Torcer Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

torcer means "to twist" 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. Torcer means to twist: torcer el tobillo is to twist your ankle, and torcer el alambre is to bend wire. It is also used for twisting expressions and words: torcer el gesto. 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 torcer; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the torcer present tense page.

torcer 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 tuerzo el tobillo en el partido — "I twist his ankle in the match"
  2. Mi amigo tuerce la muñeca al caer — "My friend twists his wrist when he fell"
  3. Mañana, tú torcerás el alambre con unas tenazas — "Tomorrow, you will twist the wire with pliers"
  4. Yo torcería el gesto con ironía si pudiera — "I would twist his expression ironically 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 torcí el tobillo en el partido — "Yesterday, I twisted his ankle in the match"
  2. Antes, nosotros torcíamos la muñeca al caer — "Before, we used to twist his wrist when he fell"
  3. Él ha torcido el alambre con unas tenazas — "He has twisted the wire with pliers"
  4. Yo ya había torcido el gesto con ironía antes de salir — "I already had twisted his expression ironically 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 tuerza el tobillo en el partido — "I hope he twists his ankle in the match"
  2. Si yo torciera la muñeca al caer, todo cambiaría — "If I twisted his wrist when he fell, everything would change"
  3. Tuerce el alambre con unas tenazas. — "Twist the wire with pliers."
  4. Yo habría torcido el gesto con ironía con más tiempo — "I would have twisted his expression ironically with more time"

torcer in conversation

Two short dialogues that use torcer 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 tuerzo el tobillo en el partido — "I twist his ankle in the match"
  • Marcos: Él tuerce la muñeca al caer — "He twists his wrist when he fell"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo torcí el alambre con unas tenazas — "Yesterday, I twisted the wire with pliers"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú torcerás el gesto con ironía — "Tomorrow, you will twist his expression ironically"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Tuerce la toalla para escurrirla. — "Twist the towel to wring it out."
  • Lucía: Él ha torcido el tobillo en el partido — "He has twisted his ankle in the match"
  • Marcos: Espero que él tuerza la muñeca al caer — "I hope he twists his wrist when he fell"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo torcía el alambre con unas tenazas — "Before, I used to twist the wire with pliers"

Common mistakes with torcer

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

✗ *Yo torco el gesto con ironía.

✓ Correct: Yo tuerzo el gesto con ironía.

torcer is a stem-changing verb (o → ue): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is tuerzo, not torco.

✗ *Espero que él tuerce el gesto con ironía

✓ Correct: Espero que él tuerza el gesto con ironía

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él tuerza el gesto con ironía — not the indicative Espero que él tuerce el gesto con ironía.

✗ *Ayer, yo tuerzo la toalla para escurrirla

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo torcí la toalla para escurrirla

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo torcí la toalla para escurrirla.

✗ *De niño, yo torcí el tobillo en el partido todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo torcía el tobillo en el partido todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo torcía el tobillo en el partido todos los días.

✗ *Yo tuerzo en el alambre con unas tenazas.

✓ Correct: Yo tuerzo el alambre con unas tenazas.

torcer takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo tuerzo el alambre con unas tenazas.

Quiz: torcer in use

Ten questions on torcer — 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 ______ el tobillo en el partido — "I twist his ankle in the match" (present) A. tuerce B. torcemos C. tuerzo D. tuerces

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ la muñeca al caer — "Yesterday, I twisted his wrist when he fell" (preterite) A. torcí B. torciste C. torció D. torcimos

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ el alambre con unas tenazas — "Before, we used to twist the wire with pliers" (imperfect) A. torcíamos B. torcía C. torcías D. torcíais

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ el gesto con ironía — "Tomorrow, you will twist his expression ironically" (future) A. torcerás B. torceré C. torcerá D. torceremos

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ la toalla para escurrirla — "I would twist the towel to wring it out" (conditional) A. torcería B. torcerías C. torceríamos D. torceríais

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ el tobillo en el partido — "He has twisted his ankle in the match" (present perfect) A. he torcido B. has torcido C. hemos torcido D. ha torcido

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ la muñeca al caer — "I hope he twists his wrist when he fell" (present subjunctive) A. tuerzas B. torzamos C. torcáis D. tuerza

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ el alambre con unas tenazas. — "Twist the wire with pliers." (affirmative imperative) A. tuerce B. tuerza C. torzamos D. torced

  9. Which is the gerund of torcer, used with estar for the progressive? A. torcido B. tuerzo C. torcí D. torciendo

  10. What does torcer mean in English? A. to cross B. to twist C. to twist, to wring D. to enjoy

Answer key

  1. tuerzo — The present form for yo is tuerzo.
  2. torcí — The preterite form for yo is torcí.
  3. torcíamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is torcíamos.
  4. torcerás — The future form for tú is torcerás.
  5. torcería — The conditional form for yo is torcería.
  6. ha torcido — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha torcido.
  7. tuerza — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is tuerza.
  8. tuerce — The affirmative imperative form is tuerce.
  9. torciendo — The gerund of torcer is torciendo: estoy torciendo. The participle torcido is used with haber instead.
  10. to twist — torcer means to twist.

Frequently asked questions

What does torcer mean in English?

torcer means to twist. For example: Yo tuerzo el tobillo en el partido — "I twist his ankle in the match". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with torcer?

torcer takes its complement directly, with no preposition, as in the examples above. Adding an extra preposition is a common learner error.

Is torcer regular?

No. torcer is a stem-changing -er verb (o → ue). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: tuerzo, tuerces, tuerce and tuercen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: torcemos, torcéis.

How do I practise torcer?

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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