Ocultar Examples, Sentences & Quiz

Introduction

ocultar means to hide, and it is one of those verbs that shows up everywhere once you start listening for it. It is a regular -ar verb verb, and this page puts it to work: real example sentences in several tenses, grouped by use, two short passages that show the verb in context, the mistakes learners make with it, a ten-question quiz and answers to common questions. If you only learn one sentence, make it «Yo oculto todos los días» — I hide every day. The rest of this page builds out from there, tense by tense, so you can use ocultar the way native speakers do — in the present for habits, in the past for finished events, and in the subjunctive after wishes and doubts.

Ocultar in real example sentences

In the present: everyday use

The present is where ocultar lives most of the time — routines, facts and what is happening now:

  1. Yo oculto todos los días. — I hide every day.
  2. Tú ocultas en el trabajo. — You hide at work.
  3. Él oculta con mi familia. — He hides with my family.
  4. Nosotros ocultamos por la mañana. — We hide in the morning.

Talking about the past

In the past, choose the preterite for a finished event and the imperfect for a habit or background:

  1. Ayer yo oculté por la tarde. — Yesterday I hid in the afternoon.
  2. Antes, yo ocultaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to hide every day.
  3. La semana pasada él ocultó dos veces. — Last week He hid twice.

Plans and things already done

The future, the conditional and the present perfect round out the picture — plans, hypotheticals and recent events:

  1. Mañana yo ocultaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will hide without fail.
  2. Si tuviera más tiempo, yo ocultaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would hide right now.
  3. Hoy yo he ocultado dos veces. — Today I have hid twice.

More everyday uses

The subjunctive, the imperative and the progressive cover wishes, commands and actions in progress:

  1. Espero que tú ocultes pronto. — I hope You hide soon.
  2. ¡oculta, por favor! — Hide, please!
  3. Ahora mismo yo estoy ocultando. — Right now I am hiding.

Ocultar in context

A short dialogue

Ana: «Yo oculto en el trabajo.» — I hide at work. Luis: «¡Qué bien! Yo oculto con mi familia.» — I hide with my family. Ana: «Mañana yo ocultaré sin falta.» — Tomorrow I will hide without fail. Luis: «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo ocultaría ahora mismo.» — If I had more time, I would hide right now. Ana: «Hoy yo he ocultado dos veces.» — Today I have hid twice.

A short paragraph

Ayer yo oculté por la tarde. Antes, yo ocultaba todos los días. Hoy yo he ocultado dos veces. Mañana yo ocultaré sin falta.

Yesterday I hid in the afternoon. In the past, I used to hide every day. Today I have hid twice. Tomorrow I will hide without fail.

Common mistakes with ocultar

1. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer yo ocultaba.

Right: Ayer yo oculté.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, oculté. The imperfect ocultaba describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.

2. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que tú ocultas.

Right: Espero que tú ocultes.

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: ocultes, not the indicative ocultas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.

3. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No oculta.

Right: No ocultes.

Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no ocultes. The affirmative oculta can never follow no.

4. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

Wrong: Yo ocultar todos los días.

Right: Yo oculto todos los días.

The infinitive ocultar names the action; it never works as the main verb of a sentence. Conjugate it for the person: yo oculto.

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He ocultando.

Right: He ocultado.

The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he ocultado. The gerund ocultando goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy ocultando»), never with haber.

Quiz: ocultar in use

Test yourself on ocultar in use. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the yo form of ocultar in the present indicative?

- (a) oculto
- (b) ocultas
- (c) oculta
- (d) ocultamos

2. What is the tú form of ocultar in the preterite?

- (a) oculté
- (b) ocultamos
- (c) ocultaste
- (d) ocultó

3. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of ocultar in the future?

- (a) ocultará
- (b) ocultaremos
- (c) ocultarás
- (d) ocultaré

4. What is the nosotros/as form of ocultar in the present perfect?

- (a) has ocultado
- (b) hemos ocultado
- (c) ha ocultado
- (d) he ocultado

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

- (a) ocultábamos
- (b) ocultabas
- (c) ocultaba
- (d) ocultaba

6. What is the gerund of ocultar?

- (a) oculto
- (b) ocultando
- (c) ocultar
- (d) ocultado

7. What is the past participle of ocultar?

- (a) ocultar
- (b) ocultado
- (c) oculté
- (d) ocultando

8. Which sentence uses ocultar correctly?

- (a) *Yo oculto todos los días.* — I hide every day.
- (b) *Yo oculta todos los días.*
- (c) *Yo ocultar todos los días.*
- (d) *Yo ocultas todos los días.*

9. Which sentence uses ocultar correctly?

- (a) *Ayer yo ocultar por la tarde.*
- (b) *Ayer yo ocultaba por la tarde.*
- (c) *Ayer yo oculté por la tarde.* — Yesterday I hid in the afternoon.
- (d) *Ayer yo oculto por la tarde.*

10. What does ocultar mean?

- (a) to hide oneself
- (b) to move (oneself)
- (c) to hide
- (d) to get into

Answer key

1. (a) — In the present indicative, the yo form of ocultar is oculto. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (c) — In the preterite, the tú form of ocultar is ocultaste. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (a) — In the future, the él/ella/Ud. form of ocultar is ocultará. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (b) — In the present perfect, the nosotros/as form of ocultar is hemos ocultado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (c) — In the imperfect, the yo form of ocultar is ocultaba. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (b) — The gerund of ocultar is ocultando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy ocultando». 7. (b) — The past participle of ocultar is ocultado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he ocultado». 8. (a) — Only this sentence pairs the right person with the right form of ocultar; the others mix a person with another person's form, or use the infinitive instead of a conjugated form. 9. (c) — Only this sentence pairs the right person with the right form of ocultar; the others mix a person with another person's form, or use the infinitive instead of a conjugated form. 10. (c) — ocultar means «to hide».

Frequently asked questions

How do you say 'I hide' in Spanish?

Say «Yo oculto todos los días». That is the present-tense yo form, and it is the sentence you will use most with this verb.

How do you say 'I hid' about yesterday?

Say «Ayer yo oculté por la tarde». The preterite is the tense for a finished event: yesterday, last week, last night.

Is ocultar reflexive?

No — ocultar is not reflexive. It conjugates without a pronoun: yo oculto, tú ocultas, él oculta. If you see a -se form of a similar verb, that is a different verb with its own meaning.

Which tense do learners find hardest with ocultar?

Most learners struggle with choosing between the preterite and the imperfect, not with the forms themselves. Use the preterite (oculté) for a single finished event and the imperfect (ocultaba) for habits and background. After that, the subjunctive is the next step.

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