Mirar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

mirar — to look — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Mirar means to look and to watch: mirar la televisión, mirar por la ventana. It is regular. It differs from ver (to see) in intention: mirar is to direct your eyes on purpose, ver is to perceive. Mirar a is to look at someone; mirar + adjective is to look a certain way. On this page you will find mirar in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself.

Example sentences with mirar

In the present tense

  • “Yo miro la televisión por la noche.” — “I watch television at night.”
  • “Ella mira por la ventana cada mañana.” — “She looks out of the window every morning.”
  • “Nosotros miramos las fotos del viaje.” — “We look at the photos from the trip.”
  • “Ellos miran el partido con atención.” — “They watch the match attentively.”
  • “¿Tú miras hacia aquí, por favor?” — “Could you look this way, please?”
  • “Vosotros miráis demasiado el móvil.” — “You look at your phone too much.”

In the preterite

  • “Ayer yo miré el atardecer desde el balcón.” — “Yesterday I watched the sunset from the balcony.”
  • “Ella miró a su hijo con orgullo.” — “She looked at her son with pride.”
  • “Nosotros miramos la película hasta el final.” — “We watched the film to the end.”
  • “Ellos miraron por la ventana al oír el ruido.” — “They looked out of the window when they heard the noise.”
  • “¿Tú miraste el precio antes de comprar?” — “Did you look at the price before buying?”
  • “El niño miró el regalo con ilusión.” — “The child looked at the present excitedly.”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present perfect — the four tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “De niño, yo miraba la televisión por la noche.” — “As a child, I used to look television at night.”
  • “Mañana, yo miraré la televisión por la noche.” — “Tomorrow, I will look television at night.”
  • “Si pudiera, yo miraría la televisión por la noche.” — “If I could, I would look television at night.”
  • “Yo he mirado la televisión por la noche.” — “I have looked television at night.”

Mirar in context

Cada día, yo miro la televisión por la noche. Mi amigo también mira la televisión por la noche cuando tiene tiempo. Después, yo miro la televisión de nuevo por la tarde. Es una parte normal de mi rutina, y por eso el presente de mirar es la primera forma que conviene aprender.

Ayer, yo miré la televisión por la noche. Mi amigo miró la televisión por la noche también, y por la noche yo miré la televisión otra vez. Fue un día normal, pero es justo en días así cuando el pretérito de mirar aparece una y otra vez: una acción terminada, un momento concreto, y la historia sigue.

Common mistakes with mirar

Mistake 1

Wrong: Mirar la televisión — learners use ver for watching.

Right: Yo miro la televisión.

Watching TV is mirar la televisión; ver la televisión is also used, but mirar stresses the act of watching.

Mistake 2

Wrong: Yo miro a la televisión — wrong personal a.

Right: Yo miro la televisión.

The personal a is for people: miro a María, but miro la televisión.

Quiz: mirar in everyday use

Ten questions on mirar across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

1. What is the yo form of mirar in the present tense?

  • A) miro
  • B) miras
  • C) mira
  • D) miramos

Answer: A — The yo form in the present tense is miro.

2. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of mirar in the present tense?

  • A) miro
  • B) miras
  • C) miramos
  • D) mira

Answer: D — The él/ella/Ud. form in the present tense is mira.

3. What is the yo form of mirar in the preterite?

  • A) miró
  • B) miramos
  • C) miré
  • D) miraste

Answer: C — The yo form in the preterite is miré.

4. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of mirar in the preterite?

  • A) miró
  • B) miraron
  • C) miré
  • D) miraste

Answer: B — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form in the preterite is miraron.

5. What is the yo form of mirar in the imperfect?

  • A) miraba
  • B) mirabas
  • C) miraba
  • D) mirábamos

Answer: A — The yo form in the imperfect is miraba.

6. What is the tú form of mirar in the future?

  • A) miraré
  • B) mirará
  • C) miraremos
  • D) mirarás

Answer: D — The tú form in the future is mirarás.

7. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of mirar in the conditional?

  • A) mirarías
  • B) miraríamos
  • C) miraría
  • D) miraría

Answer: C — The él/ella/Ud. form in the conditional is miraría.

8. What is the nosotros/as form of mirar in the present perfect?

  • A) ha mirado
  • B) hemos mirado
  • C) he mirado
  • D) has mirado

Answer: B — The nosotros/as form in the present perfect is hemos mirado.

9. Fill in the blank: “Yo ___ la televisión por la noche.” (I watch television at night.)

  • A) miro
  • B) miras
  • C) mira
  • D) miramos

Answer: A — The sentence needs miro.

10. Which sentence is correct?

  • A) Yo miro la televisión.
  • B) Mirar la televisión — learners use ver for watching.

Answer: A — Watching TV is mirar la televisión; ver la televisión is also used, but mirar stresses the act of watching.

Frequently asked questions

What does mirar mean?

mirar means “to look” in English. Mirar means to look and to watch: mirar la televisión, mirar por la ventana. It is regular. It differs from ver (to see) in intention: mirar is to direct your eyes on purpose, ver is to perceive. Mirar a is to look at someone; mirar + adjective is to look a certain way.

Is mirar regular?

Yes. mirar is a regular -ar verb, so its forms follow the standard endings in every tense. That makes it a good verb to learn early — once you know the endings, you know the verb.

When do I use mirar in the past — preterite or imperfect?

Use the preterite — miré, miraste, miró — for a finished action at a specific moment, and the imperfect — miraba, mirabas, miraba — for what was happening, what used to happen, or the background. The same rule applies to mirar as to every Spanish verb; the tense changes the meaning, not the verb.

How can I practise mirar?

Start with the examples above, say them aloud, then take the quiz on this page. For more practice, use the Spanish Verb Quiz and the Mirar Conjugator, and read the full conjugation page for mirar to see the verb in every tense.

Say it yourself

Reading is not enough — say the verb aloud before you move on. Use the forms from the tables on this page and answer these three prompts as full sentences. First, say a sentence about yourself in the present tense: “Yo miro…”. Second, say a sentence about yesterday in the preterite: “Ayer yo miré…”. Third, say a sentence about tomorrow in the future: “Mañana yo miraré…”. If you can answer all three without looking at the tables, the forms are starting to stick. If you hesitate, go back to the examples above, read them aloud twice, and try again. Speaking the forms is what turns a table you have seen into a verb you can use.

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