Salir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

salir — to leave — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Salir means to leave and to go out: salir de casa, salir con amigos. It is a go-verb (salgo) with the future stem saldr- and the regular preterite salí. Salir de is to leave a place, salir con is to go out with someone, and salir bien means to turn out well. On this page you will find salir in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself.

Example sentences with salir

In the present tense

  • “Yo salgo de casa a las ocho.” — “I leave home at eight.”
  • “Ella sale con sus amigas los sábados.” — “She goes out with her friends on Saturdays.”
  • “Nosotros salimos a cenar los viernes.” — “We go out for dinner on Fridays.”
  • “Ellos salen del trabajo a las seis.” — “They leave work at six.”
  • “¿Tú sales esta noche?” — “Are you going out tonight?”
  • “Vosotros salís de viaje mañana.” — “You are leaving on a trip tomorrow.”

In the preterite

  • “Ayer yo salí temprano de la oficina.” — “Yesterday I left the office early.”
  • “Ella salió a correr por el parque.” — “She went out running in the park.”
  • “Nosotros salimos a bailar el sábado.” — “We went out dancing on Saturday.”
  • “Ellos salieron del cine a medianoche.” — “They left the cinema at midnight.”
  • “¿Tú saliste ayer por la noche?” — “Did you go out last night?”
  • “El sol salió a las siete.” — “The sun came out at seven.”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present perfect — the four tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “De niño, yo salía de casa a las ocho.” — “As a child, I used to leave of the house at eight.”
  • “Mañana, yo saldré de casa a las ocho.” — “Tomorrow, I will leave of the house at eight.”
  • “Si pudiera, yo saldría de casa a las ocho.” — “If I could, I would leave of the house at eight.”
  • “Yo he salido de casa a las ocho.” — “I have left of the house at eight.”

Salir in context

Cada día, yo salgo de casa a las ocho. Mi amigo también sale de casa a las ocho cuando tiene tiempo. Después, yo salgo de casa de nuevo por la tarde. Es una parte normal de mi rutina, y por eso el presente de salir es la primera forma que conviene aprender.

Ayer, yo salí de casa a las ocho. Mi amigo salió de casa a las ocho también, y por la noche yo salí de casa otra vez. Fue un día normal, pero es justo en días así cuando el pretérito de salir aparece una y otra vez: una acción terminada, un momento concreto, y la historia sigue.

Common mistakes with salir

Mistake 1

Wrong: Yo salo de casa.

Right: Yo salgo de casa.

The yo form is salgo — salir is a go-verb, not salo.

Mistake 2

Wrong: Salir a casa — wrong preposition.

Right: Yo salgo de casa.

Leaving a place is salir de; salir a is to go out to do something.

Mistake 3

Wrong: Treating salir as a regular verb.

Right: Learn the irregular forms: present salgo, preterite salí.

salir is irregular — its present and preterite do not follow the regular endings, so they have to be memorised as a set.

Quiz: salir in everyday use

Ten questions on salir across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

1. What is the yo form of salir in the present tense?

  • A) salgo
  • B) sales
  • C) sale
  • D) salimos

Answer: A — The yo form in the present tense is salgo.

2. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of salir in the present tense?

  • A) salgo
  • B) sales
  • C) salimos
  • D) sale

Answer: D — The él/ella/Ud. form in the present tense is sale.

3. What is the yo form of salir in the preterite?

  • A) salió
  • B) salimos
  • C) salí
  • D) saliste

Answer: C — The yo form in the preterite is salí.

4. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of salir in the preterite?

  • A) salió
  • B) salieron
  • C) salí
  • D) saliste

Answer: B — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form in the preterite is salieron.

5. What is the yo form of salir in the imperfect?

  • A) salía
  • B) salías
  • C) salía
  • D) salíamos

Answer: A — The yo form in the imperfect is salía.

6. What is the tú form of salir in the future?

  • A) saldré
  • B) saldrá
  • C) saldremos
  • D) saldrás

Answer: D — The tú form in the future is saldrás.

7. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of salir in the conditional?

  • A) saldrías
  • B) saldríamos
  • C) saldría
  • D) saldría

Answer: C — The él/ella/Ud. form in the conditional is saldría.

8. What is the nosotros/as form of salir in the present perfect?

  • A) ha salido
  • B) hemos salido
  • C) he salido
  • D) has salido

Answer: B — The nosotros/as form in the present perfect is hemos salido.

9. Fill in the blank: “Yo ___ de casa a las ocho.” (I leave home at eight.)

  • A) salgo
  • B) sales
  • C) sale
  • D) salimos

Answer: A — The sentence needs salgo.

10. Which sentence is correct?

  • A) Yo salgo de casa.
  • B) Yo salo de casa.

Answer: A — The yo form is salgo — salir is a go-verb, not salo.

Frequently asked questions

What does salir mean?

salir means “to leave” in English. Salir means to leave and to go out: salir de casa, salir con amigos. It is a go-verb (salgo) with the future stem saldr- and the regular preterite salí. Salir de is to leave a place, salir con is to go out with someone, and salir bien means to turn out well.

Is salir regular?

No. salir is an irregular -ir verb (irregular in present, future, conditional, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative). It is irregular in present, future, conditional, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, and those forms have to be learnt as a set rather than built by rule. The full conjugation page shows every tense.

When do I use salir in the past — preterite or imperfect?

Use the preterite — salí, saliste, salió — for a finished action at a specific moment, and the imperfect — salía, salías, salía — for what was happening, what used to happen, or the background. The same rule applies to salir as to every Spanish verb; the tense changes the meaning, not the verb.

How can I practise salir?

Start with the examples above, say them aloud, then take the quiz on this page. For more practice, use the Spanish Verb Quiz and the Salir Conjugator, and read the full conjugation page for salir to see the verb in every tense.

Say it yourself

Reading is not enough — say the verb aloud before you move on. Use the forms from the tables on this page and answer these three prompts as full sentences. First, say a sentence about yourself in the present tense: “Yo salgo…”. Second, say a sentence about yesterday in the preterite: “Ayer yo salí…”. Third, say a sentence about tomorrow in the future: “Mañana yo saldré…”. If you can answer all three without looking at the tables, the forms are starting to stick. If you hesitate, go back to the examples above, read them aloud twice, and try again. Speaking the forms is what turns a table you have seen into a verb you can use.

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