Why Cerrar Is More Than "To Close"
Cerrar is the twin of abrir and the verb of doors, shops, deals, and eyes. It stem-changes e to ie (cierro, cierras, cierra), and its participle cerrado is regular and appears on every shop sign.
Learn these six patterns as whole chunks and you will lock, sign off, and refuse without translating word by word.
Pattern 1: Cierra la puerta — "Close the door"
The command is cierra for tú and cierre for usted. For a softer request, ask a question with poder. Its opposite is in the [Abrir] Chunks post.
- Cierra la puerta, por favor. — Close the door, please.
- ¿Puedes cerrar la ventana? — Can you close the window?
- No cierres todavía. — Don't close yet.
Chunk to learn:
Cierra / Cierre + [la puerta / la ventana] / ¿Puedes cerrar…?
Pattern 2: Cerrar con llave — "To lock"
Spanish says "close with a key" for locking. It is the chunk for leaving the house, and its question form is a classic worry.
- ¿Cerraste con llave? — Did you lock up?
- Cierra con llave al salir. — Lock up when you leave.
- Me dejé las llaves dentro y la puerta se cerró. — I left my keys inside and the door shut.
Chunk to learn:
Cerrar con llave / ¿Cerraste con llave?
Pattern 3: Cerrado por vacaciones — "Closed for vacation"
The sign on shop doors. Cerrado plus por gives the reason: vacation, works, a holiday. Use it to read signs and to explain why a place is shut.
- Cerrado por vacaciones. — Closed for vacation.
- Cerrado por obras. — Closed for building work.
- Los lunes cerramos. — We close on Mondays.
Chunk to learn:
Cerrado por + [vacaciones / obras / descanso]
Pattern 4: Cerrar un trato — "To seal a deal"
In business, cerrar means to finish and sign off: a deal, a sale, or an agreement. It also works for a period, as in cerrar el año.
- Cerramos el trato ayer. — We sealed the deal yesterday.
- Vamos a cerrar la venta esta semana. — We're going to close the sale this week.
- Cerramos el año con buenos resultados. — We closed the year with good results.
Chunk to learn:
Cerrar un trato / una venta / el año
Pattern 5: Cerrar los ojos — "To close your eyes"
The literal chunk is common in instructions, and the negative version describes a sleepless night: no cerré los ojos. Add en toda la noche for emphasis.
- Cierra los ojos y respira. — Close your eyes and breathe.
- No cerré los ojos en toda la noche. — I didn't sleep a wink all night.
- Cierra la boca y escucha. — Shut your mouth and listen.
Chunk to learn:
Cerrar los ojos / No cerrar los ojos en toda la noche
Pattern 6: Cerrarse en banda — "To refuse to budge"
The reflexive cerrarse means to close yourself off. Cerrarse en banda is the idiom for refusing to listen or to compromise. For more on the reflexive pattern, see Reflexive Verbs Chunks.
- Se cerró en banda y no quiso hablar. — He dug in his heels and wouldn't talk.
- No te cierres en banda, escucha. — Don't refuse flat out, listen.
- Se cierra cuando hablamos de eso. — He shuts down when we talk about that.
Chunk to learn:
Cerrarse en banda / Cerrarse a + [idea]
Cerrar vs. Apagar
Use cerrar for things that open and shut: doors, taps, accounts. Use apagar for lights, devices, and fires. In some regions people also say cerrar la luz, but apagar is understood everywhere. For another verb of entry, see [Entrar] Chunks.
Start with ¿cerraste con llave? and cerrado por vacaciones. You will use both the next time you speak Spanish.
This post is part of the Spanish Chunk Series — a growing collection of chunk patterns for natural Spanish.