Quemar Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Quemar means “to burn”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Quemar means to burn, and it is used for burning wood, burning food in the oven and the sun burning your skin. It is fully regular, and it is the non-reflexive partner of quemarse. This page shows quemar 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 quemo la madera en la chimenea.” — I burn the wood in the fireplace.
Quemar in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how quemar 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 quemar in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Quemo la madera en la chimenea.” — I burn the wood in the fireplace.
“¿Tú quemas el pan en el horno?” — Do you burn the bread in the oven?
“Quema las hojas del jardín.” — He/she burns the leaves in the garden.
“Quemamos la basura en el campo.” — We burn the rubbish in the field.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show quemar in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo quemé la madera en la chimenea.” — Yesterday, I burned the wood in the fireplace. (preterite)
“Él quemaba el pan en el horno todos los días.” — He used to burn the bread in the oven 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 quemar stays the same.
“Nosotros quemaremos las hojas del jardín mañana.” — We will burn the leaves in the garden tomorrow. (future)
“¿Tú has quemado la basura en el campo?” — Have you burned the rubbish in the field? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Quemáis la madera en la chimenea.” — You burn the wood in the fireplace.
“Queman el pan en el horno.” — They burn the bread in the oven.
“Quemo las hojas del jardín.” — I burn the leaves in the garden.
“Quema la basura en el campo.” — He/she burns the rubbish in the field.
Quemar 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 quemar appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú quemas la madera en la chimenea?” — Do you burn the wood in the fireplace?
Carlos: “Sí, yo quemo la madera en la chimenea.” — Yes, I burn the wood in the fireplace.
Lucía: “Nosotros quemamos el pan en el horno.” — We burn the bread in the oven.
Carlos: “Y ellos queman las hojas del jardín.” — And they burn the leaves in the garden.
Lucía: “Vosotros quemáis la basura en el campo.” — You burn the rubbish in the field.
Carlos: “Sí, y él quema el pan en el horno.” — Yes, and he burns the bread in the oven.
A short paragraph
Lucía quema la madera en la chimenea, y Carlos quema el pan en el horno. Nosotros quemamos las hojas del jardín, y ellos queman la basura en el campo. Yo quemo las hojas del jardín, y mi padre quema la basura en el campo. Quemar is part of everyday life, because to burn is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with quemar
These are the errors learners actually make with quemar. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo quema la madera en la chimenea.” Right: “Yo quemo la madera en la chimenea.” Why: The person matters: quema is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is quemo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
Wrong: “Ayer yo quemo el pan en el horno.” Right: “Ayer yo quemé el pan en el horno.” Why: The present and the preterite are different tenses: quemo is happening now, while quemé is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
Wrong: “Treating quemar and quemarse as identical in every context.” Right: “Quemar means to burn, while quemarse means to burn oneself.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: quemar fits sentences such as Quemo la madera en la chimenea, while quemarse belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy quemado el pan en el horno.” Right: “Yo he quemado el pan en el horno.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he quemado, has quemado, ha quemado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo quemé las hojas del jardín todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo quemaba las hojas del jardín todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (quemaba), not the preterite. The preterite (quemé) is for one finished action.
Quiz: quemar in use
Ten questions on quemar 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 madera en la chimenea.” (The wood in the fireplace.)
- (a) quemáis
- (b) quemo
- (c) quemas
Answer: quemáis — The vosotros/as form of quemar in the present is quemáis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ el pan en el horno.” (The bread in the oven.)
- (a) quemo
- (b) quemas
- (c) queman
Answer: queman — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of quemar in the present is queman.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ la madera en la chimenea.” (The wood in the fireplace.)
- (a) quemó
- (b) quemé
- (c) quemaste
Answer: quemé — The yo form of quemar in the preterite is quemé.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ el pan en el horno.” (The bread in the oven.)
- (a) quemaba
- (b) quemabas
- (c) quemábamos
Answer: quemaba — The él/ella/Ud. form of quemar in the imperfect is quemaba.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ las hojas del jardín.” (The leaves in the garden.)
- (a) quemaré
- (b) quemarás
- (c) quemaremos
Answer: quemaremos — The nosotros/as form of quemar in the future is quemaremos.
6. What does quemar mean in English?
- (a) to roast, to grill
- (b) to burn
- (c) to burn oneself
Answer: to burn — Quemar means “to burn”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo quemo la madera en la chimenea.
- (b) Ellos quema la madera en la chimenea.
- (c) Yo quemo el pan en el horno ayer.
Answer: Yo quemo la madera en la chimenea. — “Yo quemo la madera en la chimenea.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I burn the wood in the fireplace.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo queman la madera en la chimenea.
- (b) Yo quemé la madera en la chimenea.
- (c) Yo quemo la madera en la chimenea.
Answer: Yo quemo la madera en la chimenea. — “Yo quemo la madera en la chimenea.” 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 quemar in the present tense?
- (a) quemas
- (b) quemamos
- (c) quemo
Answer: quemamos — The nosotros form is quemamos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo quemé la madera en la chimenea.
- (b) Nosotros quemaremos la madera en la chimenea mañana.
- (c) Yo quemo la madera en la chimenea.
Answer: Yo quemo la madera en la chimenea. — “Yo quemo la madera en la chimenea.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I burn' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo quemo la madera en la chimenea'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo quemo la madera en la chimenea todos los días'.
How do you say 'I burn' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo quemé el pan en el horno'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo quemaba el pan en el horno todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo he quemado el pan en el horno'.
What is the difference between quemar and quemarse?
Quemar means to burn, while quemarse means to burn oneself. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use quemar when you mean to burn, as in Quemo la madera en la chimenea.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of quemar — every tense of quemar in one place.
- Quemar 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 quemar and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of quemar until they are automatic.