Reventar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

reventar means "to burst" in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Reventar means to burst: reventar el globo, reventar la rueda. It also appears in the idiom reventar de risa, to burst out laughing. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by use, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of reventar; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the reventar present tense page.

reventar in everyday use: examples with translations

Everyday present uses

How the verb sounds in the present, the future and in hypotheticals — the forms you will use most often.

  1. Yo reviento el globo con un alfiler — "I burst the balloon with a pin"
  2. Mi amigo revienta la rueda en la carretera — "My friend bursts the tyre on the road"
  3. Mañana, tú reventarás de risa en el cine — "Tomorrow, you will burst with laughter at the cinema"
  4. Yo reventaría el tubo por el frío si pudiera — "I would burst the pipe from the cold if I could"

Talking about the past

The same verb in the past: one finished action, a habit, something that has just happened, and something that had already happened.

  1. Ayer, yo reventé el globo con un alfiler — "Yesterday, I burst the balloon with a pin"
  2. Antes, nosotros reventábamos la rueda en la carretera — "Before, we used to burst the tyre on the road"
  3. Él ha reventado de risa en el cine — "He has burst with laughter at the cinema"
  4. Yo ya había reventado el tubo por el frío antes de salir — "I already had burst the pipe from the cold before leaving"

Wishes, conditions and commands

The verb after espero que, in si clauses, as a command — and in the conditional perfect, for what would have happened.

  1. Espero que él reviente el globo con un alfiler — "I hope he bursts the balloon with a pin"
  2. Si yo reventara la rueda en la carretera, todo cambiaría — "If I burst the tyre on the road, everything would change"
  3. Revienta de risa en el cine. — "Burst with laughter at the cinema."
  4. Yo habría reventado el tubo por el frío con más tiempo — "I would have burst the pipe from the cold with more time"

reventar in conversation

Two short dialogues that use reventar the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

Two friends talk about it.

  • Lucía: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Lucía: Yo reviento el globo con un alfiler — "I burst the balloon with a pin"
  • Marcos: Él revienta la rueda en la carretera — "He bursts the tyre on the road"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo reventé de risa en el cine — "Yesterday, I burst with laughter at the cinema"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú reventarás el tubo por el frío — "Tomorrow, you will burst the pipe from the cold"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Revienta la presa tras la lluvia. — "Burst the dam after the rain."
  • Lucía: Él ha reventado el globo con un alfiler — "He has burst the balloon with a pin"
  • Marcos: Espero que él reviente la rueda en la carretera — "I hope he bursts the tyre on the road"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo reventaba de risa en el cine — "Before, I used to burst with laughter at the cinema"

Common mistakes with reventar

The errors learners actually make with reventar, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ *Yo revento el tubo por el frío.

✓ Correct: Yo reviento el tubo por el frío.

reventar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is reviento, not revento.

✗ *Espero que él revienta el tubo por el frío

✓ Correct: Espero que él reviente el tubo por el frío

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él reviente el tubo por el frío — not the indicative Espero que él revienta el tubo por el frío.

✗ *Ayer, yo reviento la presa tras la lluvia

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo reventé la presa tras la lluvia

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo reventé la presa tras la lluvia.

✗ *De niño, yo reventé el globo con un alfiler todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo reventaba el globo con un alfiler todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo reventaba el globo con un alfiler todos los días.

✗ *Yo reviento risa en el cine.

✓ Correct: Yo reviento de risa en el cine.

reventar takes de before this complement: Yo reviento de risa en el cine. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.

Quiz: reventar in use

Ten questions on reventar — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el globo con un alfiler — "I burst the balloon with a pin" (present) A. reviento B. revientas C. revienta D. reventamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ la rueda en la carretera — "Yesterday, I burst the tyre on the road" (preterite) A. reventé B. reventaste C. reventó D. reventamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ de risa en el cine — "Before, we used to burst with laughter at the cinema" (imperfect) A. reventabas B. reventabais C. reventábamos D. reventaba

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ el tubo por el frío — "Tomorrow, you will burst the pipe from the cold" (future) A. reventaré B. reventará C. reventaremos D. reventarás

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ la presa tras la lluvia — "I would burst the dam after the rain" (conditional) A. reventaría B. reventarías C. reventaríamos D. reventaríais

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ el globo con un alfiler — "He has burst the balloon with a pin" (present perfect) A. has reventado B. hemos reventado C. ha reventado D. he reventado

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ la rueda en la carretera — "I hope he bursts the tyre on the road" (present subjunctive) A. reventemos B. reventéis C. reviente D. revientes

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ de risa en el cine. — "Burst with laughter at the cinema." (affirmative imperative) A. reventemos B. reventad C. revienta D. reviente

  9. Which is the gerund of reventar, used with estar for the progressive? A. reventado B. reviento C. reventé D. reventando

  10. What does reventar mean in English? A. to cross B. to burst C. to explode D. to enjoy

Answer key

  1. reviento — The present form for yo is reviento.
  2. reventé — The preterite form for yo is reventé.
  3. reventábamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is reventábamos.
  4. reventarás — The future form for tú is reventarás.
  5. reventaría — The conditional form for yo is reventaría.
  6. ha reventado — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha reventado.
  7. reviente — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is reviente.
  8. revienta — The affirmative imperative form is revienta.
  9. reventando — The gerund of reventar is reventando: estoy reventando. The participle reventado is used with haber instead.
  10. to burst — reventar means to burst.

Frequently asked questions

What does reventar mean in English?

reventar means to burst. For example: Yo reviento el globo con un alfiler — "I burst the balloon with a pin". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with reventar?

reventar takes its complement directly, with no preposition, as in the examples above. Adding an extra preposition is a common learner error.

Is reventar regular?

No. reventar is a stem-changing -ar verb (e → ie). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: reviento, revientas, revienta and revientan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: reventamos, reventáis.

How do I practise reventar?

Start with the present tense table on the full conjugation page, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure, and come back to the sentences above until you can say them without looking.

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