Sugerir Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

sugerir means to suggest, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Sugerir means to suggest, and it is used for suggesting a plan, another date and a restaurant, and for suggesting that someone do something, with que plus the subjunctive. It is a stem-changing -ir verb with the same e to ie and e to i pattern as advertir. This page puts sugerir 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 sugerir, and the full tables are on the sugerir conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo sugiero un plan para el fin de semana. — I suggest a plan for the weekend.
  2. Él sugiere otra fecha para la reunión. — He/she suggests another date for the meeting.
  3. Ayer, yo sugerí un restaurante en el centro. — Yesterday, I suggested a restaurant in the centre.
  4. Antes, nosotros sugeríamos que salgamos más temprano. — Before, we used to suggest that we leave earlier.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú sugerirás un plan para el fin de semana. — Tomorrow, you will suggest a plan for the weekend.
  2. Yo sugeriría otra fecha para la reunión. — I would suggest another date for the meeting.
  3. Él ha sugerido un restaurante en el centro. — He/she has suggested a restaurant in the centre.
  4. Espero que él sugiera que salgamos más temprano. — I hope he/she suggests that we leave earlier.

With other people

  1. Nosotros sugerimos un plan para el fin de semana. — We suggest a plan for the weekend.
  2. Vosotros sugerís otra fecha para la reunión. — You all suggest another date for the meeting.
  3. Antes, ellos sugerían un restaurante en el centro. — Before, they used to suggest a restaurant in the centre.
  4. Mañana, él sugerirá que salgamos más temprano. — Tomorrow, he/she will suggest that we leave earlier.

Sugerir in context

Two short dialogues that use sugerir 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 sugiero un plan para el fin de semana." — "Today I suggest a plan for the weekend."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, sugerí un restaurante en el centro." — "Yesterday I suggested a restaurant in the centre."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú sugerirás otra fecha para la reunión?" — "And tomorrow, will you will suggest another date for the meeting?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros sugerimos que salgamos más temprano." — "Tomorrow we suggest that we leave earlier."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo sugeriría otra fecha para la reunión si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would suggest another date for the meeting if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él sugiera un plan para el fin de semana." — "I hope he suggests a plan for the weekend."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha sugerido un restaurante en el centro." — "Surely. He has already has suggested a restaurant in the centre."
  • 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 sugiere un plan para el fin de semana. — Right: Yo sugiero un plan para el fin de semana. — The person matters: sugiere is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is sugiero. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo sugero otra fecha para la reunión. — Right: Yo sugiero otra fecha para la reunión. — In the present, the correct first-person form is sugiero, not sugero. sugerir is a stem-changing verb (e → ie), so the stem changes in the present singular and third-person plural forms, while nosotros and vosotros keep the original stem.
  3. Wrong: Treating sugerir and proponer as identical in every context. — Right: Sugerir means to suggest, while proponer means to propose, the formal partner. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: sugerir fits sentences such as Sugiero un plan para el fin de semana, while proponer belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy sugerido otra fecha para la reunión. — Right: Yo he sugerido otra fecha para la reunión. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he sugerido, has sugerido, ha sugerido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo sugerí un restaurante en el centro todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo sugería un restaurante en el centro todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (sugería), not the preterite. The preterite (sugerí) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on sugerir: 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 ___ un plan para el fin de semana. (present tense) A. sugiero B. sugieres C. sugiere D. sugerimos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ otra fecha para la reunión. (preterite tense) A. sugerí B. sugeriste C. sugerimos D. sugirió

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ un restaurante en el centro. (future tense) A. sugerirá B. sugeriremos C. sugerirás D. sugeriré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ que salgamos más temprano. (imperfect tense) A. sugeríais B. sugeríamos C. sugería D. sugerías

  5. What does "Yo sugiero un plan para el fin de semana." mean in English? A. I suggest a plan for the weekend. B. I suggest another date for the meeting. C. I suggest a restaurant in the centre. D. I suggest that we leave earlier.

  6. What does "Él sugirió otra fecha para la reunión." mean in English? A. He/she suggested a plan for the weekend. B. He/she suggested a restaurant in the centre. C. He/she suggested that we leave earlier. D. He/she suggested another date for the meeting.

  7. What does "Nosotros sugeriremos un restaurante en el centro." mean in English? A. We will suggest another date for the meeting. B. We will suggest that we leave earlier. C. We will suggest a restaurant in the centre. D. We will suggest a plan for the weekend.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo sugero otra fecha para la reunión. B. Yo sugiere otra fecha para la reunión. C. Yo sugiero otra fecha para la reunión.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él sugerí un restaurante en el centro. B. Él sugirió un restaurante en el centro. C. Él sugerió un restaurante en el centro.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo sugiera que salgamos más temprano. B. Yo sugera que salgamos más temprano. C. Yo sugiera que salgamos más temprano.

Answer key

  1. sugiero — The yo present form of sugerir is sugiero.
  2. sugirió — The el preterite form of sugerir is sugirió.
  3. sugerirás — The tu future form of sugerir is sugerirás.
  4. sugeríamos — The nosotros imperfect form of sugerir is sugeríamos.
  5. I suggest a plan for the weekend. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form sugiero, so the English is "I suggest a plan for the weekend." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she suggested another date for the meeting. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form sugirió, so the English is "He/she suggested another date for the meeting." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will suggest a restaurant in the centre. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form sugeriremos, so the English is "We will suggest a restaurant in the centre." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo sugiero otra fecha para la reunión. — The correct sentence is "Yo sugiero otra fecha para la reunión." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él sugirió un restaurante en el centro. — The correct sentence is "Él sugirió un restaurante en el centro." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo sugiera que salgamos más temprano. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo sugiera que salgamos más temprano." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

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

Sugerir means to suggest. Sugerir means to suggest, and it is used for suggesting a plan, another date and a restaurant, and for suggesting that someone do something, with que plus the subjunctive. It is a stem-changing -ir verb with the same e to ie and e to i pattern as advertir. A good first sentence to remember is Yo sugiero un plan para el fin de semana. — "I suggest a plan for the weekend."

What is the difference between sugerir and proponer?

Sugerir means to suggest, while proponer means to propose, the formal partner. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use sugerir when you mean to suggest, as in Yo sugiero otra fecha para la reunión., and use proponer for to propose, the formal partner.

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

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo sugerí otra fecha para la reunión.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo sugería un restaurante en el centro.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he sugerido otra fecha para la reunión..

How do I practise sugerir?

Start with the sugerir conjugation page for the full tables, then the sugerir in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. The stem changes e to ie in the present and e to i in the third-person preterite and the gerund: sugirió, sugiriendo.

Related links