Ejercer Examples, Sentences & Quiz

Introduction

ejercer means to exercise, to practise (a profession), and it is one of those verbs that shows up everywhere once you start listening for it. It is a spelling-changing -er verb 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 «Yo ejerzo todos los días» — I exercise every day. The rest of this page builds out from there, tense by tense, so you can use ejercer the way native speakers do — in the present for habits, in the past for finished events, and in the subjunctive after wishes and doubts.

Ejercer in real example sentences

In the present: everyday use

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

  1. Yo ejerzo todos los días. — I exercise every day.
  2. Tú ejerces en el trabajo. — You exercise at work.
  3. Él ejerce con mi familia. — He exercises with my family.
  4. Nosotros ejercemos por la mañana. — We exercise 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 yo ejercí por la tarde. — Yesterday I exercised in the afternoon.
  2. Antes, yo ejercía todos los días. — In the past, I used to exercise every day.
  3. La semana pasada él ejerció dos veces. — Last week He exercised 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 yo ejerceré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will exercise without fail.
  2. Si tuviera más tiempo, yo ejercería ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would exercise right now.
  3. Hoy yo he ejercido dos veces. — Today I have exercised twice.

More everyday uses

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

  1. Espero que tú ejerzas pronto. — I hope You exercise soon.
  2. ¡ejerce, por favor! — Exercise, please!
  3. Ahora mismo yo estoy ejerciendo. — Right now I am exercising.

Ejercer in context

A short dialogue

Ana: «Yo ejerzo en el trabajo.» — I exercise at work. Luis: «¡Qué bien! Yo ejerzo con mi familia.» — I exercise with my family. Ana: «Mañana yo ejerceré sin falta.» — Tomorrow I will exercise without fail. Luis: «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo ejercería ahora mismo.» — If I had more time, I would exercise right now. Ana: «Hoy yo he ejercido dos veces.» — Today I have exercised twice.

A short paragraph

Ayer yo ejercí por la tarde. Antes, yo ejercía todos los días. Hoy yo he ejercido dos veces. Mañana yo ejerceré sin falta.

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

Common mistakes with ejercer

1. Missing the spelling change in the present indicative

Wrong: Yo ejerco.

Right: Yo ejerzo.

The spelling changes so the pronunciation stays the same: the yo form in the present indicative is ejerzo, not ejerco. The endings are regular — only the spelling of the stem-final letter adjusts before e and i.

2. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer yo ejercía.

Right: Ayer yo ejercí.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, ejercí. The imperfect ejercía 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 tú ejerces.

Right: Espero que tú ejerzas.

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

4. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No ejerce.

Right: No ejerzas.

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

5. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

Wrong: Yo ejercer todos los días.

Right: Yo ejerzo todos los días.

The infinitive ejercer names the action; it never works as the main verb of a sentence. Conjugate it for the person: yo ejerzo.

Quiz: ejercer in use

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

1. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of ejercer in the present indicative?

- (a) ejerce
- (b) ejerzo
- (c) ejerces
- (d) ejercen

2. What is the yo form of ejercer in the preterite?

- (a) ejerciste
- (b) ejerció
- (c) ejercimos
- (d) ejercí

3. What is the tú form of ejercer in the future?

- (a) ejercerá
- (b) ejerceremos
- (c) ejerceré
- (d) ejercerás

4. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of ejercer in the present perfect?

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

5. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of ejercer in the imperfect?

- (a) ejercía
- (b) ejercía
- (c) ejercían
- (d) ejercías

6. What is the gerund of ejercer?

- (a) ejerzo
- (b) ejercer
- (c) ejercido
- (d) ejerciendo

7. What is the past participle of ejercer?

- (a) ejercí
- (b) ejerciendo
- (c) ejercido
- (d) ejercer

8. Which sentence uses ejercer correctly?

- (a) *Yo ejerce todos los días.*
- (b) *Yo ejerzo todos los días.* — I exercise every day.
- (c) *Yo ejercer todos los días.*
- (d) *Yo ejerces todos los días.*

9. Which sentence uses ejercer correctly?

- (a) *Ayer yo ejercía por la tarde.*
- (b) *Ayer yo ejercer por la tarde.*
- (c) *Ayer yo ejerzo por la tarde.*
- (d) *Ayer yo ejercí por la tarde.* — Yesterday I exercised in the afternoon.

10. What does ejercer mean?

- (a) to educate
- (b) to exercise
- (c) to edit
- (d) to exercise, to practise (a profession)

Answer key

1. (d) — In the present indicative, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of ejercer is ejercen. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (d) — In the preterite, the yo form of ejercer is ejercí. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (d) — In the future, the tú form of ejercer is ejercerás. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (b) — In the present perfect, the él/ella/Ud. form of ejercer is ha ejercido. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (c) — In the imperfect, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of ejercer is ejercían. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (d) — The gerund of ejercer is ejerciendo. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy ejerciendo». 7. (c) — The past participle of ejercer is ejercido. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he ejercido». 8. (b) — Only this sentence pairs the right person with the right form of ejercer; the others mix a person with another person's form, or use the infinitive instead of a conjugated form. 9. (d) — Only this sentence pairs the right person with the right form of ejercer; the others mix a person with another person's form, or use the infinitive instead of a conjugated form. 10. (d) — ejercer means «to exercise, to practise (a profession)».

Frequently asked questions

How do you say 'I exercise' in Spanish?

Say «Yo ejerzo 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 exercised' about yesterday?

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

Is ejercer reflexive?

No — ejercer is not reflexive. It conjugates without a pronoun: yo ejerzo, tú ejerces, él ejerce. If you see a -se form of a similar verb, that is a different verb with its own meaning.

Which tense do learners find hardest with ejercer?

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

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