Dañarse Examples, Sentences & Quiz

Introduction

dañarse means to get damaged, to hurt oneself, and it is one of those verbs that shows up everywhere once you start listening for it. It is a regular -ar verb, reflexive verb, and this page puts it to work: real example sentences in several tenses, grouped by use, two short passages that show the verb in context, the mistakes learners make with it, a ten-question quiz and answers to common questions. If you only learn one sentence, make it «Me daño todos los días» — I get damaged every day. The rest of this page builds out from there, tense by tense, so you can use dañarse the way native speakers do — in the present for habits, in the past for finished events, and in the subjunctive after wishes and doubts.

Dañarse in real example sentences

In the present: everyday use

The present is where dañarse lives most of the time — routines, facts and what is happening now:

  1. Me daño todos los días. — I get damaged every day.
  2. Te dañas en el trabajo. — You get damaged at work.
  3. Se daña con mi familia. — He gets damaged with my family.
  4. Nos dañamos por la mañana. — We get damaged in the morning.

Talking about the past

In the past, choose the preterite for a finished event and the imperfect for a habit or background:

  1. Ayer me dañé por la tarde. — Yesterday I got damaged in the afternoon.
  2. Antes, me dañaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to get damaged every day.
  3. La semana pasada se dañó dos veces. — Last week He got damaged twice.

Plans and things already done

The future, the conditional and the present perfect round out the picture — plans, hypotheticals and recent events:

  1. Mañana me dañaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will get damaged without fail.
  2. Si tuviera más tiempo, me dañaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would get damaged right now.
  3. Hoy me he dañado dos veces. — Today I have got damaged twice.

More everyday uses

The subjunctive, the imperative and the progressive cover wishes, commands and actions in progress:

  1. Espero que te dañes pronto. — I hope You get damaged soon.
  2. ¡No te dañes! — Don't get damaged!
  3. Ahora mismo me estoy dañando. — Right now I am getting damaged.

Dañarse in context

A short dialogue

Ana: «Me daño en el trabajo.» — I get damaged at work. Luis: «¡Qué bien! Me daño con mi familia.» — I get damaged with my family. Ana: «Mañana me dañaré sin falta.» — Tomorrow I will get damaged without fail. Luis: «Si tuviera más tiempo, me dañaría ahora mismo.» — If I had more time, I would get damaged right now. Ana: «Hoy me he dañado dos veces.» — Today I have got damaged twice.

A short paragraph

Ayer me dañé por la tarde. Antes, me dañaba todos los días. Hoy me he dañado dos veces. Mañana me dañaré sin falta.

Yesterday I got damaged in the afternoon. In the past, I used to get damaged every day. Today I have got damaged twice. Tomorrow I will get damaged without fail.

Common mistakes with dañarse

1. Forgetting the reflexive pronoun

Wrong: yo daño todos los días.

Right: me daño todos los días.

dañarse is reflexive: the pronoun me belongs before every conjugated form. Without it, you are using the non-reflexive verb, which means something different — doing the action to someone else instead of to yourself.

2. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer me dañaba.

Right: Ayer me dañé.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, dañé. The imperfect dañaba describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.

3. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que te dañas.

Right: Espero que te dañes.

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: dañes, not the indicative dañas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.

4. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No te daña.

Right: No te dañes.

Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no dañes. The affirmative daña can never follow no.

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He dañando.

Right: He dañado.

The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he dañado. The gerund dañando goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy dañando»), never with haber.

Quiz: dañarse in use

Test yourself on dañarse in use. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the yo form of dañarse in the present indicative?

- (a) dañas
- (b) daña
- (c) dañamos
- (d) daño

2. What is the tú form of dañarse in the preterite?

- (a) dañamos
- (b) dañó
- (c) dañé
- (d) dañaste

3. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of dañarse in the future?

- (a) dañarás
- (b) dañaremos
- (c) dañaré
- (d) dañará

4. What is the nosotros/as form of dañarse in the present perfect?

- (a) ha dañado
- (b) has dañado
- (c) hemos dañado
- (d) he dañado

5. What is the yo form of dañarse in the imperfect?

- (a) dañaba
- (b) dañábamos
- (c) dañaba
- (d) dañabas

6. What is the gerund of dañarse?

- (a) daño
- (b) dañando
- (c) dañado
- (d) dañarse

7. What is the past participle of dañarse?

- (a) dañando
- (b) dañarse
- (c) dañado
- (d) dañé

8. Which sentence uses dañarse correctly?

- (a) *Yo daña todos los días.*
- (b) *Yo dañarse todos los días.*
- (c) *Me daño todos los días.* — I get damaged every day.
- (d) *Yo dañas todos los días.*

9. Which sentence uses dañarse correctly?

- (a) *Ayer me dañé por la tarde.* — Yesterday I got damaged in the afternoon.
- (b) *Ayer yo dañarse por la tarde.*
- (c) *Ayer yo dañaba por la tarde.*
- (d) *Ayer yo daño por la tarde.*

10. What does dañarse mean?

- (a) to get damaged, to hurt oneself
- (b) to betray
- (c) to devote oneself to
- (d) to sue

Answer key

1. (d) — In the present indicative, the yo form of dañarse is daño. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (d) — In the preterite, the tú form of dañarse is dañaste. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (d) — In the future, the él/ella/Ud. form of dañarse is dañará. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (c) — In the present perfect, the nosotros/as form of dañarse is hemos dañado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (a) — In the imperfect, the yo form of dañarse is dañaba. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (b) — The gerund of dañarse is dañando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy dañando». 7. (c) — The past participle of dañarse is dañado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he dañado». 8. (c) — Only this sentence pairs the right person with the right form of dañarse; the others mix a person with another person's form, or use the infinitive instead of a conjugated form. 9. (a) — Only this sentence pairs the right person with the right form of dañarse; the others mix a person with another person's form, or use the infinitive instead of a conjugated form. 10. (a) — dañarse means «to get damaged, to hurt oneself».

Frequently asked questions

How do you say 'I get damaged' in Spanish?

Say «Me daño todos los días». That is the present-tense yo form, and it is the sentence you will use most with this verb.

How do you say 'I got damaged' about yesterday?

Say «Ayer me dañé por la tarde». The preterite is the tense for a finished event: yesterday, last week, last night.

Is dañarse reflexive?

Yes — dañarse is reflexive, so every conjugated form takes its pronoun: me daño, te dañas, se daña. The pronoun always comes before the verb, except in affirmative commands, where it attaches to the end.

Which tense do learners find hardest with dañarse?

Most learners struggle with choosing between the preterite and the imperfect, not with the forms themselves. Use the preterite (dañé) for a single finished event and the imperfect (dañaba) for habits and background. After that, the subjunctive is the next step.

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