Tejer Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

tejer means to knit, to weave, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Tejer means to knit or to weave, and it covers knitting a jumper, weaving cloth and, figuratively, weaving a story or a plot. It is a regular -er verb, and it belongs with coser and bordar in the craft group. This page puts tejer 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 tejer, and the full tables are on the tejer conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo tejo un jersey para el invierno. — I knit a jumper for the winter.
  2. Él teje una bufanda de lana. — He/she knits a woollen scarf.
  3. Ayer, yo tejí con agujas de punto. — Yesterday, I knitted with knitting needles.
  4. Antes, nosotros tejíamos en el taller de la abuela. — Before, we used to knit in grandmother's workshop.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú tejerás un jersey para el invierno. — Tomorrow, you will knit a jumper for the winter.
  2. Yo tejería una bufanda de lana. — I would knit a woollen scarf.
  3. Él ha tejido con agujas de punto. — He/she has knitted with knitting needles.
  4. Espero que él teja en el taller de la abuela. — I hope he/she knits in grandmother's workshop.

With other people

  1. Nosotros tejemos un jersey para el invierno. — We knit a jumper for the winter.
  2. Vosotros tejéis una bufanda de lana. — You all knit a woollen scarf.
  3. Antes, ellos tejían con agujas de punto. — Before, they used to knit with knitting needles.
  4. Mañana, él tejerá en el taller de la abuela. — Tomorrow, he/she will knit in grandmother's workshop.

Tejer in context

Two short dialogues that use tejer 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 tejo un jersey para el invierno." — "Today I knit a jumper for the winter."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, tejí con agujas de punto." — "Yesterday I knitted with knitting needles."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú tejerás una bufanda de lana?" — "And tomorrow, will you will knit a woollen scarf?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros tejemos en el taller de la abuela." — "Tomorrow we knit in grandmother's workshop."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo tejería una bufanda de lana si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would knit a woollen scarf if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él teja un jersey para el invierno." — "I hope he knits a jumper for the winter."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha tejido con agujas de punto." — "Surely. He has already has knitted with knitting needles."
  • 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 teje un jersey para el invierno. — Right: Yo tejo un jersey para el invierno. — The person matters: teje is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is tejo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Vosotros tejeis una bufanda de lana. — Right: Vosotros tejéis una bufanda de lana. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: tejéis, not tejeis. The accent marks the stressed vowel.
  3. Wrong: Treating tejer and coser as identical in every context. — Right: Tejer means to knit, to weave, while coser means to sew, the craft partner. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: tejer fits sentences such as Tejo un jersey para el invierno, while coser belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy tejido una bufanda de lana. — Right: Yo he tejido una bufanda de lana. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he tejido, has tejido, ha tejido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo tejí con agujas de punto todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo tejía con agujas de punto todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (tejía), not the preterite. The preterite (tejí) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on tejer: 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 jersey para el invierno. (present tense) A. tejo B. tejes C. teje D. tejemos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ una bufanda de lana. (preterite tense) A. tejí B. tejiste C. tejimos D. tejió

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ con agujas de punto. (future tense) A. tejerá B. tejeremos C. tejerás D. tejeré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ en el taller de la abuela. (imperfect tense) A. tejíais B. tejíamos C. tejía D. tejías

  5. What does "Yo tejo un jersey para el invierno." mean in English? A. I knit a jumper for the winter. B. I knit a woollen scarf. C. I knit with knitting needles. D. I knit in grandmother's workshop.

  6. What does "Él tejió una bufanda de lana." mean in English? A. He/she knitted a jumper for the winter. B. He/she knitted with knitting needles. C. He/she knitted in grandmother's workshop. D. He/she knitted a woollen scarf.

  7. What does "Nosotros tejeremos con agujas de punto." mean in English? A. We will knit a woollen scarf. B. We will knit in grandmother's workshop. C. We will knit with knitting needles. D. We will knit a jumper for the winter.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo tejen una bufanda de lana. B. Yo teje una bufanda de lana. C. Yo tejo una bufanda de lana.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él tejí con agujas de punto. B. Él tejió con agujas de punto. C. Él tejieron con agujas de punto.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo teja en el taller de la abuela. B. Yo tejan en el taller de la abuela. C. Yo teja en el taller de la abuela.

Answer key

  1. tejo — The yo present form of tejer is tejo.
  2. tejió — The el preterite form of tejer is tejió.
  3. tejerás — The tu future form of tejer is tejerás.
  4. tejíamos — The nosotros imperfect form of tejer is tejíamos.
  5. I knit a jumper for the winter. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form tejo, so the English is "I knit a jumper for the winter." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she knitted a woollen scarf. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form tejió, so the English is "He/she knitted a woollen scarf." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will knit with knitting needles. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form tejeremos, so the English is "We will knit with knitting needles." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo tejo una bufanda de lana. — The correct sentence is "Yo tejo una bufanda de lana." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él tejió con agujas de punto. — The correct sentence is "Él tejió con agujas de punto." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo teja en el taller de la abuela. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo teja en el taller de la abuela." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

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

Tejer means to knit, to weave. Tejer means to knit or to weave, and it covers knitting a jumper, weaving cloth and, figuratively, weaving a story or a plot. It is a regular -er verb, and it belongs with coser and bordar in the craft group. A good first sentence to remember is Yo tejo un jersey para el invierno. — "I knit a jumper for the winter."

What is the difference between tejer and coser?

Tejer means to knit, to weave, while coser means to sew, the craft partner. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use tejer when you mean to knit, to weave, as in Yo tejo una bufanda de lana., and use coser for to sew, the craft partner.

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

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo tejí una bufanda de lana.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo tejía con agujas de punto.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he tejido una bufanda de lana..

How do I practise tejer?

Start with the tejer conjugation page for the full tables, then the tejer in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Tejer is a regular -er verb: tejí, tejía, tejeré. The j is pronounced like the ch in Scottish loch.

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