcho de casa temprano por la mañana.” 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 marcharse in the present tense?
- (a) te marchas
- (b) nos marchamos
- (c) me marcho
Answer: nos marchamos — The nosotros form is nos marchamos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo me marché de casa temprano por la mañana.
- (b) Nosotros nos marcharemos de casa temprano por la mañana mañana.
- (c) Yo me marcho de casa temprano por la mañana.
Answer: Yo me marcho de casa temprano por la mañana. — “Yo me marcho de casa temprano por la mañana.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I leave' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo me marcho de casa temprano por la mañana'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo me marcho de casa temprano por la mañana todos los días'.
How do you say 'I leave' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo me marché a Madrid en tren'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo me marchaba a Madrid en tren todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo me he marchado a Madrid en tren'.
What is the difference between marcharse and irse?
Marcharse means to leave, to go away, while irse means to go away. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use marcharse when you mean to leave, to go away, as in Me marcho de casa temprano por la mañana.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of marcharse — every tense of marcharse in one place.
- Marcharse 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 marcharse and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of marcharse until they are automatic.