Ocurrir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

ocurrir — to happen — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Ocurrir means to happen and to occur: ¿qué ocurre?, ocurrió un accidente. It is regular and mostly used in the third person, in news and formal language. It is more formal than pasar, and it never takes a person as the subject in the sense of something happening to them — for that Spanish uses pasarle a alguien. On this page you will find ocurrir in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself.

Example sentences with ocurrir

In the present tense

  • “¿Qué ocurre?” — “What is happening?”
  • “Estas cosas ocurren sin avisar.” — “These things happen without warning.”
  • “Un accidente ocurre cada día en la carretera.” — “An accident happens on the road every day.”
  • “¿Te ocurre a menudo?” — “Does it happen to you often?”
  • “Nos ocurre a todos alguna vez.” — “It happens to all of us sometime.”
  • “El problema ocurre en el sistema.” — “The problem occurs in the system.”

In the preterite

  • “Ayer ocurrió un accidente en la calle.” — “Yesterday an accident happened in the street.”
  • “ocurrió un problema con el sistema anoche.” — “A problem occurred with the system last night.”
  • “A nosotros se nos ocurrió una idea genial.” — “A great idea occurred to us.”
  • “¿Te ocurrió algo extraño anoche?” — “Did anything strange happen to you last night?”
  • “El terremoto ocurrió a las tres de la mañana.” — “The earthquake happened at three in the morning.”
  • “La semana pasada ocurrió dos accidentes en la carretera.” — “Last week two accidents happened on the road.”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present perfect — the four tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Antes, estas cosas ocurrían en la oficina.” — “Before, these things used to happen in the office.”
  • “En el futuro, estas cosas ocurrirán en la oficina.” — “In the future, these things will happen in the office.”
  • “Si fuera posible, estas cosas ocurrirían en la oficina.” — “If it were possible, these things would happen in the office.”
  • “Estas cosas han ocurrido en la oficina.” — “These things have happened in the office.”

Ocurrir in context

Things happen every day without anyone planning them: accidents occur on the road, ideas occur to people in the shower, and problems occur in the best-run projects. Ocurrir is the formal verb for happening — the news uses it, reports use it, and it almost always appears in the third person, because it is events that occur, not people.

Yesterday an accident occurred on the motorway, and a great idea occurred to me while I was walking home. A problem occurred with the system at midnight, and the team worked all night to fix it. In the preterite, ocurrir tells you that something happened and finished — an event with a beginning and an end, not a state that goes on.

Common mistakes with ocurrir

Mistake 1

Wrong: Me ocurre una idea — wrong use of the subject.

Right: Se me ocurre una idea.

Ideas occur with se me ocurre: se me ocurrió una idea, not me ocurre una idea.

Mistake 2

Wrong: ¿Qué ocurre? — learners use pasar for everything.

Right: ¿Qué ocurre?

¿Qué ocurre? is the formal what is happening; ¿qué pasa? is the everyday version.

Quiz: ocurrir in everyday use

Ten questions on ocurrir across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

1. What is the yo form of ocurrir in the present tense?

  • A) ocurro
  • B) ocurres
  • C) ocurre
  • D) ocurrimos

Answer: A — The yo form in the present tense is ocurro.

2. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of ocurrir in the present tense?

  • A) ocurro
  • B) ocurres
  • C) ocurrimos
  • D) ocurre

Answer: D — The él/ella/Ud. form in the present tense is ocurre.

3. What is the yo form of ocurrir in the preterite?

  • A) ocurrió
  • B) ocurrimos
  • C) ocurrí
  • D) ocurriste

Answer: C — The yo form in the preterite is ocurrí.

4. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of ocurrir in the preterite?

  • A) ocurrió
  • B) ocurrieron
  • C) ocurrí
  • D) ocurriste

Answer: B — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form in the preterite is ocurrieron.

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

  • A) ocurría
  • B) ocurrías
  • C) ocurría
  • D) ocurríamos

Answer: A — The yo form in the imperfect is ocurría.

6. What is the tú form of ocurrir in the future?

  • A) ocurriré
  • B) ocurrirá
  • C) ocurriremos
  • D) ocurrirás

Answer: D — The tú form in the future is ocurrirás.

7. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of ocurrir in the conditional?

  • A) ocurrirías
  • B) ocurriríamos
  • C) ocurriría
  • D) ocurriría

Answer: C — The él/ella/Ud. form in the conditional is ocurriría.

8. What is the nosotros/as form of ocurrir in the present perfect?

  • A) ha ocurrido
  • B) hemos ocurrido
  • C) he ocurrido
  • D) has ocurrido

Answer: B — The nosotros/as form in the present perfect is hemos ocurrido.

9. Fill in the blank: “¿Qué ___?” (What is happening?)

  • A) ocurre
  • B) ocurro
  • C) ocurres
  • D) ocurrimos

Answer: A — The sentence needs ocurre.

10. Which sentence is correct?

  • A) Se me ocurre una idea.
  • B) Me ocurre una idea — wrong use of the subject.

Answer: A — Ideas occur with se me ocurre: se me ocurrió una idea, not me ocurre una idea.

Frequently asked questions

What does ocurrir mean?

ocurrir means “to happen” in English. Ocurrir means to happen and to occur: ¿qué ocurre?, ocurrió un accidente. It is regular and mostly used in the third person, in news and formal language. It is more formal than pasar, and it never takes a person as the subject in the sense of something happening to them — for that Spanish uses pasarle a alguien.

Is ocurrir regular?

Yes. ocurrir is a regular -ir verb, so its forms follow the standard endings in every tense. That makes it a good verb to learn early — once you know the endings, you know the verb.

When do I use ocurrir in the past — preterite or imperfect?

Use the preterite — ocurrí, ocurriste, ocurrió — for a finished action at a specific moment, and the imperfect — ocurría, ocurrías, ocurría — for what was happening, what used to happen, or the background. The same rule applies to ocurrir as to every Spanish verb; the tense changes the meaning, not the verb.

How can I practise ocurrir?

Start with the examples above, say them aloud, then take the quiz on this page. For more practice, use the Spanish Verb Quiz and the Ocurrir Conjugator, and read the full conjugation page for ocurrir to see the verb in every tense.

Say it yourself

Reading is not enough — say the verb aloud before you move on. Use the forms from the tables on this page and answer these three prompts as full sentences. First, say what happens every day: “Ocurre…”. Second, say what happened yesterday: “Ayer ocurrió…”. Third, say what will happen tomorrow: “Mañana ocurrirá…”. If you can answer all three without looking at the tables, the forms are starting to stick. If you hesitate, go back to the examples above, read them aloud twice, and try again. Speaking the forms is what turns a table you have seen into a verb you can use.

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