Vestir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

vestir means "to dress" 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. Vestir means to dress someone or to wear clothes: vestir un traje, vestir a sus hijos. For getting dressed yourself, Spanish uses vestirse: me visto cada mañana. 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 vestir; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the vestir present tense page.

vestir 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 visto un traje elegante para la boda — "I dress an elegant suit for the wedding"
  2. Mi amigo viste a sus hijos cada mañana — "My friend dresses his children every morning"
  3. Mañana, tú vestirás de negro en el funeral — "Tomorrow, you will dress in black for the funeral"
  4. Yo vestiría ropa cómoda en casa si pudiera — "I would dress comfortable clothes at home 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 vestí un traje elegante para la boda — "Yesterday, I dressed an elegant suit for the wedding"
  2. Antes, nosotros vestíamos a sus hijos cada mañana — "Before, we used to dress his children every morning"
  3. Él ha vestido de negro en el funeral — "He has dressed in black for the funeral"
  4. Yo ya había vestido ropa cómoda en casa antes de salir — "I already had dressed comfortable clothes at home 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 vista un traje elegante para la boda — "I hope he dresses an elegant suit for the wedding"
  2. Si yo vistiera a sus hijos cada mañana, todo cambiaría — "If I dressed his children every morning, everything would change"
  3. Viste de negro en el funeral. — "Dress in black for the funeral."
  4. Yo habría vestido ropa cómoda en casa con más tiempo — "I would have dressed comfortable clothes at home with more time"

vestir in conversation

Two short dialogues that use vestir 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 visto un traje elegante para la boda — "I dress an elegant suit for the wedding"
  • Marcos: Él viste a sus hijos cada mañana — "He dresses his children every morning"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo vestí de negro en el funeral — "Yesterday, I dressed in black for the funeral"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú vestirás ropa cómoda en casa — "Tomorrow, you will dress comfortable clothes at home"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Viste un vestido rojo para la fiesta. — "Dress a red dress for the party."
  • Lucía: Él ha vestido un traje elegante para la boda — "He has dressed an elegant suit for the wedding"
  • Marcos: Espero que él vista a sus hijos cada mañana — "I hope he dresses his children every morning"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo vestía de negro en el funeral — "Before, I used to dress in black for the funeral"

Common mistakes with vestir

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

✗ *Yo vesto ropa cómoda en casa.

✓ Correct: Yo visto ropa cómoda en casa.

vestir is a stem-changing verb (e → i): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is visto, not vesto.

✗ *Espero que él viste ropa cómoda en casa

✓ Correct: Espero que él vista ropa cómoda en casa

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él vista ropa cómoda en casa — not the indicative Espero que él viste ropa cómoda en casa.

✗ *Ayer, yo visto un vestido rojo para la fiesta

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo vestí un vestido rojo para la fiesta

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo vestí un vestido rojo para la fiesta.

✗ *De niño, yo vestí un traje elegante para la boda todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo vestía un traje elegante para la boda todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo vestía un traje elegante para la boda todos los días.

✗ *Yo visto negro en el funeral.

✓ Correct: Yo visto de negro en el funeral.

vestir takes de before this complement: Yo visto de negro en el funeral. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.

Quiz: vestir in use

Ten questions on vestir — 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 ______ un traje elegante para la boda — "I dress an elegant suit for the wedding" (present) A. viste B. vestimos C. visto D. vistes

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ a sus hijos cada mañana — "Yesterday, I dressed his children every morning" (preterite) A. vestiste B. vistió C. vestimos D. vestí

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ de negro en el funeral — "Before, we used to dress in black for the funeral" (imperfect) A. vestíais B. vestíamos C. vestía D. vestías

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ ropa cómoda en casa — "Tomorrow, you will dress comfortable clothes at home" (future) A. vestiré B. vestirá C. vestiremos D. vestirás

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ un vestido rojo para la fiesta — "I would dress a red dress for the party" (conditional) A. vestiríamos B. vestiríais C. vestiría D. vestirías

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ un traje elegante para la boda — "He has dressed an elegant suit for the wedding" (present perfect) A. he vestido B. has vestido C. hemos vestido D. ha vestido

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ a sus hijos cada mañana — "I hope he dresses his children every morning" (present subjunctive) A. vistáis B. vista C. vistas D. vistamos

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ de negro en el funeral. — "Dress in black for the funeral." (affirmative imperative) A. vestid B. viste C. vista D. vistamos

  9. Which is the gerund of vestir, used with estar for the progressive? A. vestí B. vistiendo C. vestido D. visto

  10. What does vestir mean in English? A. to wear, to carry B. to enjoy C. to cross D. to dress

Answer key

  1. visto — The present form for yo is visto.
  2. vestí — The preterite form for yo is vestí.
  3. vestíamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is vestíamos.
  4. vestirás — The future form for tú is vestirás.
  5. vestiría — The conditional form for yo is vestiría.
  6. ha vestido — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha vestido.
  7. vista — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is vista.
  8. viste — The affirmative imperative form is viste.
  9. vistiendo — The gerund of vestir is vistiendo: estoy vistiendo. The participle vestido is used with haber instead.
  10. to dress — vestir means to dress.

Frequently asked questions

What does vestir mean in English?

vestir means to dress. For example: Yo visto un traje elegante para la boda — "I dress an elegant suit for the wedding". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with vestir?

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

Is vestir regular?

No. vestir is a stem-changing -ir verb (e → i). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: visto, vistes, viste and visten — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: vestimos, vestís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: vistió, vistieron, and the gerund is vistiendo.

How do I practise vestir?

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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