Pinchar Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Pinchar means “to puncture, to prick”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Pinchar means to puncture or to prick, and it is used for a tyre going flat, pricking your finger with a needle and puncturing a balloon. It is fully regular, and it appears in driving, sewing and medical contexts. This page shows pinchar in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct present-tense form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo pincho la rueda en la autopista.” — I puncture the tyre on the motorway.
Pinchar in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how pinchar is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.
In the present: everyday use
These sentences use pinchar in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Pincho la rueda en la autopista.” — I puncture the tyre on the motorway.
“¿Tú pinchas el dedo con la aguja?” — Do you puncture my finger with the needle?
“Pincha el globo en la fiesta.” — He/she punctures the balloon at the party.
“Pinchamos la carne con el tenedor.” — We puncture the meat with the fork.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show pinchar in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo pinché la rueda en la autopista.” — Yesterday, I punctured the tyre on the motorway. (preterite)
“Él pinchaba el dedo con la aguja todos los días.” — He used to puncture my finger with the needle every day. (imperfect)
Plans and things already done
These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of pinchar stays the same.
“Nosotros pincharemos el globo en la fiesta mañana.” — We will puncture the balloon at the party tomorrow. (future)
“¿Tú has pinchado la carne con el tenedor?” — Have you punctured the meat with the fork? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Pincháis la rueda en la autopista.” — You puncture the tyre on the motorway.
“Pinchan el dedo con la aguja.” — They puncture my finger with the needle.
“Pincho el globo en la fiesta.” — I puncture the balloon at the party.
“Pincha la carne con el tenedor.” — He/she punctures the meat with the fork.
Pinchar in context
Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how pinchar appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú pinchas la rueda en la autopista?” — Do you puncture the tyre on the motorway?
Carlos: “Sí, yo pincho la rueda en la autopista.” — Yes, I puncture the tyre on the motorway.
Lucía: “Nosotros pinchamos el dedo con la aguja.” — We puncture my finger with the needle.
Carlos: “Y ellos pinchan el globo en la fiesta.” — And they puncture the balloon at the party.
Lucía: “Vosotros pincháis la carne con el tenedor.” — You puncture the meat with the fork.
Carlos: “Sí, y él pincha el dedo con la aguja.” — Yes, and he punctures my finger with the needle.
A short paragraph
Lucía pincha la rueda en la autopista, y Carlos pincha el dedo con la aguja. Nosotros pinchamos el globo en la fiesta, y ellos pinchan la carne con el tenedor. Yo pincho el globo en la fiesta, y mi padre pincha la carne con el tenedor. Pinchar is part of everyday life, because to puncture, to prick is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with pinchar
These are the errors learners actually make with pinchar. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo pincha la rueda en la autopista.” Right: “Yo pincho la rueda en la autopista.” Why: The person matters: pincha is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is pincho. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
Wrong: “Ayer yo pincho el dedo con la aguja.” Right: “Ayer yo pinché el dedo con la aguja.” Why: The present and the preterite are different tenses: pincho is happening now, while pinché is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
Wrong: “Treating pinchar and cortar as identical in every context.” Right: “Pinchar means to puncture, to prick, while cortar means to cut.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: pinchar fits sentences such as Pincho la rueda en la autopista, while cortar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy pinchado el dedo con la aguja.” Right: “Yo he pinchado el dedo con la aguja.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he pinchado, has pinchado, ha pinchado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo pinché el globo en la fiesta todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo pinchaba el globo en la fiesta todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (pinchaba), not the preterite. The preterite (pinché) is for one finished action.
Quiz: pinchar in use
Ten questions on pinchar in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ la rueda en la autopista.” (The tyre on the motorway.)
- (a) pincháis
- (b) pincho
- (c) pinchas
Answer: pincháis — The vosotros/as form of pinchar in the present is pincháis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ el dedo con la aguja.” (My finger with the needle.)
- (a) pincho
- (b) pinchas
- (c) pinchan
Answer: pinchan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of pinchar in the present is pinchan.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ la rueda en la autopista.” (The tyre on the motorway.)
- (a) pinchó
- (b) pinché
- (c) pinchaste
Answer: pinché — The yo form of pinchar in the preterite is pinché.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ el dedo con la aguja.” (My finger with the needle.)
- (a) pinchaba
- (b) pinchabas
- (c) pinchábamos
Answer: pinchaba — The él/ella/Ud. form of pinchar in the imperfect is pinchaba.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ el globo en la fiesta.” (The balloon at the party.)
- (a) pincharé
- (b) pincharás
- (c) pincharemos
Answer: pincharemos — The nosotros/as form of pinchar in the future is pincharemos.
6. What does pinchar mean in English?
- (a) to burn
- (b) to puncture, to prick
- (c) to cut
Answer: to puncture, to prick — Pinchar means “to puncture, to prick”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo pincho la rueda en la autopista.
- (b) Ellos pincha la rueda en la autopista.
- (c) Yo pincho el dedo con la aguja ayer.
Answer: Yo pincho la rueda en la autopista. — “Yo pincho la rueda en la autopista.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I puncture the tyre on the motorway.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo pinchan la rueda en la autopista.
- (b) Yo pinché la rueda en la autopista.
- (c) Yo pincho la rueda en la autopista.
Answer: Yo pincho la rueda en la autopista. — “Yo pincho la rueda en la autopista.” is the correct translation. The second option uses the wrong person's form, and the third uses the preterite.
9. What is the nosotros form of pinchar in the present tense?
- (a) pinchas
- (b) pinchamos
- (c) pincho
Answer: pinchamos — The nosotros form is pinchamos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo pinché la rueda en la autopista.
- (b) Nosotros pincharemos la rueda en la autopista mañana.
- (c) Yo pincho la rueda en la autopista.
Answer: Yo pincho la rueda en la autopista. — “Yo pincho la rueda en la autopista.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I puncture' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo pincho la rueda en la autopista'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo pincho la rueda en la autopista todos los días'.
How do you say 'I puncture' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo pinché el dedo con la aguja'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo pinchaba el dedo con la aguja todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo he pinchado el dedo con la aguja'.
What is the difference between pinchar and cortar?
Pinchar means to puncture, to prick, while cortar means to cut. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use pinchar when you mean to puncture, to prick, as in Pincho la rueda en la autopista.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of pinchar — every tense of pinchar in one place.
- Pinchar in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on pinchar and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of pinchar until they are automatic.