Sentar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

sentar means "to seat" 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. Sentar means to seat someone: sentar a su abuela en la silla. For sitting down yourself, Spanish uses sentarse. Sentar bien or mal means for clothes or food to suit someone or agree with them. 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 sentar; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the sentar present tense page.

sentar 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 siento a su abuela en la silla — "I seat his grandmother in the chair"
  2. Mi amigo sienta a los invitados en la mesa — "My friend seats the guests at the table"
  3. Mañana, tú sentarás al niño en sus rodillas — "Tomorrow, you will seat the child on his knees"
  4. Yo sentaría a su amigo junto a la ventana si pudiera — "I would seat his friend by the window 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 senté a su abuela en la silla — "Yesterday, I seated his grandmother in the chair"
  2. Antes, nosotros sentábamos a los invitados en la mesa — "Before, we used to seat the guests at the table"
  3. Él ha sentado al niño en sus rodillas — "He has seated the child on his knees"
  4. Yo ya había sentado a su amigo junto a la ventana antes de salir — "I already had seated his friend by the window 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 siente a su abuela en la silla — "I hope he seats his grandmother in the chair"
  2. Si yo sentara a los invitados en la mesa, todo cambiaría — "If I seated the guests at the table, everything would change"
  3. Sienta al niño en sus rodillas. — "Seat the child on his knees."
  4. Yo habría sentado a su amigo junto a la ventana con más tiempo — "I would have seated his friend by the window with more time"

sentar in conversation

Two short dialogues that use sentar 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 siento a su abuela en la silla — "I seat his grandmother in the chair"
  • Marcos: Él sienta a los invitados en la mesa — "He seats the guests at the table"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo senté al niño en sus rodillas — "Yesterday, I seated the child on his knees"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú sentarás a su amigo junto a la ventana — "Tomorrow, you will seat his friend by the window"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Sienta a su hijo en la silla alta. — "Seat his son in the high chair."
  • Lucía: Él ha sentado a su abuela en la silla — "He has seated his grandmother in the chair"
  • Marcos: Espero que él siente a los invitados en la mesa — "I hope he seats the guests at the table"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo sentaba al niño en sus rodillas — "Before, I used to seat the child on his knees"

Common mistakes with sentar

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

✗ *Yo sento a su amigo junto a la ventana.

✓ Correct: Yo siento a su amigo junto a la ventana.

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

✗ *Espero que él sienta a su amigo junto a la ventana

✓ Correct: Espero que él siente a su amigo junto a la ventana

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él siente a su amigo junto a la ventana — not the indicative Espero que él sienta a su amigo junto a la ventana.

✗ *Ayer, yo siento a su hijo en la silla alta

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo senté a su hijo en la silla alta

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo senté a su hijo en la silla alta.

✗ *De niño, yo senté a su abuela en la silla todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo sentaba a su abuela en la silla todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo sentaba a su abuela en la silla todos los días.

✗ *Yo siento niño en sus rodillas.

✓ Correct: Yo siento al niño en sus rodillas.

sentar takes al before this complement: Yo siento al niño en sus rodillas. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.

Quiz: sentar in use

Ten questions on sentar — 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 ______ a su abuela en la silla — "I seat his grandmother in the chair" (present) A. sientas B. sienta C. sentamos D. siento

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ a los invitados en la mesa — "Yesterday, I seated the guests at the table" (preterite) A. sentó B. sentamos C. senté D. sentaste

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ al niño en sus rodillas — "Before, we used to seat the child on his knees" (imperfect) A. sentaba B. sentabas C. sentabais D. sentábamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ a su amigo junto a la ventana — "Tomorrow, you will seat his friend by the window" (future) A. sentarás B. sentaré C. sentará D. sentaremos

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a su hijo en la silla alta — "I would seat his son in the high chair" (conditional) A. sentaríamos B. sentaríais C. sentaría D. sentarías

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ a su abuela en la silla — "He has seated his grandmother in the chair" (present perfect) A. ha sentado B. he sentado C. has sentado D. hemos sentado

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ a los invitados en la mesa — "I hope he seats the guests at the table" (present subjunctive) A. sentéis B. siente C. sientes D. sentemos

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ al niño en sus rodillas. — "Seat the child on his knees." (affirmative imperative) A. siente B. sentemos C. sentad D. sienta

  9. Which is the gerund of sentar, used with estar for the progressive? A. senté B. sentando C. sentado D. siento

  10. What does sentar mean in English? A. to sit down B. to enjoy C. to cross D. to seat

Answer key

  1. siento — The present form for yo is siento.
  2. senté — The preterite form for yo is senté.
  3. sentábamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is sentábamos.
  4. sentarás — The future form for tú is sentarás.
  5. sentaría — The conditional form for yo is sentaría.
  6. ha sentado — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha sentado.
  7. siente — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is siente.
  8. sienta — The affirmative imperative form is sienta.
  9. sentando — The gerund of sentar is sentando: estoy sentando. The participle sentado is used with haber instead.
  10. to seat — sentar means to seat.

Frequently asked questions

What does sentar mean in English?

sentar means to seat. For example: Yo siento a su abuela en la silla — "I seat his grandmother in the chair". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with sentar?

sentar takes a before this kind of complement, as in the examples above. Keep the preposition with the verb — dropping it is one of the most common learner errors with sentar.

Is sentar regular?

No. sentar is a stem-changing -ar verb (e → ie). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: siento, sientas, sienta and sientan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: sentamos, sentáis.

How do I practise sentar?

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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