Turbar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

turbar means “to disturb, to upset” 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. Turbar means to disturb or to upset, and it is used when something breaks a calm state — a noise disturbs the silence, bad news disturbs a family, doubt disturbs a person's peace of mind. It is a formal, literary verb, more common in writing and in serious speech than in everyday chat, where molestar or preocupar are more frequent. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by tense, 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 turbar; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the turbar present tense page.

turbar in everyday use: examples with translations

In the present

Four sentences with turbar in the present tense, for habits, facts and things happening right now.

  1. Yo turbo la tranquilidad de la casa. — I disturb the peace of the house.
  2. Él/Ella turba el silencio de la noche. — He disturbs the silence of the night.
  3. Nosotros/as turbamos la paz del barrio. — We disturb the peace of the neighbourhood.
  4. Ellos/as turban el sueño de los niños. — They disturb the children's sleep.

In the past

Four sentences with turbar in the past: the preterite for finished actions and the imperfect for habits and background.

  1. Ayer, Yo turbé la paz del barrio. — Yesterday, I disturbed the peace of the neighbourhood.
  2. Antes, Nosotros/as turbábamos el sueño de los niños. — Before, We used to disturb the children's sleep.
  3. Ayer, Él/Ella turbó la tranquilidad de la casa. — Yesterday, He disturbed the peace of the house.
  4. De niños, Ellos/as turbaban el silencio de la noche. — As children, They used to disturb the silence of the night.

Plans, hopes and wishes

Four sentences with turbar in the future, the conditional, the subjunctive and the present perfect — for plans, hypotheticals and things that have just happened.

  1. Mañana, Tú turbarás la tranquilidad de la casa. — Tomorrow, You will disturb the peace of the house.
  2. Yo turbaría el silencio de la noche. — I would disturb the silence of the night.
  3. Espero que él turbe la paz del barrio. — I hope he disturbs the peace of the neighbourhood.
  4. Él/Ella ha turbado el sueño de los niños. — He has disturbed the children's sleep.

turbar in context: two short dialogues

Making plans

Ana: ¿Tú turbas la tranquilidad de la casa mañana? — Are you going to disturb the peace of the house tomorrow? Luis: Sí, yo turbo la tranquilidad de la casa todos los días. — Yes, I disturb the peace of the house every day. Ana: ¿Y mañana turbarás el silencio de la noche? — And tomorrow, will you disturb the silence of the night? Luis: Claro, mañana turbaré el silencio de la noche sin falta. — Of course, tomorrow I will disturb the silence of the night without fail. Ana: Perfecto. Yo turbaré la paz del barrio también. — Perfect. I will disturb the peace of the neighbourhood too. Luis: Entonces quedamos mañana. ¡Hasta luego! — Then see you tomorrow. Bye!

Yesterday

Ana: ¿Qué hiciste ayer? — What did you do yesterday? Luis: Ayer turbé la paz del barrio. — Yesterday, I disturbed the peace of the neighbourhood. Ana: ¿Y antes turbabas el sueño de los niños? — And before, did you use to disturb the children's sleep? Luis: Sí, antes turbaba el sueño de los niños todos los días. — Yes, before, I used to disturb the children's sleep every day. Ana: ¿Y tus hermanos turbaron la tranquilidad de la casa? — And did your brothers disturbed the peace of the house? Luis: Sí, ellos turbaron la tranquilidad de la casa por la tarde. — Yes, they disturbed the peace of the house in the afternoon.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo turba la tranquilidad de la casa. — Right: Yo turbo la tranquilidad de la casa. — The person matters: turba is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is turbo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Treating turbar and perturbar as identical in every context. — Right: Turbar means to disturb, to upset, while perturbar means to perturb, to disturb someone's mind. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: turbar fits sentences such as Turbo la tranquilidad de la casa, while perturbar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  3. Wrong: Yo soy turbado el silencio de la noche. — Right: Yo he turbado el silencio de la noche. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he turbado, has turbado, ha turbado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  4. Wrong: De niño, yo turbé la paz del barrio todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo turbaba la paz del barrio todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (turbaba), not the preterite. The preterite (turbé) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on turbar in use. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ el sueño de los niños. (present tense) A. turban B. turbo C. turbas D. turba

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, Nosotros/as ___ la tranquilidad de la casa. (preterite tense) A. turbé B. turbaste C. turbó D. turbamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, Tú ___ el silencio de la noche. (imperfect tense) A. turbábamos B. turbabais C. turbabas D. turbaba

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, Él/Ella ___ la paz del barrio. (future tense) A. turbaremos B. turbará C. turbaré D. turbarás

  5. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ el sueño de los niños. (conditional tense) A. turbaríamos B. turbaría C. turbarías D. turbaríais

  6. Complete the sentence: Hoy, Yo ___ la tranquilidad de la casa. (present-perfect tense) A. has turbado B. ha turbado C. hemos turbado D. he turbado

  7. What does turbar mean in English? A. to address as tú B. to cover C. to disturb, to upset D. to perturb, to disturb someone's mind

  8. Which of these sentences is WRONG? A. Ayer, Yo turbé la paz del barrio. B. Yo turba la tranquilidad de la casa. C. Yo turbo la tranquilidad de la casa. D. Él/Ella turba el silencio de la noche.

  9. Which is the gerund of turbar, used with estar for the progressive? A. turbando B. turbado C. turbo D. turbé

  10. Which is the past participle of turbar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. turbando B. turbo C. turbé D. turbado

Answer key

  1. turban — The correct form here is turban.
  2. turbamos — The correct form here is turbamos.
  3. turbabas — The correct form here is turbabas.
  4. turbará — The correct form here is turbará.
  5. turbaríamos — The correct form here is turbaríamos.
  6. he turbado — The correct form here is he turbado.
  7. to disturb, to upset — Turbar means to disturb, to upset. Perturbar means to perturb, to disturb someone's mind, which is a different verb.
  8. Yo turba la tranquilidad de la casa. — The first sentence is wrong: the correct form is Yo turbo la tranquilidad de la casa.. The person matters: turba is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is turbo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  9. turbando — The gerund of turbar is turbando: estoy turbando.
  10. turbado — The past participle of turbar is turbado: he turbado, has turbado, ha turbado.

Frequently asked questions

What does turbar mean?

Turbar means to disturb, to upset. Turbar means to disturb or to upset, and it is used when something breaks a calm state — a noise disturbs the silence, bad news disturbs a family, doubt disturbs a person's peace of mind. It is a formal, literary verb, more common in writing and in serious speech than in everyday chat, where molestar or preocupar are more frequent.

When do people use turbar most?

People use turbar most in everyday situations such as Yo turbo la tranquilidad de la casa. and Ayer, Yo turbé la paz del barrio.. Learn the present tense first, then the preterite and the imperfect, since those are the forms you will hear most often.

What is the difference between turbar and perturbar?

Turbar means to disturb, to upset, while perturbar means to perturb, to disturb someone's mind. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable — check the meaning you want before you choose.

How can I remember the forms of turbar?

Practise the present tense table first, then add the preterite and the imperfect. Use the full conjugation of turbar as your reference, the turbar present tense page for one tense in depth, and the Spanish Verb Quiz to test yourself.

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