Mover Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

mover means "to move" 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. Mover means to move something from one place to another: mover la mesa, mover las cajas. For moving house, Spanish uses mudarse, not mover. 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 mover; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the mover present tense page.

mover 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 muevo la mesa al rincón — "I move the table to the corner"
  2. Mi amigo mueve las cajas al garaje — "My friend moves the boxes to the garage"
  3. Mañana, tú moverás el coche del garaje — "Tomorrow, you will move the car out of the garage"
  4. Yo movería la cabeza con duda si pudiera — "I would move his head doubtfully 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 moví la mesa al rincón — "Yesterday, I moved the table to the corner"
  2. Antes, nosotros movíamos las cajas al garaje — "Before, we used to move the boxes to the garage"
  3. Él ha movido el coche del garaje — "He has moved the car out of the garage"
  4. Yo ya había movido la cabeza con duda antes de salir — "I already had moved his head doubtfully 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 mueva la mesa al rincón — "I hope he moves the table to the corner"
  2. Si yo moviera las cajas al garaje, todo cambiaría — "If I moved the boxes to the garage, everything would change"
  3. Mueve el coche del garaje. — "Move the car out of the garage."
  4. Yo habría movido la cabeza con duda con más tiempo — "I would have moved his head doubtfully with more time"

mover in conversation

Two short dialogues that use mover 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 muevo la mesa al rincón — "I move the table to the corner"
  • Marcos: Él mueve las cajas al garaje — "He moves the boxes to the garage"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo moví el coche del garaje — "Yesterday, I moved the car out of the garage"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú moverás la cabeza con duda — "Tomorrow, you will move his head doubtfully"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Mueve los muebles de la sala. — "Move the furniture in the living room."
  • Lucía: Él ha movido la mesa al rincón — "He has moved the table to the corner"
  • Marcos: Espero que él mueva las cajas al garaje — "I hope he moves the boxes to the garage"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo movía el coche del garaje — "Before, I used to move the car out of the garage"

Common mistakes with mover

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

✗ *Yo movo la cabeza con duda.

✓ Correct: Yo muevo la cabeza con duda.

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

✗ *Espero que él mueve la cabeza con duda

✓ Correct: Espero que él mueva la cabeza con duda

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él mueva la cabeza con duda — not the indicative Espero que él mueve la cabeza con duda.

✗ *Ayer, yo muevo los muebles de la sala

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo moví los muebles de la sala

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo moví los muebles de la sala.

✗ *De niño, yo moví la mesa al rincón todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo movía la mesa al rincón todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo movía la mesa al rincón todos los días.

✗ *Yo muevo en el coche del garaje.

✓ Correct: Yo muevo el coche del garaje.

mover takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo muevo el coche del garaje.

Quiz: mover in use

Ten questions on mover — 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 ______ la mesa al rincón — "I move the table to the corner" (present) A. muevo B. mueves C. mueve D. movemos

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ las cajas al garaje — "Yesterday, I moved the boxes to the garage" (preterite) A. moviste B. movió C. movimos D. moví

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ el coche del garaje — "Before, we used to move the car out of the garage" (imperfect) A. movía B. movías C. movíais D. movíamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ la cabeza con duda — "Tomorrow, you will move his head doubtfully" (future) A. moverá B. moveremos C. moverás D. moveré

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ los muebles de la sala — "I would move the furniture in the living room" (conditional) A. movería B. moverías C. moveríamos D. moveríais

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ la mesa al rincón — "He has moved the table to the corner" (present perfect) A. has movido B. hemos movido C. ha movido D. he movido

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ las cajas al garaje — "I hope he moves the boxes to the garage" (present subjunctive) A. mováis B. mueva C. muevas D. movamos

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ el coche del garaje. — "Move the car out of the garage." (affirmative imperative) A. mueva B. movamos C. moved D. mueve

  9. Which is the gerund of mover, used with estar for the progressive? A. moví B. moviendo C. movido D. muevo

  10. What does mover mean in English? A. to move house B. to enjoy C. to cross D. to move

Answer key

  1. muevo — The present form for yo is muevo.
  2. moví — The preterite form for yo is moví.
  3. movíamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is movíamos.
  4. moverás — The future form for tú is moverás.
  5. movería — The conditional form for yo is movería.
  6. ha movido — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha movido.
  7. mueva — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is mueva.
  8. mueve — The affirmative imperative form is mueve.
  9. moviendo — The gerund of mover is moviendo: estoy moviendo. The participle movido is used with haber instead.
  10. to move — mover means to move.

Frequently asked questions

What does mover mean in English?

mover means to move. For example: Yo muevo la mesa al rincón — "I move the table to the corner". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with mover?

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

Is mover regular?

No. mover is a stem-changing -er verb (o → ue). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: muevo, mueves, mueve and mueven — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: movemos, movéis.

How do I practise mover?

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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