Realizar Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

realizar means to carry out, to realise, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Realizar means to carry out or to realise, and it covers carrying out a project, carrying out a survey, making a payment and realising a childhood dream. It is a more formal synonym of hacer, and it is a spelling-change verb: the z becomes c before e. This page puts realizar 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 realizar, and the full tables are on the realizar conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo realizo un sueño de la infancia. — I carry out a childhood dream.
  2. Él realiza el proyecto en tres meses. — He/she carries out the project in three months.
  3. Ayer, yo realicé una encuesta entre los alumnos. — Yesterday, I carried out a survey among the students.
  4. Antes, nosotros realizábamos el pago por internet. — Before, we used to carry out the payment online.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú realizarás un sueño de la infancia. — Tomorrow, you will carry out a childhood dream.
  2. Yo realizaría el proyecto en tres meses. — I would carry out the project in three months.
  3. Él ha realizado una encuesta entre los alumnos. — He/she has carried out a survey among the students.
  4. Espero que él realice el pago por internet. — I hope he/she carries out the payment online.

With other people

  1. Nosotros realizamos un sueño de la infancia. — We carry out a childhood dream.
  2. Vosotros realizáis el proyecto en tres meses. — You all carry out the project in three months.
  3. Antes, ellos realizaban una encuesta entre los alumnos. — Before, they used to carry out a survey among the students.
  4. Mañana, él realizará el pago por internet. — Tomorrow, he/she will carry out the payment online.

Realizar in context

Two short dialogues that use realizar 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 realizo un sueño de la infancia." — "Today I carry out a childhood dream."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, realicé una encuesta entre los alumnos." — "Yesterday I carried out a survey among the students."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú realizarás el proyecto en tres meses?" — "And tomorrow, will you will carry out the project in three months?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros realizamos el pago por internet." — "Tomorrow we carry out the payment online."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo realizaría el proyecto en tres meses si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would carry out the project in three months if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él realice un sueño de la infancia." — "I hope he carries out a childhood dream."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha realizado una encuesta entre los alumnos." — "Surely. He has already has carried out a survey among the students."
  • 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 realiza un sueño de la infancia. — Right: Yo realizo un sueño de la infancia. — The person matters: realiza is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is realizo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo realizé el proyecto en tres meses. — Right: Yo realicé el proyecto en tres meses. — In the preterite, the correct first-person form is realicé, not realizé. realizar is a spelling-change verb: z becomes c before e, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
  3. Wrong: Treating realizar and hacer as identical in every context. — Right: Realizar means to carry out, to realise, while hacer means to do or make, the general verb. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: realizar fits sentences such as Realizo un sueño de la infancia, while hacer belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy realizado el proyecto en tres meses. — Right: Yo he realizado el proyecto en tres meses. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he realizado, has realizado, ha realizado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo realicé una encuesta entre los alumnos todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo realizaba una encuesta entre los alumnos todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (realizaba), not the preterite. The preterite (realicé) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on realizar: 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 ___ un sueño de la infancia. (present tense) A. realizo B. realizas C. realiza D. realizamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el proyecto en tres meses. (preterite tense) A. realicé B. realizaste C. realizamos D. realizó

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ una encuesta entre los alumnos. (future tense) A. realizará B. realizaremos C. realizarás D. realizaré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ el pago por internet. (imperfect tense) A. realizabais B. realizábamos C. realizaba D. realizabas

  5. What does "Yo realizo un sueño de la infancia." mean in English? A. I carry out a childhood dream. B. I carry out the project in three months. C. I carry out a survey among the students. D. I carry out the payment online.

  6. What does "Él realizó el proyecto en tres meses." mean in English? A. He/she carried out a childhood dream. B. He/she carried out a survey among the students. C. He/she carried out the payment online. D. He/she carried out the project in three months.

  7. What does "Nosotros realizaremos una encuesta entre los alumnos." mean in English? A. We will carry out the project in three months. B. We will carry out the payment online. C. We will carry out a survey among the students. D. We will carry out a childhood dream.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo realizan el proyecto en tres meses. B. Yo realiza el proyecto en tres meses. C. Yo realizo el proyecto en tres meses.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él realicé una encuesta entre los alumnos. B. Él realizó una encuesta entre los alumnos. C. Él realizaron una encuesta entre los alumnos.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo realice el pago por internet. B. Yo realize el pago por internet. C. Yo realice el pago por internet.

Answer key

  1. realizo — The yo present form of realizar is realizo.
  2. realizó — The el preterite form of realizar is realizó.
  3. realizarás — The tu future form of realizar is realizarás.
  4. realizábamos — The nosotros imperfect form of realizar is realizábamos.
  5. I carry out a childhood dream. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form realizo, so the English is "I carry out a childhood dream." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she carried out the project in three months. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form realizó, so the English is "He/she carried out the project in three months." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will carry out a survey among the students. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form realizaremos, so the English is "We will carry out a survey among the students." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo realizo el proyecto en tres meses. — The correct sentence is "Yo realizo el proyecto en tres meses." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él realizó una encuesta entre los alumnos. — The correct sentence is "Él realizó una encuesta entre los alumnos." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo realice el pago por internet. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo realice el pago por internet." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

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

Realizar means to carry out, to realise. Realizar means to carry out or to realise, and it covers carrying out a project, carrying out a survey, making a payment and realising a childhood dream. It is a more formal synonym of hacer, and it is a spelling-change verb: the z becomes c before e. A good first sentence to remember is Yo realizo un sueño de la infancia. — "I carry out a childhood dream."

What is the difference between realizar and hacer?

Realizar means to carry out, to realise, while hacer means to do or make, the general verb. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use realizar when you mean to carry out, to realise, as in Yo realizo el proyecto en tres meses., and use hacer for to do or make, the general verb.

How do I say "I carry out" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo realicé el proyecto en tres meses.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo realizaba una encuesta entre los alumnos.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he realizado el proyecto en tres meses..

How do I practise realizar?

Start with the realizar conjugation page for the full tables, then the realizar in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Spelling change: z becomes c before e, so the preterite is realicé and the subjunctive is realice. Realizar un sueño is to make a dream come true.

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