Utilizar Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

utilizar means to use, to utilise, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Utilizar means to use or to utilise, and it is used for using a computer for work, using a secure password, using the metro and using leftovers to make stock. It is a formal synonym of usar, and it is a spelling-change verb: the z becomes c before e. This page puts utilizar 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 utilizar, and the full tables are on the utilizar conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo utilizo el ordenador para trabajar. — I use the computer for work.
  2. Él utiliza una contraseña segura. — He/she uses a secure password.
  3. Ayer, yo utilicé el metro para ir al centro. — Yesterday, I used the metro to go to the centre.
  4. Antes, nosotros utilizábamos los restos para hacer caldo. — Before, we used to use the leftovers to make stock.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú utilizarás el ordenador para trabajar. — Tomorrow, you will use the computer for work.
  2. Yo utilizaría una contraseña segura. — I would use a secure password.
  3. Él ha utilizado el metro para ir al centro. — He/she has used the metro to go to the centre.
  4. Espero que él utilice los restos para hacer caldo. — I hope he/she uses the leftovers to make stock.

With other people

  1. Nosotros utilizamos el ordenador para trabajar. — We use the computer for work.
  2. Vosotros utilizáis una contraseña segura. — You all use a secure password.
  3. Antes, ellos utilizaban el metro para ir al centro. — Before, they used to use the metro to go to the centre.
  4. Mañana, él utilizará los restos para hacer caldo. — Tomorrow, he/she will use the leftovers to make stock.

Utilizar in context

Two short dialogues that use utilizar 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 utilizo el ordenador para trabajar." — "Today I use the computer for work."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, utilicé el metro para ir al centro." — "Yesterday I used the metro to go to the centre."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú utilizarás una contraseña segura?" — "And tomorrow, will you will use a secure password?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros utilizamos los restos para hacer caldo." — "Tomorrow we use the leftovers to make stock."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo utilizaría una contraseña segura si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would use a secure password if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él utilice el ordenador para trabajar." — "I hope he uses the computer for work."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha utilizado el metro para ir al centro." — "Surely. He has already has used the metro to go to the centre."
  • 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 utiliza el ordenador para trabajar. — Right: Yo utilizo el ordenador para trabajar. — The person matters: utiliza is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is utilizo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo utilizé una contraseña segura. — Right: Yo utilicé una contraseña segura. — In the preterite, the correct first-person form is utilicé, not utilizé. utilizar is a spelling-change verb: z becomes c before e, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
  3. Wrong: Treating utilizar and usar as identical in every context. — Right: Utilizar means to use, to utilise, while usar means to use, the everyday synonym. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: utilizar fits sentences such as Utilizo el ordenador para trabajar, while usar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy utilizado una contraseña segura. — Right: Yo he utilizado una contraseña segura. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he utilizado, has utilizado, ha utilizado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo utilicé el metro para ir al centro todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo utilizaba el metro para ir al centro todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (utilizaba), not the preterite. The preterite (utilicé) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on utilizar: 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 ___ el ordenador para trabajar. (present tense) A. utilizo B. utilizas C. utiliza D. utilizamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ una contraseña segura. (preterite tense) A. utilicé B. utilizaste C. utilizamos D. utilizó

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el metro para ir al centro. (future tense) A. utilizará B. utilizaremos C. utilizarás D. utilizaré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ los restos para hacer caldo. (imperfect tense) A. utilizabais B. utilizábamos C. utilizaba D. utilizabas

  5. What does "Yo utilizo el ordenador para trabajar." mean in English? A. I use the computer for work. B. I use a secure password. C. I use the metro to go to the centre. D. I use the leftovers to make stock.

  6. What does "Él utilizó una contraseña segura." mean in English? A. He/she used the computer for work. B. He/she used the metro to go to the centre. C. He/she used the leftovers to make stock. D. He/she used a secure password.

  7. What does "Nosotros utilizaremos el metro para ir al centro." mean in English? A. We will use a secure password. B. We will use the leftovers to make stock. C. We will use the metro to go to the centre. D. We will use the computer for work.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo utilizan una contraseña segura. B. Yo utiliza una contraseña segura. C. Yo utilizo una contraseña segura.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él utilicé el metro para ir al centro. B. Él utilizó el metro para ir al centro. C. Él utilizaron el metro para ir al centro.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo utilice los restos para hacer caldo. B. Yo utilize los restos para hacer caldo. C. Yo utilice los restos para hacer caldo.

Answer key

  1. utilizo — The yo present form of utilizar is utilizo.
  2. utilizó — The el preterite form of utilizar is utilizó.
  3. utilizarás — The tu future form of utilizar is utilizarás.
  4. utilizábamos — The nosotros imperfect form of utilizar is utilizábamos.
  5. I use the computer for work. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form utilizo, so the English is "I use the computer for work." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she used a secure password. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form utilizó, so the English is "He/she used a secure password." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will use the metro to go to the centre. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form utilizaremos, so the English is "We will use the metro to go to the centre." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo utilizo una contraseña segura. — The correct sentence is "Yo utilizo una contraseña segura." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él utilizó el metro para ir al centro. — The correct sentence is "Él utilizó el metro para ir al centro." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo utilice los restos para hacer caldo. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo utilice los restos para hacer caldo." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

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

Utilizar means to use, to utilise. Utilizar means to use or to utilise, and it is used for using a computer for work, using a secure password, using the metro and using leftovers to make stock. It is a formal synonym of usar, and it is a spelling-change verb: the z becomes c before e. A good first sentence to remember is Yo utilizo el ordenador para trabajar. — "I use the computer for work."

What is the difference between utilizar and usar?

Utilizar means to use, to utilise, while usar means to use, the everyday synonym. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use utilizar when you mean to use, to utilise, as in Yo utilizo una contraseña segura., and use usar for to use, the everyday synonym.

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

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo utilicé una contraseña segura.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo utilizaba el metro para ir al centro.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he utilizado una contraseña segura..

How do I practise utilizar?

Start with the utilizar conjugation page for the full tables, then the utilizar in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Spelling change: z becomes c before e, so the preterite is utilicé and the subjunctive is utilice. Utilizar is more formal than usar.

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