Tardarse Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish
tardarse means "to take (a long time), to be late" in English, and this page shows it in everyday use: real example sentences in several tenses, two short dialogues, the mistakes learners actually make, and a quiz to test yourself. You will see tardarse with getting to school, preparing dinner, getting dressed in the morning and the way because of the rain — the situations where Spanish speakers really use it. A good first sentence to learn is: Cada día, yo me tardo en llegar a la escuela. — "Every day, I take (a long time) in getting to school." Read the examples aloud, notice which tense each one uses, and then try the dialogues and the quiz.
tardarse in everyday sentences
Twelve sentences with tardarse, grouped by situation. Each one shows the verb in a different tense or person, with its English translation and a note on when to use that form.
Everyday use
- Cada día, yo me tardo en llegar a la escuela. — "Every day, I take (a long time) in getting to school." The present tense fits a habit here.
- Ayer, yo me tardé en preparar la cena. — "Yesterday, I took (a long time) in preparing dinner." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, yo me tardaba en vestirse por la mañana. — "In the past, I used to take (a long time) in getting dressed in the morning." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, nosotros nos tardaremos en el camino por la lluvia. — "Tomorrow, we will take (a long time) on the way because of the rain." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Si pudieras, tú te tardarías en llegar a la escuela. — "If you could, you would take (a long time) in getting to school." The conditional fits something that would happen.
- Yo me he tardado en preparar la cena. — "I have taken (a long time) in preparing dinner." The present perfect fits an action with present relevance.
More situations
- Normalmente, él se tarda en vestirse por la mañana. — "Normally, he/she takes (a long time) in getting dressed in the morning." The present tense fits a general truth here.
- Ayer, él se tardó en el camino por la lluvia. — "Yesterday, he/she took (a long time) on the way because of the rain." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, nosotros nos tardábamos en llegar a la escuela. — "In the past, we used to take (a long time) in getting to school." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, yo me tardaré en preparar la cena. — "Tomorrow, I will take (a long time) in preparing dinner." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Espero que él se tarde en vestirse por la mañana. — "I hope that he/she takes (a long time) in getting dressed in the morning." The present subjunctive follows espero que.
- ¡No te tardes en el camino por la lluvia! — "Do not take (a long time) on the way because of the rain!" The imperative fits a direct order or request.
The verb in context
Two short dialogues using tardarse naturally. Notice how the verb changes person and tense as the conversation moves, and how the complements stay the same kind of situation: getting to school, preparing dinner, getting dressed in the morning and the way because of the rain.
Dialogue 1: talking about getting to school
Ana: ¿Tú te tardas en llegar a la escuela? — "Do you take (a long time) in getting to school?" Luis: Sí, yo me tardo en llegar a la escuela. — "I take (a long time) in getting to school." Ana: ¿Y ayer? — "And yesterday?" Luis: Ayer, yo me tardé en preparar la cena. — "Yesterday, I took (a long time) in preparing dinner." Ana: Mañana, nosotros nos tardaremos en vestirse por la mañana. — "Tomorrow, we will take (a long time) in getting dressed in the morning." Luis: Si pudiera, yo me tardaría en el camino por la lluvia. — "If I could, I would take (a long time) on the way because of the rain." Ana: Antes, yo me tardaba en preparar la cena. — "In the past, I used to take (a long time) in preparing dinner." Luis: Yo me he tardado en llegar a la escuela. — "I have taken (a long time) in getting to school." Ana: ¡No te tardes en vestirse por la mañana! — "Do not take (a long time) in getting dressed in the morning!"
In this dialogue tardarse appears in the present, the preterite, the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present perfect. That is the point: one verb, many tenses, and the complement tells you which situation you are in. Try the same dialogue with your own complements.
Dialogue 2: talking about getting dressed in the morning
Ana: Él se tarda en vestirse por la mañana. — "he/she takes (a long time) in getting dressed in the morning." Luis: ¿De verdad? ¿Él se tarda en vestirse por la mañana todos los días? — "Really? Does he/she takes (a long time) in getting dressed in the morning every day?" Ana: Sí, y ellos se tardan en el camino por la lluvia. — "they take (a long time) on the way because of the rain." Luis: Ayer, ellos se tardaron en vestirse por la mañana. — "Yesterday, they took (a long time) in getting dressed in the morning." Ana: Espero que él se tarde en el camino por la lluvia. — "I hope that he/she takes (a long time) on the way because of the rain." Luis: Mañana, él se tardará en vestirse por la mañana. — "Tomorrow, he/she will take (a long time) in getting dressed in the morning." Ana: Antes, nosotros nos tardábamos en el camino por la lluvia. — "In the past, we used to take (a long time) on the way because of the rain." Luis: Nosotros nos tardamos en llegar a la escuela también. — "we take (a long time) in getting to school too."
This dialogue shows tardarse in the third person and in the plural, which is where learners most often hesitate. Read it aloud with a partner, swapping the names and the complements for your own life, and the forms will start to feel automatic.
Common mistakes with tardarse
The errors learners actually make with tardarse in everyday use, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why it is wrong.
Mistake 1: Forgetting the reflexive pronoun
- Wrong: Yo tardo en llegar a la escuela.
- Right: Yo me tardo en llegar a la escuela.
- Why: tardarse is reflexive, so the pronoun is part of the verb: Yo me tardo en llegar a la escuela.. Without me the sentence is incomplete.
Mistake 2: Using the infinitive as a conjugated form
- Wrong: Yo tardarse en llegar a la escuela.
- Right: Yo me tardo en llegar a la escuela.
- Why: The infinitive tardarse is the dictionary form, not a conjugated form. In a sentence with yo you need the present-tense form tardo.
Mistake 3: Using the present tense for yesterday
- Wrong: Ayer, yo me tardo en preparar la cena.
- Right: Ayer, yo me tardé en preparar la cena.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite: Ayer, yo me tardé en preparar la cena. — "Yesterday, I took (a long time) in preparing dinner."
Mistake 4: Mixing up the gerund and the participle
- Wrong: Me estoy tardado en vestirse por la mañana.
- Right: Me estoy tardando en vestirse por la mañana.
- Why: After estar you need the gerund tardando for the progressive. The participle tardado goes with haber in the perfect tenses (me he tardado), never after estar.
Mistake 5: Using the él form for nosotros
- Wrong: Nosotros nos tarda en llegar a la escuela.
- Right: Nosotros nos tardamos en llegar a la escuela.
- Why: The person and the ending must match: nosotros takes tardamos, while tarda belongs to él and ella.
Quiz: tardarse in use
Test yourself with ten questions on tardarse. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the yo form of tardarse in the present tense?
- (a) tardas
- (b) tarda
- (c) tardamos
- (d) tardo
Answer: (d) tardo. The yo form is tardo.
2. What is the tú form of tardarse in the present tense?
- (a) tarda
- (b) tardamos
- (c) tardas
- (d) tardo
Answer: (c) tardas. The tú form is tardas.
3. What is the él/ella form of tardarse in the present tense?
- (a) tardamos
- (b) tarda
- (c) tardo
- (d) tardas
Answer: (b) tarda. The él/ella form is tarda.
4. Complete the sentence: Cada día, yo ___ en llegar a la escuela.
- (a) tardo
- (b) tardas
- (c) tarda
- (d) tardamos
Answer: (a) tardo. The sentence needs the yo form tardo.
5. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ___ en preparar la cena.
- (a) tardaste
- (b) tardó
- (c) tardamos
- (d) tardé
Answer: (d) tardé. Ayer needs the preterite, and the yo form is tardé.
6. Complete the sentence: Antes, yo ___ en vestirse por la mañana.
- (a) tardábamos
- (b) tardabais
- (c) tardaba
- (d) tardabas
Answer: (c) tardaba. Antes needs the imperfect, and the yo form is tardaba.
7. Complete the sentence: Mañana, yo ___ en el camino por la lluvia.
- (a) tardaremos
- (b) tardaré
- (c) tardarás
- (d) tardará
Answer: (b) tardaré. Mañana needs the future, and the yo form is tardaré.
8. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ en llegar a la escuela.
- (a) nos hemos tardado
- (b) me he tardado
- (c) te has tardado
- (d) se ha tardado
Answer: (b) me he tardado. The present perfect uses haber plus the participle: me he tardado.
9. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ en vestirse por la mañana.
- (a) tardes
- (b) tardemos
- (c) tardéis
- (d) tarde
Answer: (d) tarde. After espero que Spanish needs the subjunctive, and the él form is tarde.
10. What does tardarse mean in English?
- (a) to make profitable
- (b) to revitalise
- (c) to synthesise
- (d) to take (a long time), to be late
Answer: (d) to take (a long time), to be late. tardarse means "to take (a long time), to be late" in English.
Frequently asked questions about tardarse
What does tardarse mean?
tardarse means "to take (a long time), to be late" in English. Use it when you talk about getting to school, preparing dinner, getting dressed in the morning and the way because of the rain — for example: Cada día, yo me tardo en llegar a la escuela. — "Every day, I take (a long time) in getting to school."
Is tardarse reflexive?
Yes. tardarse is reflexive, so it always travels with a pronoun: me, te, se, nos, os, se. Cada día, yo me tardo en llegar a la escuela. — "Every day, I take (a long time) in getting to school." If you drop the pronoun, the sentence is incomplete.
What is the most common mistake with tardarse?
Forgetting the reflexive pronoun. Learners write the bare form — for example, Yo tardo en llegar a la escuela — when the verb needs its pronoun: Cada día, yo me tardo en llegar a la escuela. — "Every day, I take (a long time) in getting to school." Keep the pronoun with the verb and the mistake disappears.
How can I practise tardarse?
Take the quiz above, then make your own sentences: change the person in each example, change the complement to something from your own life, and say the sentence aloud. The verb quiz and the verb translator on this site give you more practice with the same forms.