Rezar Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

rezar means to pray, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Rezar means to pray, and it is used for praying at night before sleeping, praying in church on Sundays and praying for a sick family. It is a spelling-change verb: the z becomes c before e, so the preterite is recé. This page puts rezar 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 rezar, and the full tables are on the rezar conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo rezo por la noche antes de dormir. — I pray at night before sleeping.
  2. Él reza en la iglesia los domingos. — He/she prays in church on Sundays.
  3. Ayer, yo recé por su familia enferma. — Yesterday, I prayed for his sick family.
  4. Antes, nosotros rezábamos el rosario con su abuela. — Before, we used to pray the rosary with his grandmother.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú rezarás por la noche antes de dormir. — Tomorrow, you will pray at night before sleeping.
  2. Yo rezaría en la iglesia los domingos. — I would pray in church on Sundays.
  3. Él ha rezado por su familia enferma. — He/she has prayed for his sick family.
  4. Espero que él rece el rosario con su abuela. — I hope he/she prays the rosary with his grandmother.

With other people

  1. Nosotros rezamos por la noche antes de dormir. — We pray at night before sleeping.
  2. Vosotros rezáis en la iglesia los domingos. — You all pray in church on Sundays.
  3. Antes, ellos rezaban por su familia enferma. — Before, they used to pray for his sick family.
  4. Mañana, él rezará el rosario con su abuela. — Tomorrow, he/she will pray the rosary with his grandmother.

Rezar in context

Two short dialogues that use rezar 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 rezo por la noche antes de dormir." — "Today I pray at night before sleeping."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, recé por su familia enferma." — "Yesterday I prayed for his sick family."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú rezarás en la iglesia los domingos?" — "And tomorrow, will you will pray in church on Sundays?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros rezamos el rosario con su abuela." — "Tomorrow we pray the rosary with his grandmother."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo rezaría en la iglesia los domingos si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would pray in church on Sundays if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él rece por la noche antes de dormir." — "I hope he prays at night before sleeping."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha rezado por su familia enferma." — "Surely. He has already has prayed for his sick family."
  • 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 reza por la noche antes de dormir. — Right: Yo rezo por la noche antes de dormir. — The person matters: reza is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is rezo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo rezé en la iglesia los domingos. — Right: Yo recé en la iglesia los domingos. — In the preterite, the correct first-person form is recé, not rezé. rezar 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 rezar and orar as identical in every context. — Right: Rezar means to pray, while orar means to pray, the formal synonym. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: rezar fits sentences such as Rezo por la noche antes de dormir, while orar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy rezado en la iglesia los domingos. — Right: Yo he rezado en la iglesia los domingos. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he rezado, has rezado, ha rezado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo recé por su familia enferma todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo rezaba por su familia enferma todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (rezaba), not the preterite. The preterite (recé) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on rezar: 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 ___ por la noche antes de dormir. (present tense) A. rezo B. rezas C. reza D. rezamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ en la iglesia los domingos. (preterite tense) A. recé B. rezaste C. rezamos D. rezó

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ por su familia enferma. (future tense) A. rezará B. rezaremos C. rezarás D. rezaré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ el rosario con su abuela. (imperfect tense) A. rezabais B. rezábamos C. rezaba D. rezabas

  5. What does "Yo rezo por la noche antes de dormir." mean in English? A. I pray at night before sleeping. B. I pray in church on Sundays. C. I pray for his sick family. D. I pray the rosary with his grandmother.

  6. What does "Él rezó en la iglesia los domingos." mean in English? A. He/she prayed at night before sleeping. B. He/she prayed for his sick family. C. He/she prayed the rosary with his grandmother. D. He/she prayed in church on Sundays.

  7. What does "Nosotros rezaremos por su familia enferma." mean in English? A. We will pray in church on Sundays. B. We will pray the rosary with his grandmother. C. We will pray for his sick family. D. We will pray at night before sleeping.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo rezan en la iglesia los domingos. B. Yo reza en la iglesia los domingos. C. Yo rezo en la iglesia los domingos.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él recé por su familia enferma. B. Él rezó por su familia enferma. C. Él rezaron por su familia enferma.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo rece el rosario con su abuela. B. Yo reze el rosario con su abuela. C. Yo rece el rosario con su abuela.

Answer key

  1. rezo — The yo present form of rezar is rezo.
  2. rezó — The el preterite form of rezar is rezó.
  3. rezarás — The tu future form of rezar is rezarás.
  4. rezábamos — The nosotros imperfect form of rezar is rezábamos.
  5. I pray at night before sleeping. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form rezo, so the English is "I pray at night before sleeping." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she prayed in church on Sundays. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form rezó, so the English is "He/she prayed in church on Sundays." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will pray for his sick family. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form rezaremos, so the English is "We will pray for his sick family." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo rezo en la iglesia los domingos. — The correct sentence is "Yo rezo en la iglesia los domingos." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él rezó por su familia enferma. — The correct sentence is "Él rezó por su familia enferma." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo rece el rosario con su abuela. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo rece el rosario con su abuela." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

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

Rezar means to pray. Rezar means to pray, and it is used for praying at night before sleeping, praying in church on Sundays and praying for a sick family. It is a spelling-change verb: the z becomes c before e, so the preterite is recé. A good first sentence to remember is Yo rezo por la noche antes de dormir. — "I pray at night before sleeping."

What is the difference between rezar and orar?

Rezar means to pray, while orar means to pray, the formal synonym. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use rezar when you mean to pray, as in Yo rezo en la iglesia los domingos., and use orar for to pray, the formal synonym.

How do I say "I pray" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo recé en la iglesia los domingos.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo rezaba por su familia enferma.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he rezado en la iglesia los domingos..

How do I practise rezar?

Start with the rezar conjugation page for the full tables, then the rezar 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 recé and the subjunctive is rece, never rezé.

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