Narrar Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

narrar means to narrate, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Narrar means to narrate or to tell, and it is used for narrating a story, a match on the radio, events in a novel and the facts of what happened. It is a formal synonym of contar, and it is a fully regular -ar verb. This page puts narrar to work: twelve example sentences in different tenses and persons, grouped by use, then two short dialogues where the verb appears naturally, then the common mistakes to avoid, and finally a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every Spanish form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for narrar, and the full tables are on the narrar conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo narro la historia de su vida. — I narrate the story of her life.
  2. Él narra el partido en la radio. — He/she narrates the match on the radio.
  3. Ayer, yo narré los hechos del accidente. — Yesterday, I narrated the facts of the accident.
  4. Antes, nosotros narrábamos un cuento a los niños. — Before, we used to narrate a tale to the children.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú narrarás la historia de su vida. — Tomorrow, you will narrate the story of her life.
  2. Yo narraría el partido en la radio. — I would narrate the match on the radio.
  3. Él ha narrado los hechos del accidente. — He/she has narrated the facts of the accident.
  4. Espero que él narre un cuento a los niños. — I hope he/she narrates a tale to the children.

With other people

  1. Nosotros narramos la historia de su vida. — We narrate the story of her life.
  2. Vosotros narráis el partido en la radio. — You all narrate the match on the radio.
  3. Antes, ellos narraban los hechos del accidente. — Before, they used to narrate the facts of the accident.
  4. Mañana, él narrará un cuento a los niños. — Tomorrow, he/she will narrate a tale to the children.

Narrar in context

Two short dialogues that use narrar the way people really use it. Read them aloud — the verb forms will stick much faster in a conversation than in a table.

Dialogue 1: today and yesterday

  • Ana: "Hola, ¿qué tal?" — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Luis: "Hoy narro la historia de su vida." — "Today I narrate the story of her life."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, narré los hechos del accidente." — "Yesterday I narrated the facts of the accident."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú narrarás el partido en la radio?" — "And tomorrow, will you will narrate the match on the radio?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros narramos un cuento a los niños." — "Tomorrow we narrate a tale to the children."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo narraría el partido en la radio si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would narrate the match on the radio if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él narre la historia de su vida." — "I hope he narrates the story of her life."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha narrado los hechos del accidente." — "Surely. He has already has narrated the facts of the accident."
  • Marta: "Vale, nos vemos mañana." — "OK, see you tomorrow."

Notice how the same verb changes with the tense: the present for the plan, the conditional for the wish, the subjunctive after espero que, and the present perfect for what has already happened. That is the whole point of learning a verb across its tenses, not just in one form.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo narra la historia de su vida. — Right: Yo narro la historia de su vida. — The person matters: narra is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is narro. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Vosotros narrais el partido en la radio. — Right: Vosotros narráis el partido en la radio. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: narráis, not narrais. The accent marks the stressed vowel.
  3. Wrong: Treating narrar and contar as identical in every context. — Right: Narrar means to narrate, while contar means to tell or count, the everyday verb. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: narrar fits sentences such as Narro la historia de su vida, while contar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy narrado el partido en la radio. — Right: Yo he narrado el partido en la radio. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he narrado, has narrado, ha narrado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo narré los hechos del accidente todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo narraba los hechos del accidente todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (narraba), not the preterite. The preterite (narré) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on narrar: four on the forms, three on the meaning, and three on spotting the correct sentence. Check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la historia de su vida. (present tense) A. narro B. narras C. narra D. narramos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el partido en la radio. (preterite tense) A. narré B. narraste C. narramos D. narró

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ los hechos del accidente. (future tense) A. narrará B. narraremos C. narrarás D. narraré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ un cuento a los niños. (imperfect tense) A. narrabais B. narrábamos C. narraba D. narrabas

  5. What does "Yo narro la historia de su vida." mean in English? A. I narrate the story of her life. B. I narrate the match on the radio. C. I narrate the facts of the accident. D. I narrate a tale to the children.

  6. What does "Él narró el partido en la radio." mean in English? A. He/she narrated the story of her life. B. He/she narrated the facts of the accident. C. He/she narrated a tale to the children. D. He/she narrated the match on the radio.

  7. What does "Nosotros narraremos los hechos del accidente." mean in English? A. We will narrate the match on the radio. B. We will narrate a tale to the children. C. We will narrate the facts of the accident. D. We will narrate the story of her life.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo narran el partido en la radio. B. Yo narra el partido en la radio. C. Yo narro el partido en la radio.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él narré los hechos del accidente. B. Él narró los hechos del accidente. C. Él narraron los hechos del accidente.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo narre un cuento a los niños. B. Yo narren un cuento a los niños. C. Yo narre un cuento a los niños.

Answer key

  1. narro — The yo present form of narrar is narro.
  2. narró — The el preterite form of narrar is narró.
  3. narrarás — The tu future form of narrar is narrarás.
  4. narrábamos — The nosotros imperfect form of narrar is narrábamos.
  5. I narrate the story of her life. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form narro, so the English is "I narrate the story of her life." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she narrated the match on the radio. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form narró, so the English is "He/she narrated the match on the radio." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will narrate the facts of the accident. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form narraremos, so the English is "We will narrate the facts of the accident." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo narro el partido en la radio. — The correct sentence is "Yo narro el partido en la radio." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él narró los hechos del accidente. — The correct sentence is "Él narró los hechos del accidente." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo narre un cuento a los niños. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo narre un cuento a los niños." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

What does narrar mean, and when do I use it?

Narrar means to narrate. Narrar means to narrate or to tell, and it is used for narrating a story, a match on the radio, events in a novel and the facts of what happened. It is a formal synonym of contar, and it is a fully regular -ar verb. A good first sentence to remember is Yo narro la historia de su vida. — "I narrate the story of her life."

What is the difference between narrar and contar?

Narrar means to narrate, while contar means to tell or count, the everyday verb. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use narrar when you mean to narrate, as in Yo narro el partido en la radio., and use contar for to tell or count, the everyday verb.

How do I say "I narrate" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo narré el partido en la radio.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo narraba los hechos del accidente.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he narrado el partido en la radio..

How do I practise narrar?

Start with the narrar conjugation page for the full tables, then the narrar in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Narrar is fully regular: narré, narraba, narraré. It is the formal verb for telling a story; contar is the everyday choice.

Related links