Partirse Examples, Sentences & Quiz

Introduction

partirse means to break, to split, and it is one of those verbs that shows up everywhere once you start listening for it. It is a regular -ir verb, reflexive 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 «Me parto todos los días» — I break every day. The rest of this page builds out from there, tense by tense, so you can use partirse the way native speakers do — in the present for habits, in the past for finished events, and in the subjunctive after wishes and doubts.

Partirse in real example sentences

In the present: everyday use

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

  1. Me parto todos los días. — I break every day.
  2. Te partes en el trabajo. — You break at work.
  3. Se parte con mi familia. — He breaks with my family.
  4. Nos partimos por la mañana. — We break 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 me partí por la tarde. — Yesterday I broke in the afternoon.
  2. Antes, me partía todos los días. — In the past, I used to break every day.
  3. La semana pasada se partió dos veces. — Last week He broke 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 me partiré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will break without fail.
  2. Si tuviera más tiempo, me partiría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would break right now.
  3. Hoy me he partido dos veces. — Today I have broke twice.

More everyday uses

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

  1. Espero que te partas pronto. — I hope You break soon.
  2. ¡No te partas! — Don't break!
  3. Ahora mismo me estoy partiendo. — Right now I am breaking.

Partirse in context

A short dialogue

Ana: «Me parto en el trabajo.» — I break at work. Luis: «¡Qué bien! Me parto con mi familia.» — I break with my family. Ana: «Mañana me partiré sin falta.» — Tomorrow I will break without fail. Luis: «Si tuviera más tiempo, me partiría ahora mismo.» — If I had more time, I would break right now. Ana: «Hoy me he partido dos veces.» — Today I have broke twice.

A short paragraph

Ayer me partí por la tarde. Antes, me partía todos los días. Hoy me he partido dos veces. Mañana me partiré sin falta.

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

Common mistakes with partirse

1. Forgetting the reflexive pronoun

Wrong: yo parto todos los días.

Right: me parto todos los días.

partirse is reflexive: the pronoun me belongs before every conjugated form. Without it, you are using the non-reflexive verb, which means something different — doing the action to someone else instead of to yourself.

2. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer me partía.

Right: Ayer me partí.

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

3. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que te partes.

Right: Espero que te partas.

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

4. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No te parte.

Right: No te partas.

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

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He partiendo.

Right: He partido.

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

Quiz: partirse in use

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

1. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of partirse in the present indicative?

- (a) parte
- (b) partes
- (c) parto
- (d) partimos

2. What is the nosotros/as form of partirse in the preterite?

- (a) partiste
- (b) partí
- (c) partimos
- (d) partió

3. What is the vosotros/as form of partirse in the future?

- (a) partiré
- (b) partirá
- (c) partiréis
- (d) partirás

4. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of partirse in the present perfect?

- (a) ha partido
- (b) han partido
- (c) has partido
- (d) he partido

5. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of partirse in the imperfect?

- (a) partía
- (b) partíamos
- (c) partía
- (d) partías

6. What is the gerund of partirse?

- (a) partido
- (b) parto
- (c) partirse
- (d) partiendo

7. What is the past participle of partirse?

- (a) partirse
- (b) partiendo
- (c) partí
- (d) partido

8. Which sentence uses partirse correctly?

- (a) *Yo partes todos los días.*
- (b) *Yo parte todos los días.*
- (c) *Yo partirse todos los días.*
- (d) *Me parto todos los días.* — I break every day.

9. Which sentence uses partirse correctly?

- (a) *Ayer yo partirse por la tarde.*
- (b) *Ayer yo parto por la tarde.*
- (c) *Ayer yo partía por la tarde.*
- (d) *Ayer me partí por la tarde.* — Yesterday I broke in the afternoon.

10. What does partirse mean?

- (a) to go over
- (b) to look like
- (c) to participate
- (d) to break, to split

Answer key

1. (a) — In the present indicative, the él/ella/Ud. form of partirse is parte. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (c) — In the preterite, the nosotros/as form of partirse is partimos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (c) — In the future, the vosotros/as form of partirse is partiréis. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (b) — In the present perfect, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of partirse is han partido. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (a) — In the imperfect, the él/ella/Ud. form of partirse is partía. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (d) — The gerund of partirse is partiendo. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy partiendo». 7. (d) — The past participle of partirse is partido. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he partido». 8. (d) — Only this sentence pairs the right person with the right form of partirse; the others mix a person with another person's form, or use the infinitive instead of a conjugated form. 9. (d) — Only this sentence pairs the right person with the right form of partirse; the others mix a person with another person's form, or use the infinitive instead of a conjugated form. 10. (d) — partirse means «to break, to split».

Frequently asked questions

How do you say 'I break' in Spanish?

Say «Me parto 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 broke' about yesterday?

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

Is partirse reflexive?

Yes — partirse is reflexive, so every conjugated form takes its pronoun: me parto, te partes, se parte. The pronoun always comes before the verb, except in affirmative commands, where it attaches to the end.

Which tense do learners find hardest with partirse?

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

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