Privatizar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish
privatizar means "to privatise" 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 privatizar with the electricity company, the city hospital, the region's water and the village transport — the situations where Spanish speakers really use it. A good first sentence to learn is: Cada día, yo privatizo la empresa de electricidad. — "Every day, I privatise the electricity company." Read the examples aloud, notice which tense each one uses, and then try the dialogues and the quiz.
privatizar in everyday sentences
Twelve sentences with privatizar, 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 privatizo la empresa de electricidad. — "Every day, I privatise the electricity company." The present tense fits a habit here.
- Ayer, yo privaticé el hospital de la ciudad. — "Yesterday, I privatised the city hospital." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, yo privatizaba el agua de la región. — "In the past, I used to privatise the region's water." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, nosotros privatizaremos el transporte del pueblo. — "Tomorrow, we will privatise the village transport." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Si pudieras, tú privatizarías la empresa de electricidad. — "If you could, you would privatise the electricity company." The conditional fits something that would happen.
- Yo he privatizado el hospital de la ciudad. — "I have privatised the city hospital." The present perfect fits an action with present relevance.
More situations
- Normalmente, él privatiza el agua de la región. — "Normally, he/she privatises the region's water." The present tense fits a general truth here.
- Ayer, él privatizó el transporte del pueblo. — "Yesterday, he/she privatised the village transport." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, nosotros privatizábamos la empresa de electricidad. — "In the past, we used to privatise the electricity company." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, yo privatizaré el hospital de la ciudad. — "Tomorrow, I will privatise the city hospital." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Espero que él privatice el agua de la región. — "I hope that he/she privatises the region's water." The present subjunctive follows espero que.
- ¡Privatiza el transporte del pueblo! — "Privatise the village transport!" The imperative fits a direct order or request.
The verb in context
Two short dialogues using privatizar naturally. Notice how the verb changes person and tense as the conversation moves, and how the complements stay the same kind of situation: the electricity company, the city hospital, the region's water and the village transport.
Dialogue 1: talking about the electricity company
María: ¿Tú privatizas la empresa de electricidad? — "Do you privatise the electricity company?" Carlos: Sí, yo privatizo la empresa de electricidad. — "I privatise the electricity company." María: ¿Y ayer? — "And yesterday?" Carlos: Ayer, yo privaticé el hospital de la ciudad. — "Yesterday, I privatised the city hospital." María: Mañana, nosotros privatizaremos el agua de la región. — "Tomorrow, we will privatise the region's water." Carlos: Si pudiera, yo privatizaría el transporte del pueblo. — "If I could, I would privatise the village transport." María: Antes, yo privatizaba el hospital de la ciudad. — "In the past, I used to privatise the city hospital." Carlos: Yo he privatizado la empresa de electricidad. — "I have privatised the electricity company." María: ¡Privatiza el agua de la región! — "Privatise the region's water!"
In this dialogue privatizar 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 region's water
María: Él privatiza el agua de la región. — "he/she privatises the region's water." Carlos: ¿De verdad? ¿Él privatiza el agua de la región todos los días? — "Really? Does he/she privatises the region's water every day?" María: Sí, y ellos privatizan el transporte del pueblo. — "they privatise the village transport." Carlos: Ayer, ellos privatizaron el agua de la región. — "Yesterday, they privatised the region's water." María: Espero que él privatice el transporte del pueblo. — "I hope that he/she privatises the village transport." Carlos: Mañana, él privatizará el agua de la región. — "Tomorrow, he/she will privatise the region's water." María: Antes, nosotros privatizábamos el transporte del pueblo. — "In the past, we used to privatise the village transport." Carlos: Nosotros privatizamos la empresa de electricidad también. — "we privatise the electricity company too."
This dialogue shows privatizar 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 privatizar
The errors learners actually make with privatizar 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 privatizo la empresa de electricidad.
- Right: Yo privatizo la empresa de electricidad.
- Why: privatizar is not reflexive, so there is no pronoun to add: Yo privatizo la empresa de electricidad. is the correct sentence.
Mistake 2: Using the infinitive as a conjugated form
- Wrong: Yo privatizar la empresa de electricidad.
- Right: Yo privatizo la empresa de electricidad.
- Why: The infinitive privatizar is the dictionary form, not a conjugated form. In a sentence with yo you need the present-tense form privatizo.
Mistake 3: Using the present tense for yesterday
- Wrong: Ayer, yo privatizo el hospital de la ciudad.
- Right: Ayer, yo privaticé el hospital de la ciudad.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite: Ayer, yo privaticé el hospital de la ciudad. — "Yesterday, I privatised the city hospital."
Mistake 4: Mixing up the gerund and the participle
- Wrong: Estoy privatizado el agua de la región.
- Right: Estoy privatizando el agua de la región.
- Why: After estar you need the gerund privatizando for the progressive. The participle privatizado goes with haber in the perfect tenses (he privatizado), never after estar.
Mistake 5: Using the él form for nosotros
- Wrong: Nosotros privatiza la empresa de electricidad.
- Right: Nosotros privatizamos la empresa de electricidad.
- Why: The person and the ending must match: nosotros takes privatizamos, while privatiza belongs to él and ella.
Quiz: privatizar in use
Test yourself with ten questions on privatizar. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the yo form of privatizar in the present tense?
- (a) privatiza
- (b) privatizamos
- (c) privatizo
- (d) privatizas
Answer: (c) privatizo. The yo form is privatizo.
2. What is the tú form of privatizar in the present tense?
- (a) privatizamos
- (b) privatizas
- (c) privatizo
- (d) privatiza
Answer: (b) privatizas. The tú form is privatizas.
3. What is the él/ella form of privatizar in the present tense?
- (a) privatiza
- (b) privatizo
- (c) privatizas
- (d) privatizamos
Answer: (a) privatiza. The él/ella form is privatiza.
4. Complete the sentence: Cada día, yo ___ la empresa de electricidad.
- (a) privatizas
- (b) privatiza
- (c) privatizamos
- (d) privatizo
Answer: (d) privatizo. The sentence needs the yo form privatizo.
5. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ___ el hospital de la ciudad.
- (a) privatizó
- (b) privatizamos
- (c) privaticé
- (d) privatizaste
Answer: (c) privaticé. Ayer needs the preterite, and the yo form is privaticé.
6. Complete the sentence: Antes, yo ___ el agua de la región.
- (a) privatizabais
- (b) privatizaba
- (c) privatizabas
- (d) privatizábamos
Answer: (b) privatizaba. Antes needs the imperfect, and the yo form is privatizaba.
7. Complete the sentence: Mañana, yo ___ el transporte del pueblo.
- (a) privatizaré
- (b) privatizarás
- (c) privatizará
- (d) privatizaremos
Answer: (a) privatizaré. Mañana needs the future, and the yo form is privatizaré.
8. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la empresa de electricidad.
- (a) he privatizado
- (b) has privatizado
- (c) ha privatizado
- (d) hemos privatizado
Answer: (a) he privatizado. The present perfect uses haber plus the participle: he privatizado.
9. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ el agua de la región.
- (a) privaticemos
- (b) privaticéis
- (c) privatice
- (d) privatices
Answer: (c) privatice. After espero que Spanish needs the subjunctive, and the él form is privatice.
10. What does privatizar mean in English?
- (a) to fortify
- (b) to glorify
- (c) to privatise
- (d) to exemplify
Answer: (c) to privatise. privatizar means "to privatise" in English.
Frequently asked questions about privatizar
What does privatizar mean?
privatizar means "to privatise" in English. Use it when you talk about the electricity company, the city hospital, the region's water and the village transport — for example: Cada día, yo privatizo la empresa de electricidad. — "Every day, I privatise the electricity company."
Is there a reflexive form of privatizar?
No. privatizar is not reflexive, so it is used without a pronoun: Cada día, yo privatizo la empresa de electricidad. — "Every day, I privatise the electricity company."
What is the most common mistake with privatizar?
The spelling change. Watch the spelling: the z becomes c before e, so the yo preterite is privaticé and the subjunctive forms start with c, for example privatice. 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 privatizar?
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.