Practicar Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

practicar means to practise, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Practicar means to practise, and it is used for practising Spanish every day, practising the piano, practising sport and practising yoga. It is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e, so the preterite is practiqué. This page puts practicar 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 practicar, and the full tables are on the practicar conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo practico español todos los días. — I practise Spanish every day.
  2. Él practica el piano por las tardes. — He/she practises the piano in the afternoons.
  3. Ayer, yo practiqué deporte en el gimnasio. — Yesterday, I practised sport at the gym.
  4. Antes, nosotros practicábamos yoga en casa por la mañana. — Before, we used to practise yoga at home in the morning.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú practicarás español todos los días. — Tomorrow, you will practise Spanish every day.
  2. Yo practicaría el piano por las tardes. — I would practise the piano in the afternoons.
  3. Él ha practicado deporte en el gimnasio. — He/she has practised sport at the gym.
  4. Espero que él practique yoga en casa por la mañana. — I hope he/she practises yoga at home in the morning.

With other people

  1. Nosotros practicamos español todos los días. — We practise Spanish every day.
  2. Vosotros practicáis el piano por las tardes. — You all practise the piano in the afternoons.
  3. Antes, ellos practicaban deporte en el gimnasio. — Before, they used to practise sport at the gym.
  4. Mañana, él practicará yoga en casa por la mañana. — Tomorrow, he/she will practise yoga at home in the morning.

Practicar in context

Two short dialogues that use practicar 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 practico español todos los días." — "Today I practise Spanish every day."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, practiqué deporte en el gimnasio." — "Yesterday I practised sport at the gym."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú practicarás el piano por las tardes?" — "And tomorrow, will you will practise the piano in the afternoons?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros practicamos yoga en casa por la mañana." — "Tomorrow we practise yoga at home in the morning."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo practicaría el piano por las tardes si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would practise the piano in the afternoons if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él practique español todos los días." — "I hope he practises Spanish every day."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha practicado deporte en el gimnasio." — "Surely. He has already has practised sport at the gym."
  • 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 practica español todos los días. — Right: Yo practico español todos los días. — The person matters: practica is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is practico. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo practicé el piano por las tardes. — Right: Yo practiqué el piano por las tardes. — In the preterite, the correct first-person form is practiqué, not practicé. practicar is a spelling-change verb: c becomes qu before e, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
  3. Wrong: Treating practicar and entrenar as identical in every context. — Right: Practicar means to practise, while entrenar means to train, the sport partner. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: practicar fits sentences such as Practico español todos los días, while entrenar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy practicado el piano por las tardes. — Right: Yo he practicado el piano por las tardes. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he practicado, has practicado, ha practicado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo practiqué deporte en el gimnasio todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo practicaba deporte en el gimnasio todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (practicaba), not the preterite. The preterite (practiqué) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on practicar: 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 ___ español todos los días. (present tense) A. practico B. practicas C. practica D. practicamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el piano por las tardes. (preterite tense) A. practiqué B. practicaste C. practicamos D. practicó

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ deporte en el gimnasio. (future tense) A. practicará B. practicaremos C. practicarás D. practicaré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ yoga en casa por la mañana. (imperfect tense) A. practicabais B. practicábamos C. practicaba D. practicabas

  5. What does "Yo practico español todos los días." mean in English? A. I practise Spanish every day. B. I practise the piano in the afternoons. C. I practise sport at the gym. D. I practise yoga at home in the morning.

  6. What does "Él practicó el piano por las tardes." mean in English? A. He/she practised Spanish every day. B. He/she practised sport at the gym. C. He/she practised yoga at home in the morning. D. He/she practised the piano in the afternoons.

  7. What does "Nosotros practicaremos deporte en el gimnasio." mean in English? A. We will practise the piano in the afternoons. B. We will practise yoga at home in the morning. C. We will practise sport at the gym. D. We will practise Spanish every day.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo practican el piano por las tardes. B. Yo practica el piano por las tardes. C. Yo practico el piano por las tardes.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él practiqué deporte en el gimnasio. B. Él practicó deporte en el gimnasio. C. Él practicaron deporte en el gimnasio.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo practique yoga en casa por la mañana. B. Yo practice yoga en casa por la mañana. C. Yo practique yoga en casa por la mañana.

Answer key

  1. practico — The yo present form of practicar is practico.
  2. practicó — The el preterite form of practicar is practicó.
  3. practicarás — The tu future form of practicar is practicarás.
  4. practicábamos — The nosotros imperfect form of practicar is practicábamos.
  5. I practise Spanish every day. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form practico, so the English is "I practise Spanish every day." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she practised the piano in the afternoons. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form practicó, so the English is "He/she practised the piano in the afternoons." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will practise sport at the gym. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form practicaremos, so the English is "We will practise sport at the gym." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo practico el piano por las tardes. — The correct sentence is "Yo practico el piano por las tardes." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él practicó deporte en el gimnasio. — The correct sentence is "Él practicó deporte en el gimnasio." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo practique yoga en casa por la mañana. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo practique yoga en casa por la mañana." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

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

Practicar means to practise. Practicar means to practise, and it is used for practising Spanish every day, practising the piano, practising sport and practising yoga. It is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e, so the preterite is practiqué. A good first sentence to remember is Yo practico español todos los días. — "I practise Spanish every day."

What is the difference between practicar and entrenar?

Practicar means to practise, while entrenar means to train, the sport partner. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use practicar when you mean to practise, as in Yo practico el piano por las tardes., and use entrenar for to train, the sport partner.

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

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo practiqué el piano por las tardes.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo practicaba deporte en el gimnasio.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he practicado el piano por las tardes..

How do I practise practicar?

Start with the practicar conjugation page for the full tables, then the practicar 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 qu before e, so the preterite is practiqué and the subjunctive is practique.

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