Tronar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

tronar means "to thunder" 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. Tronar is a weather verb, used almost only in the third person singular: truena, tronó, tronaba. It describes thunder, and it often appears with llover in descriptions of storms. 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 tronar; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the tronar present tense page.

tronar 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. Truena toda la noche — "It thunders all night"
  2. Truena en la sierra — "It thunders in the mountains"
  3. Mañana, tronará antes de la tormenta — "Tomorrow, It will thunder before the storm"
  4. Tronaría con fuerza en verano si pudiera — "It would thunder loudly in summer 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, tronó toda la noche — "Yesterday, It thundered all night"
  2. Antes, tronaba en la sierra — "Before, It used to thunder in the mountains"
  3. Ha tronado antes de la tormenta — "It has thundered before the storm"
  4. Ya había tronado con fuerza en verano antes de salir — "It had already thundered loudly in summer 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 truene toda la noche — "I hope It thunders all night"
  2. Si tronara en la sierra, todo cambiaría — "If It thundered in the mountains, everything would change"
  3. ¡Que truene antes de la tormenta! — "I hope it thunders before the storm!"
  4. Habría tronado con fuerza en verano con más tiempo — "It would have thundered loudly in summer with more time"

tronar in conversation

Two short dialogues that use tronar 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: Truena toda la noche — "It thunders all night"
  • Marcos: Truena en la sierra — "It thunders in the mountains"
  • Lucía: Ayer, tronó antes de la tormenta — "Yesterday, It thundered before the storm"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tronará con fuerza en verano — "Tomorrow, It will thunder loudly in summer"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: ¡Que truene sobre el valle! — "I hope it thunders over the valley!"
  • Lucía: Ha tronado toda la noche — "It has thundered all night"
  • Marcos: Espero que truene en la sierra — "I hope It thunders in the mountains"
  • Lucía: Antes, tronaba antes de la tormenta — "Before, It used to thunder before the storm"

Common mistakes with tronar

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

✗ *Yo trueno antes de la tormenta.

✓ Correct: Truena antes de la tormenta

tronar is a weather verb, used in the third person singular: Truena antes de la tormenta. It has no personal subject.

✗ *Yo trono con fuerza en verano.

✓ Correct: Yo trueno con fuerza en verano.

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

✗ *Espero que truena con fuerza en verano

✓ Correct: Espero que truene con fuerza en verano

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que truene con fuerza en verano — not the indicative Espero que truena con fuerza en verano.

✗ *Ayer, truena sobre el valle

✓ Correct: Ayer, tronó sobre el valle

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, tronó sobre el valle.

✗ *De niño, tronó toda la noche todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, tronaba toda la noche todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, tronaba toda la noche todos los días.

Quiz: tronar in use

Ten questions on tronar — 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: ______ toda la noche — "It thunders all night" (present) A. truena B. tronó C. tronaba D. tronará

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, ______ en la sierra — "Yesterday, It thundered in the mountains" (preterite) A. tronará B. tronó C. truena D. tronaba

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, ______ antes de la tormenta — "Before, It used to thunder before the storm" (imperfect) A. tronaba B. truena C. tronó D. tronará

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, ______ con fuerza en verano — "Tomorrow, It will thunder loudly in summer" (future) A. tronó B. tronaba C. tronará D. truena

  5. Complete the sentence: ______ sobre el valle — "It would thunder over the valley" (conditional) A. tronaría B. truena C. tronó D. tronaba

  6. Complete the sentence: ______ toda la noche — "It has thundered all night" (present perfect) A. tronaba B. ha tronado C. truena D. tronó

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que ______ en la sierra — "I hope It thunders in the mountains" (present subjunctive) A. tronaba B. truene C. truena D. tronó

  8. Complete the sentence: Si ______ antes de la tormenta, todo cambiaría — "If It thundered before the storm, everything would change" (imperfect subjunctive) A. truena B. tronó C. tronaba D. tronara

  9. Which is the gerund of tronar, used with estar for the progressive? A. tronando B. tronado C. trueno D. troné

  10. What does tronar mean in English? A. to enjoy B. to cross C. to thunder D. to rain

Answer key

  1. truena — The present form is truena.
  2. tronó — The preterite form is tronó.
  3. tronaba — The imperfect form is tronaba.
  4. tronará — The future form is tronará.
  5. tronaría — The conditional form is tronaría.
  6. ha tronado — The present perfect form is ha tronado.
  7. truene — The present subjunctive form is truene.
  8. tronara — The imperfect subjunctive form is tronara.
  9. tronando — The gerund of tronar is tronando: estoy tronando. The participle tronado is used with haber instead.
  10. to thunder — tronar means to thunder.

Frequently asked questions

What does tronar mean in English?

tronar means to thunder. For example: Truena toda la noche — "It thunders all night". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with tronar?

tronar takes no object at all — just the verb and a time or place phrase, as in truena mucho en abril.

Is tronar regular?

No. tronar is a stem-changing -ar verb (o → ue). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: trueno, truenas, truena and truenan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: tronamos, tronáis.

How do I practise tronar?

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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