Moler Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

moler means "to grind" 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. Moler means to grind: moler el café, moler el trigo. The stem changes o to ue in the present, so it is muelo, mueles, muele — never molo. 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 moler; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the moler present tense page.

moler 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. Yo muelo el café cada mañana — "I grind the coffee every morning"
  2. Mi amigo muele el trigo en el molino — "My friend grinds the wheat in the mill"
  3. Mañana, tú molerás las especias para la cena — "Tomorrow, you will grind the spices for dinner"
  4. Yo molería el maíz para la harina si pudiera — "I would grind the maize for flour 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, yo molí el café cada mañana — "Yesterday, I ground the coffee every morning"
  2. Antes, nosotros molíamos el trigo en el molino — "Before, we used to grind the wheat in the mill"
  3. Él ha molido las especias para la cena — "He has ground the spices for dinner"
  4. Yo ya había molido el maíz para la harina antes de salir — "I already had ground the maize for flour 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 él muela el café cada mañana — "I hope he grinds the coffee every morning"
  2. Si yo moliera el trigo en el molino, todo cambiaría — "If I ground the wheat in the mill, everything would change"
  3. Muele las especias para la cena. — "Grind the spices for dinner."
  4. Yo habría molido el maíz para la harina con más tiempo — "I would have ground the maize for flour with more time"

moler in conversation

Two short dialogues that use moler 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: Yo muelo el café cada mañana — "I grind the coffee every morning"
  • Marcos: Él muele el trigo en el molino — "He grinds the wheat in the mill"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo molí las especias para la cena — "Yesterday, I ground the spices for dinner"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú molerás el maíz para la harina — "Tomorrow, you will grind the maize for flour"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Muele los granos con el molinillo. — "Grind the beans with the grinder."
  • Lucía: Él ha molido el café cada mañana — "He has ground the coffee every morning"
  • Marcos: Espero que él muela el trigo en el molino — "I hope he grinds the wheat in the mill"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo molía las especias para la cena — "Before, I used to grind the spices for dinner"

Common mistakes with moler

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

✗ *Yo molo el maíz para la harina.

✓ Correct: Yo muelo el maíz para la harina.

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

✗ *Espero que él muele el maíz para la harina

✓ Correct: Espero que él muela el maíz para la harina

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él muela el maíz para la harina — not the indicative Espero que él muele el maíz para la harina.

✗ *Ayer, yo muelo los granos con el molinillo

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo molí los granos con el molinillo

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo molí los granos con el molinillo.

✗ *De niño, yo molí el café cada mañana todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo molía el café cada mañana todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo molía el café cada mañana todos los días.

✗ *Yo muelo en las especias para la cena.

✓ Correct: Yo muelo las especias para la cena.

moler takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo muelo las especias para la cena.

Quiz: moler in use

Ten questions on moler — 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: Yo ______ el café cada mañana — "I grind the coffee every morning" (present) A. muelo B. mueles C. muele D. molemos

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ el trigo en el molino — "Yesterday, I ground the wheat in the mill" (preterite) A. molimos B. molí C. moliste D. molió

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ las especias para la cena — "Before, we used to grind the spices for dinner" (imperfect) A. molíamos B. molía C. molías D. molíais

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ el maíz para la harina — "Tomorrow, you will grind the maize for flour" (future) A. molerá B. moleremos C. molerás D. moleré

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ los granos con el molinillo — "I would grind the beans with the grinder" (conditional) A. moleríamos B. moleríais C. molería D. molerías

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ el café cada mañana — "He has ground the coffee every morning" (present perfect) A. he molido B. has molido C. hemos molido D. ha molido

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ el trigo en el molino — "I hope he grinds the wheat in the mill" (present subjunctive) A. molamos B. moláis C. muela D. muelas

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ las especias para la cena. — "Grind the spices for dinner." (affirmative imperative) A. muele B. muela C. molamos D. moled

  9. Which is the gerund of moler, used with estar for the progressive? A. molido B. muelo C. molí D. moliendo

  10. What does moler mean in English? A. to cross B. to grind C. to crush D. to enjoy

Answer key

  1. muelo — The present form for yo is muelo.
  2. molí — The preterite form for yo is molí.
  3. molíamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is molíamos.
  4. molerás — The future form for tú is molerás.
  5. molería — The conditional form for yo is molería.
  6. ha molido — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha molido.
  7. muela — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is muela.
  8. muele — The affirmative imperative form is muele.
  9. moliendo — The gerund of moler is moliendo: estoy moliendo. The participle molido is used with haber instead.
  10. to grind — moler means to grind.

Frequently asked questions

What does moler mean in English?

moler means to grind. For example: Yo muelo el café cada mañana — "I grind the coffee every morning". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with moler?

moler takes its complement directly, with no preposition, as in the examples above. Adding an extra preposition is a common learner error.

Is moler regular?

No. moler is a stem-changing -er verb (o → ue). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: muelo, mueles, muele and muelen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: molemos, moléis.

How do I practise moler?

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.

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