Personalizar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish
personalizar means "to personalise" in English, and this page shows it in everyday use: real example sentences in several tenses, two short dialogues, the mistakes learners actually make, and a quiz to test yourself. You will see personalizar with the mug with his name, the gift for his friend, the diary with photos and the T-shirt with a drawing — the situations where Spanish speakers really use it. A good first sentence to learn is: Cada día, yo personalizo la taza con su nombre. — "Every day, I personalise the mug with his name." Read the examples aloud, notice which tense each one uses, and then try the dialogues and the quiz.
personalizar in everyday sentences
Twelve sentences with personalizar, grouped by situation. Each one shows the verb in a different tense or person, with its English translation and a note on when to use that form.
Everyday use
- Cada día, yo personalizo la taza con su nombre. — "Every day, I personalise the mug with his name." The present tense fits a habit here.
- Ayer, yo personalicé el regalo para su amiga. — "Yesterday, I personalised the gift for his friend." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, yo personalizaba la agenda con fotos. — "In the past, I used to personalise the diary with photos." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, nosotros personalizaremos la camiseta con un dibujo. — "Tomorrow, we will personalise the T-shirt with a drawing." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Si pudieras, tú personalizarías la taza con su nombre. — "If you could, you would personalise the mug with his name." The conditional fits something that would happen.
- Yo he personalizado el regalo para su amiga. — "I have personalised the gift for his friend." The present perfect fits an action with present relevance.
More situations
- Normalmente, él personaliza la agenda con fotos. — "Normally, he/she personalises the diary with photos." The present tense fits a general truth here.
- Ayer, él personalizó la camiseta con un dibujo. — "Yesterday, he/she personalised the T-shirt with a drawing." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, nosotros personalizábamos la taza con su nombre. — "In the past, we used to personalise the mug with his name." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, yo personalizaré el regalo para su amiga. — "Tomorrow, I will personalise the gift for his friend." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Espero que él personalice la agenda con fotos. — "I hope that he/she personalises the diary with photos." The present subjunctive follows espero que.
- ¡Personaliza la camiseta con un dibujo! — "Personalise the T-shirt with a drawing!" The imperative fits a direct order or request.
The verb in context
Two short dialogues using personalizar naturally. Notice how the verb changes person and tense as the conversation moves, and how the complements stay the same kind of situation: the mug with his name, the gift for his friend, the diary with photos and the T-shirt with a drawing.
Dialogue 1: talking about the mug with his name
Sofía: ¿Tú personalizas la taza con su nombre? — "Do you personalise the mug with his name?" Diego: Sí, yo personalizo la taza con su nombre. — "I personalise the mug with his name." Sofía: ¿Y ayer? — "And yesterday?" Diego: Ayer, yo personalicé el regalo para su amiga. — "Yesterday, I personalised the gift for his friend." Sofía: Mañana, nosotros personalizaremos la agenda con fotos. — "Tomorrow, we will personalise the diary with photos." Diego: Si pudiera, yo personalizaría la camiseta con un dibujo. — "If I could, I would personalise the T-shirt with a drawing." Sofía: Antes, yo personalizaba el regalo para su amiga. — "In the past, I used to personalise the gift for his friend." Diego: Yo he personalizado la taza con su nombre. — "I have personalised the mug with his name." Sofía: ¡Personaliza la agenda con fotos! — "Personalise the diary with photos!"
In this dialogue personalizar appears in the present, the preterite, the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present perfect. That is the point: one verb, many tenses, and the complement tells you which situation you are in. Try the same dialogue with your own complements.
Dialogue 2: talking about the diary with photos
Sofía: Él personaliza la agenda con fotos. — "he/she personalises the diary with photos." Diego: ¿De verdad? ¿Él personaliza la agenda con fotos todos los días? — "Really? Does he/she personalises the diary with photos every day?" Sofía: Sí, y ellos personalizan la camiseta con un dibujo. — "they personalise the T-shirt with a drawing." Diego: Ayer, ellos personalizaron la agenda con fotos. — "Yesterday, they personalised the diary with photos." Sofía: Espero que él personalice la camiseta con un dibujo. — "I hope that he/she personalises the T-shirt with a drawing." Diego: Mañana, él personalizará la agenda con fotos. — "Tomorrow, he/she will personalise the diary with photos." Sofía: Antes, nosotros personalizábamos la camiseta con un dibujo. — "In the past, we used to personalise the T-shirt with a drawing." Diego: Nosotros personalizamos la taza con su nombre también. — "we personalise the mug with his name too."
This dialogue shows personalizar in the third person and in the plural, which is where learners most often hesitate. Read it aloud with a partner, swapping the names and the complements for your own life, and the forms will start to feel automatic.
Common mistakes with personalizar
The errors learners actually make with personalizar in everyday use, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why it is wrong.
Mistake 1: Adding a reflexive pronoun that does not belong
- Wrong: Yo me personalizo la taza con su nombre.
- Right: Yo personalizo la taza con su nombre.
- Why: personalizar is not reflexive, so there is no pronoun to add: Yo personalizo la taza con su nombre. is the correct sentence.
Mistake 2: Using the infinitive as a conjugated form
- Wrong: Yo personalizar la taza con su nombre.
- Right: Yo personalizo la taza con su nombre.
- Why: The infinitive personalizar is the dictionary form, not a conjugated form. In a sentence with yo you need the present-tense form personalizo.
Mistake 3: Using the present tense for yesterday
- Wrong: Ayer, yo personalizo el regalo para su amiga.
- Right: Ayer, yo personalicé el regalo para su amiga.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite: Ayer, yo personalicé el regalo para su amiga. — "Yesterday, I personalised the gift for his friend."
Mistake 4: Mixing up the gerund and the participle
- Wrong: Estoy personalizado la agenda con fotos.
- Right: Estoy personalizando la agenda con fotos.
- Why: After estar you need the gerund personalizando for the progressive. The participle personalizado goes with haber in the perfect tenses (he personalizado), never after estar.
Mistake 5: Using the él form for nosotros
- Wrong: Nosotros personaliza la taza con su nombre.
- Right: Nosotros personalizamos la taza con su nombre.
- Why: The person and the ending must match: nosotros takes personalizamos, while personaliza belongs to él and ella.
Quiz: personalizar in use
Test yourself with ten questions on personalizar. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the yo form of personalizar in the present tense?
- (a) personalizo
- (b) personalizas
- (c) personaliza
- (d) personalizamos
Answer: (a) personalizo. The yo form is personalizo.
2. What is the tú form of personalizar in the present tense?
- (a) personalizo
- (b) personaliza
- (c) personalizamos
- (d) personalizas
Answer: (d) personalizas. The tú form is personalizas.
3. What is the él/ella form of personalizar in the present tense?
- (a) personalizas
- (b) personalizamos
- (c) personaliza
- (d) personalizo
Answer: (c) personaliza. The él/ella form is personaliza.
4. Complete the sentence: Cada día, yo ___ la taza con su nombre.
- (a) personalizamos
- (b) personalizo
- (c) personalizas
- (d) personaliza
Answer: (b) personalizo. The sentence needs the yo form personalizo.
5. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ___ el regalo para su amiga.
- (a) personalicé
- (b) personalizaste
- (c) personalizó
- (d) personalizamos
Answer: (a) personalicé. Ayer needs the preterite, and the yo form is personalicé.
6. Complete the sentence: Antes, yo ___ la agenda con fotos.
- (a) personalizabas
- (b) personalizábamos
- (c) personalizabais
- (d) personalizaba
Answer: (d) personalizaba. Antes needs the imperfect, and the yo form is personalizaba.
7. Complete the sentence: Mañana, yo ___ la camiseta con un dibujo.
- (a) personalizará
- (b) personalizaremos
- (c) personalizaré
- (d) personalizarás
Answer: (c) personalizaré. Mañana needs the future, and the yo form is personalizaré.
8. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la taza con su nombre.
- (a) ha personalizado
- (b) hemos personalizado
- (c) he personalizado
- (d) has personalizado
Answer: (c) he personalizado. The present perfect uses haber plus the participle: he personalizado.
9. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ la agenda con fotos.
- (a) personalice
- (b) personalices
- (c) personalicemos
- (d) personalicéis
Answer: (a) personalice. After espero que Spanish needs the subjunctive, and the él form is personalice.
10. What does personalizar mean in English?
- (a) to personalise
- (b) to make profitable
- (c) to revitalise
- (d) to synthesise
Answer: (a) to personalise. personalizar means "to personalise" in English.
Frequently asked questions about personalizar
What does personalizar mean?
personalizar means "to personalise" in English. Use it when you talk about the mug with his name, the gift for his friend, the diary with photos and the T-shirt with a drawing — for example: Cada día, yo personalizo la taza con su nombre. — "Every day, I personalise the mug with his name."
Is there a reflexive form of personalizar?
No. personalizar is not reflexive, so it is used without a pronoun: Cada día, yo personalizo la taza con su nombre. — "Every day, I personalise the mug with his name."
What is the most common mistake with personalizar?
The spelling change. Watch the spelling: the z becomes c before e, so the yo preterite is personalicé and the subjunctive forms start with c, for example personalice. Practise the yo form and the subjunctive forms until they feel automatic, and check them against the table on the conjugation page.
How can I practise personalizar?
Take the quiz above, then make your own sentences: change the person in each example, change the complement to something from your own life, and say the sentence aloud. The verb quiz and the verb translator on this site give you more practice with the same forms.