Revestir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

revestir means "to cover, to coat" 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. Revestir means to cover a surface with another material: revestir la pared con azulejos, revestir el suelo de madera. It is also used figuratively: revestir de importancia. 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 revestir; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the revestir present tense page.

revestir 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 revisto la pared con azulejos — "I cover the wall with tiles"
  2. Mi amigo reviste el suelo de madera — "My friend covers the floor with wood"
  3. Mañana, tú revestirás la fachada con piedra — "Tomorrow, you will cover the façade with stone"
  4. Yo revestiría el mueble con barniz si pudiera — "I would cover the furniture with varnish 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 revestí la pared con azulejos — "Yesterday, I covered the wall with tiles"
  2. Antes, nosotros revestíamos el suelo de madera — "Before, we used to cover the floor with wood"
  3. Él ha revestido la fachada con piedra — "He has covered the façade with stone"
  4. Yo ya había revestido el mueble con barniz antes de salir — "I already had covered the furniture with varnish 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 revista la pared con azulejos — "I hope he covers the wall with tiles"
  2. Si yo revistiera el suelo de madera, todo cambiaría — "If I covered the floor with wood, everything would change"
  3. Reviste la fachada con piedra. — "Cover the façade with stone."
  4. Yo habría revestido el mueble con barniz con más tiempo — "I would have covered the furniture with varnish with more time"

revestir in conversation

Two short dialogues that use revestir 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 revisto la pared con azulejos — "I cover the wall with tiles"
  • Marcos: Él reviste el suelo de madera — "He covers the floor with wood"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo revestí la fachada con piedra — "Yesterday, I covered the façade with stone"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú revestirás el mueble con barniz — "Tomorrow, you will cover the furniture with varnish"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Reviste la tubería con aislante. — "Cover the pipes with insulation."
  • Lucía: Él ha revestido la pared con azulejos — "He has covered the wall with tiles"
  • Marcos: Espero que él revista el suelo de madera — "I hope he covers the floor with wood"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo revestía la fachada con piedra — "Before, I used to cover the façade with stone"

Common mistakes with revestir

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

✗ *Yo revesto el mueble con barniz.

✓ Correct: Yo revisto el mueble con barniz.

revestir is a stem-changing verb (e → i): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is revisto, not revesto.

✗ *Espero que él reviste el mueble con barniz

✓ Correct: Espero que él revista el mueble con barniz

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él revista el mueble con barniz — not the indicative Espero que él reviste el mueble con barniz.

✗ *Ayer, yo revisto la tubería con aislante

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo revestí la tubería con aislante

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo revestí la tubería con aislante.

✗ *De niño, yo revestí la pared con azulejos todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo revestía la pared con azulejos todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo revestía la pared con azulejos todos los días.

✗ *Yo revisto en la fachada con piedra.

✓ Correct: Yo revisto la fachada con piedra.

revestir takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo revisto la fachada con piedra.

Quiz: revestir in use

Ten questions on revestir — 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 ______ la pared con azulejos — "I cover the wall with tiles" (present) A. revistes B. reviste C. revestimos D. revisto

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ el suelo de madera — "Yesterday, I covered the floor with wood" (preterite) A. revestí B. revestiste C. revistió D. revestimos

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ la fachada con piedra — "Before, we used to cover the façade with stone" (imperfect) A. revestíais B. revestíamos C. revestía D. revestías

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ el mueble con barniz — "Tomorrow, you will cover the furniture with varnish" (future) A. revestirá B. revestiremos C. revestirás D. revestiré

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ la tubería con aislante — "I would cover the pipes with insulation" (conditional) A. revestirías B. revestiríamos C. revestiríais D. revestiría

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ la pared con azulejos — "He has covered the wall with tiles" (present perfect) A. ha revestido B. he revestido C. has revestido D. hemos revestido

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ el suelo de madera — "I hope he covers the floor with wood" (present subjunctive) A. revistas B. revistamos C. revistáis D. revista

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ la fachada con piedra. — "Cover the façade with stone." (affirmative imperative) A. revestid B. reviste C. revista D. revistamos

  9. Which is the gerund of revestir, used with estar for the progressive? A. revisto B. revestí C. revistiendo D. revestido

  10. What does revestir mean in English? A. to cover B. to enjoy C. to cross D. to draw

Answer key

  1. revisto — The present form for yo is revisto.
  2. revestí — The preterite form for yo is revestí.
  3. revestíamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is revestíamos.
  4. revestirás — The future form for tú is revestirás.
  5. revestiría — The conditional form for yo is revestiría.
  6. ha revestido — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha revestido.
  7. revista — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is revista.
  8. reviste — The affirmative imperative form is reviste.
  9. revistiendo — The gerund of revestir is revistiendo: estoy revistiendo. The participle revestido is used with haber instead.
  10. to cover — revestir means to cover.

Frequently asked questions

What does revestir mean in English?

revestir means to cover, to coat. For example: Yo revisto la pared con azulejos — "I cover the wall with tiles". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with revestir?

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

Is revestir regular?

No. revestir is a stem-changing -ir verb (e → i). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: revisto, revistes, reviste and revisten — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: revestimos, revestís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: revistió, revistieron, and the gerund is revistiendo.

How do I practise revestir?

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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