Subir Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

subir means to go up, to climb, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Subir means to go up or to climb, and it covers climbing stairs, climbing a mountain, getting into a car or a bus, and prices going up. It is a regular -ir verb and the opposite of bajar, and it appears constantly in travel and everyday directions. This page puts subir 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 subir, and the full tables are on the subir conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo subo las escaleras de dos en dos. — I go up the stairs two at a time.
  2. Él sube la montaña el domingo. — He/she goes up the mountain on Sundays.
  3. Ayer, yo subí al autobús en la esquina. — Yesterday, I went up on the bus at the corner.
  4. Antes, nosotros subíamos al tren con la maleta. — Before, we used to go up on the train with my suitcase.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú subirás las escaleras de dos en dos. — Tomorrow, you will go up the stairs two at a time.
  2. Yo subiría la montaña el domingo. — I would go up the mountain on Sundays.
  3. Él ha subido al autobús en la esquina. — He/she has gone up on the bus at the corner.
  4. Espero que él suba al tren con la maleta. — I hope he/she goes up on the train with my suitcase.

With other people

  1. Nosotros subimos las escaleras de dos en dos. — We go up the stairs two at a time.
  2. Vosotros subís la montaña el domingo. — You all go up the mountain on Sundays.
  3. Antes, ellos subían al autobús en la esquina. — Before, they used to go up on the bus at the corner.
  4. Mañana, él subirá al tren con la maleta. — Tomorrow, he/she will go up on the train with my suitcase.

Subir in context

Two short dialogues that use subir 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 subo las escaleras de dos en dos." — "Today I go up the stairs two at a time."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, subí al autobús en la esquina." — "Yesterday I went up on the bus at the corner."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú subirás la montaña el domingo?" — "And tomorrow, will you will go up the mountain on Sundays?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros subimos al tren con la maleta." — "Tomorrow we go up on the train with my suitcase."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo subiría la montaña el domingo si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would go up the mountain on Sundays if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él suba las escaleras de dos en dos." — "I hope he goes up the stairs two at a time."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha subido al autobús en la esquina." — "Surely. He has already has gone up on the bus at the corner."
  • 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 sube las escaleras de dos en dos. — Right: Yo subo las escaleras de dos en dos. — The person matters: sube is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is subo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Vosotros subis la montaña el domingo. — Right: Vosotros subís la montaña el domingo. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: subís, not subis. The accent marks the stressed vowel.
  3. Wrong: Treating subir and bajar as identical in every context. — Right: Subir means to go up, to climb, while bajar means to go down, its opposite. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: subir fits sentences such as Subo las escaleras de dos en dos, while bajar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy subido la montaña el domingo. — Right: Yo he subido la montaña el domingo. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he subido, has subido, ha subido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo subí al autobús en la esquina todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo subía al autobús en la esquina todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (subía), not the preterite. The preterite (subí) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on subir: 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 ___ las escaleras de dos en dos. (present tense) A. subo B. subes C. sube D. subimos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ la montaña el domingo. (preterite tense) A. subí B. subiste C. subimos D. subió

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ al autobús en la esquina. (future tense) A. subirá B. subiremos C. subirás D. subiré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ al tren con la maleta. (imperfect tense) A. subíais B. subíamos C. subía D. subías

  5. What does "Yo subo las escaleras de dos en dos." mean in English? A. I go up the stairs two at a time. B. I go up the mountain on Sundays. C. I go up on the bus at the corner. D. I go up on the train with my suitcase.

  6. What does "Él subió la montaña el domingo." mean in English? A. He/she went up the stairs two at a time. B. He/she went up on the bus at the corner. C. He/she went up on the train with my suitcase. D. He/she went up the mountain on Sundays.

  7. What does "Nosotros subiremos al autobús en la esquina." mean in English? A. We will go up the mountain on Sundays. B. We will go up on the train with my suitcase. C. We will go up on the bus at the corner. D. We will go up the stairs two at a time.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo suben la montaña el domingo. B. Yo sube la montaña el domingo. C. Yo subo la montaña el domingo.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él subí al autobús en la esquina. B. Él subió al autobús en la esquina. C. Él subieron al autobús en la esquina.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo suba al tren con la maleta. B. Yo suban al tren con la maleta. C. Yo suba al tren con la maleta.

Answer key

  1. subo — The yo present form of subir is subo.
  2. subió — The el preterite form of subir is subió.
  3. subirás — The tu future form of subir is subirás.
  4. subíamos — The nosotros imperfect form of subir is subíamos.
  5. I go up the stairs two at a time. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form subo, so the English is "I go up the stairs two at a time." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she went up the mountain on Sundays. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form subió, so the English is "He/she went up the mountain on Sundays." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will go up on the bus at the corner. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form subiremos, so the English is "We will go up on the bus at the corner." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo subo la montaña el domingo. — The correct sentence is "Yo subo la montaña el domingo." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él subió al autobús en la esquina. — The correct sentence is "Él subió al autobús en la esquina." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo suba al tren con la maleta. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo suba al tren con la maleta." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

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

Subir means to go up, to climb. Subir means to go up or to climb, and it covers climbing stairs, climbing a mountain, getting into a car or a bus, and prices going up. It is a regular -ir verb and the opposite of bajar, and it appears constantly in travel and everyday directions. A good first sentence to remember is Yo subo las escaleras de dos en dos. — "I go up the stairs two at a time."

What is the difference between subir and bajar?

Subir means to go up, to climb, while bajar means to go down, its opposite. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use subir when you mean to go up, to climb, as in Yo subo la montaña el domingo., and use bajar for to go down, its opposite.

How do I say "I go up" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo subí la montaña el domingo.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo subía al autobús en la esquina.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he subido la montaña el domingo..

How do I practise subir?

Start with the subir conjugation page for the full tables, then the subir in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Subir is a regular -ir verb: subí, subía, subiré. Subir al autobús is to get on the bus; subir las escaleras is to climb the stairs.

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