Pertenecer Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

pertenecer means to belong to, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Pertenecer means to belong to, and it is used for belonging to a family, a club, a generation and a company. It always takes the preposition a, and it is a -cer spelling-change verb: yo pertenezco. This page puts pertenecer 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 pertenecer, and the full tables are on the pertenecer conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo pertenezco a la familia desde siempre. — I belong to the family forever.
  2. Él pertenece al club de tenis. — He/she belongs to the tennis club.
  3. Ayer, yo pertenecí a una generación distinta. — Yesterday, I belonged to a different generation.
  4. Antes, nosotros pertenecíamos a la empresa desde hace años. — Before, we used to belong to the company for years.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú pertenecerás a la familia desde siempre. — Tomorrow, you will belong to the family forever.
  2. Yo pertenecería al club de tenis. — I would belong to the tennis club.
  3. Él ha pertenecido a una generación distinta. — He/she has belonged to a different generation.
  4. Espero que él pertenezca a la empresa desde hace años. — I hope he/she belongs to the company for years.

With other people

  1. Nosotros pertenecemos a la familia desde siempre. — We belong to the family forever.
  2. Vosotros pertenecéis al club de tenis. — You all belong to the tennis club.
  3. Antes, ellos pertenecían a una generación distinta. — Before, they used to belong to a different generation.
  4. Mañana, él pertenecerá a la empresa desde hace años. — Tomorrow, he/she will belong to the company for years.

Pertenecer in context

Two short dialogues that use pertenecer 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 pertenezco a la familia desde siempre." — "Today I belong to the family forever."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, pertenecí a una generación distinta." — "Yesterday I belonged to a different generation."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú pertenecerás al club de tenis?" — "And tomorrow, will you will belong to the tennis club?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros pertenecemos a la empresa desde hace años." — "Tomorrow we belong to the company for years."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo pertenecería al club de tenis si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would belong to the tennis club if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él pertenezca a la familia desde siempre." — "I hope he belongs to the family forever."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha pertenecido a una generación distinta." — "Surely. He has already has belonged to a different generation."
  • 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 pertenece a la familia desde siempre. — Right: Yo pertenezco a la familia desde siempre. — The person matters: pertenece is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is pertenezco. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo perteneco al club de tenis. — Right: Yo pertenezco al club de tenis. — In the present, the correct first-person form is pertenezco, not perteneco. pertenecer is a spelling-change verb: c becomes zc before o and a, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
  3. Wrong: Treating pertenecer and ser as identical in every context. — Right: Pertenecer means to belong to, while ser means to be, for ownership with ser de. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: pertenecer fits sentences such as Pertenezco a la familia desde siempre, while ser belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy pertenecido al club de tenis. — Right: Yo he pertenecido al club de tenis. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he pertenecido, has pertenecido, ha pertenecido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo pertenecí a una generación distinta todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo pertenecía a una generación distinta todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (pertenecía), not the preterite. The preterite (pertenecí) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on pertenecer: 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 ___ a la familia desde siempre. (present tense) A. pertenezco B. perteneces C. pertenece D. pertenecemos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ al club de tenis. (preterite tense) A. pertenecí B. perteneciste C. pertenecimos D. perteneció

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ a una generación distinta. (future tense) A. pertenecerá B. perteneceremos C. pertenecerás D. perteneceré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ a la empresa desde hace años. (imperfect tense) A. pertenecíais B. pertenecíamos C. pertenecía D. pertenecías

  5. What does "Yo pertenezco a la familia desde siempre." mean in English? A. I belong to the family forever. B. I belong to the tennis club. C. I belong to a different generation. D. I belong to the company for years.

  6. What does "Él perteneció al club de tenis." mean in English? A. He/she belonged to the family forever. B. He/she belonged to a different generation. C. He/she belonged to the company for years. D. He/she belonged to the tennis club.

  7. What does "Nosotros perteneceremos a una generación distinta." mean in English? A. We will belong to the tennis club. B. We will belong to the company for years. C. We will belong to a different generation. D. We will belong to the family forever.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo perteneco al club de tenis. B. Yo pertenece al club de tenis. C. Yo pertenezco al club de tenis.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él pertenecí a una generación distinta. B. Él perteneció a una generación distinta. C. Él pertenecieron a una generación distinta.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo pertenezca a la empresa desde hace años. B. Yo perteneca a la empresa desde hace años. C. Yo pertenezca a la empresa desde hace años.

Answer key

  1. pertenezco — The yo present form of pertenecer is pertenezco.
  2. perteneció — The el preterite form of pertenecer is perteneció.
  3. pertenecerás — The tu future form of pertenecer is pertenecerás.
  4. pertenecíamos — The nosotros imperfect form of pertenecer is pertenecíamos.
  5. I belong to the family forever. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form pertenezco, so the English is "I belong to the family forever." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she belonged to the tennis club. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form perteneció, so the English is "He/she belonged to the tennis club." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will belong to a different generation. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form perteneceremos, so the English is "We will belong to a different generation." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo pertenezco al club de tenis. — The correct sentence is "Yo pertenezco al club de tenis." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él perteneció a una generación distinta. — The correct sentence is "Él perteneció a una generación distinta." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo pertenezca a la empresa desde hace años. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo pertenezca a la empresa desde hace años." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

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

Pertenecer means to belong to. Pertenecer means to belong to, and it is used for belonging to a family, a club, a generation and a company. It always takes the preposition a, and it is a -cer spelling-change verb: yo pertenezco. A good first sentence to remember is Yo pertenezco a la familia desde siempre. — "I belong to the family forever."

What is the difference between pertenecer and ser?

Pertenecer means to belong to, while ser means to be, for ownership with ser de. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use pertenecer when you mean to belong to, as in Yo pertenezco al club de tenis., and use ser for to be, for ownership with ser de.

How do I say "I belong to" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo pertenecí al club de tenis.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo pertenecía a una generación distinta.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he pertenecido al club de tenis..

How do I practise pertenecer?

Start with the pertenecer conjugation page for the full tables, then the pertenecer in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Spelling change: c becomes zc before o and a, so yo pertenezco and the subjunctive pertenezca. It always takes a: pertenecer a algo.

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