Nevar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

nevar means "to snow" 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. Nevar is a weather verb, used almost only in the third person singular: nieva, nevó, nevaba. It means to snow, and it appears in forecasts and descriptions of winter. 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 nevar; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the nevar present tense page.

nevar 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. Nieva mucho en diciembre — "It snows a lot in December"
  2. Nieva toda la noche en la sierra — "It snows all night in the mountains"
  3. Mañana, nevará sobre los tejados — "Tomorrow, It will snow on the rooftops"
  4. Nevaría en el pueblo cada invierno si pudiera — "It would snow in the village every winter 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, nevó mucho en diciembre — "Yesterday, It snowed a lot in December"
  2. Antes, nevaba toda la noche en la sierra — "Before, It used to snow all night in the mountains"
  3. Ha nevado sobre los tejados — "It has snowed on the rooftops"
  4. Ya había nevado en el pueblo cada invierno antes de salir — "It had already snowed in the village every winter 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 nieve mucho en diciembre — "I hope It snows a lot in December"
  2. Si nevara toda la noche en la sierra, todo cambiaría — "If It snowed all night in the mountains, everything would change"
  3. ¡Que nieve sobre los tejados! — "I hope it snows on the rooftops!"
  4. Habría nevado en el pueblo cada invierno con más tiempo — "It would have snowed in the village every winter with more time"

nevar in conversation

Two short dialogues that use nevar 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: Nieva mucho en diciembre — "It snows a lot in December"
  • Marcos: Nieva toda la noche en la sierra — "It snows all night in the mountains"
  • Lucía: Ayer, nevó sobre los tejados — "Yesterday, It snowed on the rooftops"
  • Marcos: Mañana, nevará en el pueblo cada invierno — "Tomorrow, It will snow in the village every winter"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: ¡Que nieve sin parar hasta marzo! — "I hope it snows without stopping until March!"
  • Lucía: Ha nevado mucho en diciembre — "It has snowed a lot in December"
  • Marcos: Espero que nieve toda la noche en la sierra — "I hope It snows all night in the mountains"
  • Lucía: Antes, nevaba sobre los tejados — "Before, It used to snow on the rooftops"

Common mistakes with nevar

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

✗ *Yo nievo sobre los tejados.

✓ Correct: Nieva sobre los tejados

nevar is a weather verb, used in the third person singular: Nieva sobre los tejados. It has no personal subject.

✗ *Yo nevo en el pueblo cada invierno.

✓ Correct: Yo nievo en el pueblo cada invierno.

nevar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is nievo, not nevo.

✗ *Espero que nieva en el pueblo cada invierno

✓ Correct: Espero que nieve en el pueblo cada invierno

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que nieve en el pueblo cada invierno — not the indicative Espero que nieva en el pueblo cada invierno.

✗ *Ayer, nieva sin parar hasta marzo

✓ Correct: Ayer, nevó sin parar hasta marzo

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, nevó sin parar hasta marzo.

✗ *De niño, nevó mucho en diciembre todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, nevaba mucho en diciembre todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, nevaba mucho en diciembre todos los días.

Quiz: nevar in use

Ten questions on nevar — 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: ______ mucho en diciembre — "It snows a lot in December" (present) A. nevó B. nevaba C. nevará D. nieva

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, ______ toda la noche en la sierra — "Yesterday, It snowed all night in the mountains" (preterite) A. nieva B. nevaba C. nevará D. nevó

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, ______ sobre los tejados — "Before, It used to snow on the rooftops" (imperfect) A. nevó B. nevará C. nevaba D. nieva

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, ______ en el pueblo cada invierno — "Tomorrow, It will snow in the village every winter" (future) A. nieva B. nevó C. nevaba D. nevará

  5. Complete the sentence: ______ sin parar hasta marzo — "It would snow without stopping until March" (conditional) A. nevaría B. nieva C. nevó D. nevaba

  6. Complete the sentence: ______ mucho en diciembre — "It has snowed a lot in December" (present perfect) A. ha nevado B. nieva C. nevó D. nevaba

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que ______ toda la noche en la sierra — "I hope It snows all night in the mountains" (present subjunctive) A. nieva B. nevó C. nevaba D. nieve

  8. Complete the sentence: Si ______ sobre los tejados, todo cambiaría — "If It snowed on the rooftops, everything would change" (imperfect subjunctive) A. nevaba B. nevara C. nieva D. nevó

  9. Which is the gerund of nevar, used with estar for the progressive? A. nievo B. nevé C. nevando D. nevado

  10. What does nevar mean in English? A. to snow B. to rain C. to enjoy D. to cross

Answer key

  1. nieva — The present form is nieva.
  2. nevó — The preterite form is nevó.
  3. nevaba — The imperfect form is nevaba.
  4. nevará — The future form is nevará.
  5. nevaría — The conditional form is nevaría.
  6. ha nevado — The present perfect form is ha nevado.
  7. nieve — The present subjunctive form is nieve.
  8. nevara — The imperfect subjunctive form is nevara.
  9. nevando — The gerund of nevar is nevando: estoy nevando. The participle nevado is used with haber instead.
  10. to snow — nevar means to snow.

Frequently asked questions

What does nevar mean in English?

nevar means to snow. For example: Nieva mucho en diciembre — "It snows a lot in December". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with nevar?

nevar takes no object at all — just the verb and a time or place phrase, as in nieva mucho en abril.

Is nevar regular?

No. nevar is a stem-changing -ar verb (e → ie). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: nievo, nievas, nieva and nievan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: nevamos, neváis.

How do I practise nevar?

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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