Pelar Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

pelar means to peel, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Pelar means to peel, and it is used for peeling potatoes, fruit and vegetables, and also for peeling off skin after sunburn. It is a fully regular -ar verb, and it is a kitchen staple next to cortar and picar. This page puts pelar 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 pelar, and the full tables are on the pelar conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo pelo las patatas para la tortilla. — I peel the potatoes for the omelette.
  2. Él pela una naranja para el niño. — He/she peels an orange for the child.
  3. Ayer, yo pelé la manzana con el cuchillo. — Yesterday, I peeled the apple with the knife.
  4. Antes, nosotros pelábamos las zanahorias antes de cocinar. — Before, we used to peel the carrots before cooking.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú pelarás las patatas para la tortilla. — Tomorrow, you will peel the potatoes for the omelette.
  2. Yo pelaría una naranja para el niño. — I would peel an orange for the child.
  3. Él ha pelado la manzana con el cuchillo. — He/she has peeled the apple with the knife.
  4. Espero que él pele las zanahorias antes de cocinar. — I hope he/she peels the carrots before cooking.

With other people

  1. Nosotros pelamos las patatas para la tortilla. — We peel the potatoes for the omelette.
  2. Vosotros peláis una naranja para el niño. — You all peel an orange for the child.
  3. Antes, ellos pelaban la manzana con el cuchillo. — Before, they used to peel the apple with the knife.
  4. Mañana, él pelará las zanahorias antes de cocinar. — Tomorrow, he/she will peel the carrots before cooking.

Pelar in context

Two short dialogues that use pelar 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 pelo las patatas para la tortilla." — "Today I peel the potatoes for the omelette."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, pelé la manzana con el cuchillo." — "Yesterday I peeled the apple with the knife."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú pelarás una naranja para el niño?" — "And tomorrow, will you will peel an orange for the child?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros pelamos las zanahorias antes de cocinar." — "Tomorrow we peel the carrots before cooking."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo pelaría una naranja para el niño si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would peel an orange for the child if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él pele las patatas para la tortilla." — "I hope he peels the potatoes for the omelette."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha pelado la manzana con el cuchillo." — "Surely. He has already has peeled the apple with the knife."
  • 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 pela las patatas para la tortilla. — Right: Yo pelo las patatas para la tortilla. — The person matters: pela is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is pelo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Vosotros pelais una naranja para el niño. — Right: Vosotros peláis una naranja para el niño. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: peláis, not pelais. The accent marks the stressed vowel.
  3. Wrong: Treating pelar and cortar as identical in every context. — Right: Pelar means to peel, while cortar means to cut, the kitchen partner. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: pelar fits sentences such as Pelo las patatas para la tortilla, while cortar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy pelado una naranja para el niño. — Right: Yo he pelado una naranja para el niño. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he pelado, has pelado, ha pelado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo pelé la manzana con el cuchillo todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo pelaba la manzana con el cuchillo todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (pelaba), not the preterite. The preterite (pelé) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on pelar: 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 ___ las patatas para la tortilla. (present tense) A. pelo B. pelas C. pela D. pelamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ una naranja para el niño. (preterite tense) A. pelé B. pelaste C. pelamos D. peló

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ la manzana con el cuchillo. (future tense) A. pelará B. pelaremos C. pelarás D. pelaré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ las zanahorias antes de cocinar. (imperfect tense) A. pelabais B. pelábamos C. pelaba D. pelabas

  5. What does "Yo pelo las patatas para la tortilla." mean in English? A. I peel the potatoes for the omelette. B. I peel an orange for the child. C. I peel the apple with the knife. D. I peel the carrots before cooking.

  6. What does "Él peló una naranja para el niño." mean in English? A. He/she peeled the potatoes for the omelette. B. He/she peeled the apple with the knife. C. He/she peeled the carrots before cooking. D. He/she peeled an orange for the child.

  7. What does "Nosotros pelaremos la manzana con el cuchillo." mean in English? A. We will peel an orange for the child. B. We will peel the carrots before cooking. C. We will peel the apple with the knife. D. We will peel the potatoes for the omelette.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo pelan una naranja para el niño. B. Yo pela una naranja para el niño. C. Yo pelo una naranja para el niño.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él pelé la manzana con el cuchillo. B. Él peló la manzana con el cuchillo. C. Él pelaron la manzana con el cuchillo.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo pele las zanahorias antes de cocinar. B. Yo pelen las zanahorias antes de cocinar. C. Yo pele las zanahorias antes de cocinar.

Answer key

  1. pelo — The yo present form of pelar is pelo.
  2. peló — The el preterite form of pelar is peló.
  3. pelarás — The tu future form of pelar is pelarás.
  4. pelábamos — The nosotros imperfect form of pelar is pelábamos.
  5. I peel the potatoes for the omelette. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form pelo, so the English is "I peel the potatoes for the omelette." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she peeled an orange for the child. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form peló, so the English is "He/she peeled an orange for the child." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will peel the apple with the knife. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form pelaremos, so the English is "We will peel the apple with the knife." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo pelo una naranja para el niño. — The correct sentence is "Yo pelo una naranja para el niño." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él peló la manzana con el cuchillo. — The correct sentence is "Él peló la manzana con el cuchillo." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo pele las zanahorias antes de cocinar. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo pele las zanahorias antes de cocinar." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

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

Pelar means to peel. Pelar means to peel, and it is used for peeling potatoes, fruit and vegetables, and also for peeling off skin after sunburn. It is a fully regular -ar verb, and it is a kitchen staple next to cortar and picar. A good first sentence to remember is Yo pelo las patatas para la tortilla. — "I peel the potatoes for the omelette."

What is the difference between pelar and cortar?

Pelar means to peel, while cortar means to cut, the kitchen partner. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use pelar when you mean to peel, as in Yo pelo una naranja para el niño., and use cortar for to cut, the kitchen partner.

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

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo pelé una naranja para el niño.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo pelaba la manzana con el cuchillo.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he pelado una naranja para el niño..

How do I practise pelar?

Start with the pelar conjugation page for the full tables, then the pelar in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Pelar is fully regular: pelé, pelaba, pelaré. In Spain pelar can also mean to be very cold — hace un frío que pela.

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