Inklingo

How to Say "switches on" in Spanish

The Spanish word forswitches onis enciendeA1 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.

English → SpanishA1
VerbA1
Appliance or light
A person's hand pressing a large, colorful button to turn on a bright light bulb.

Examples

Ella siempre enciende la radio cuando cocina.

She always turns on the radio when she cooks.

Disculpe, ¿usted enciende el aire acondicionado?

Excuse me, are you turning on the air conditioning?

¡Enciende la pantalla para ver la película!

Turn on the screen to watch the movie!

Dual Role of Enciende

This single form, 'enciende', can mean two things: 'he/she/it turns on' (describing an action) OR 'turn on!' (a direct command to 'tú').

Stem Change (e > ie)

The vowel 'e' in the middle of the verb 'encender' changes to 'ie' in most forms, except for the 'nosotros' and 'vosotros' forms.

Forgetting the Stem Change

Mistake:Usando 'él encende' en lugar de 'él enciende'.

Correction: Always remember the 'e' becomes 'ie' when the stress falls on that syllable: 'enciende'.

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