Ejercer Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb ejercer means to exercise, to practise (a profession), and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. It is a spelling-changing -er verb verb: the stem is ejerc and the endings follow the -er pattern, with the exceptions noted in the tables below. This page gives you the complete picture — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say «Yo ejerzo todos los días», which means «I exercise every day». Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: ejercer
- English: to exercise, to practise (a profession)
- Verb type: spelling-changing -er verb
- Ending: -er
- Gerund: ejerciendo
- Past participle: ejercido
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + ejercido)
- Spelling change: in the present indicative the yo form is ejerzo, not ejerco, so the stem-final c becomes z before o.
- Spelling change: in the present subjunctive the yo form is ejerza, not ejerca, so the stem-final c becomes z before a.
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for ejercer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for ejercer. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem.
Gerund: ejerciendo · Past participle: ejercido
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ejerzo |
| tú | ejerces |
| él/ella/Ud. | ejerce |
| nosotros/as | ejercemos |
| vosotros/as | ejercéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ejercen |
The present is the tense you will use most with ejercer. It covers daily routines, permanent facts and actions in progress. Learn the yo form ejerzo first, then the tú and él forms, which are the ones that change the stem in stem-changing verbs.
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ejercí |
| tú | ejerciste |
| él/ella/Ud. | ejerció |
| nosotros/as | ejercimos |
| vosotros/as | ejercisteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ejercieron |
The preterite of ejercer reports what happened. «Ayer yo ejercí por la tarde» places the action firmly in finished time. It is the tense of stories and reports, not of background description.
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ejercía |
| tú | ejercías |
| él/ella/Ud. | ejercía |
| nosotros/as | ejercíamos |
| vosotros/as | ejercíais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ejercían |
The imperfect of ejercer paints the background of a past scene: repeated actions, states and descriptions. «Antes, yo ejercía todos los días» is the pattern. Pair it with the preterite when one event interrupts another.
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ejerceré |
| tú | ejercerás |
| él/ella/Ud. | ejercerá |
| nosotros/as | ejerceremos |
| vosotros/as | ejerceréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ejercerán |
The future of ejercer looks forward: what will happen tomorrow, next week or next year. «Mañana yo ejerceré sin falta» is the pattern. Remember that the future can also express probability about the present in Spanish.
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ejercería |
| tú | ejercerías |
| él/ella/Ud. | ejercería |
| nosotros/as | ejerceríamos |
| vosotros/as | ejerceríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ejercerían |
The conditional of ejercer is the tense of «would»: what you would do, what would happen, what you would like. «Si pudiera, yo ejercería sin dudarlo» shows the pattern. It is built on the infinitive, just like the future.
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he ejercido |
| tú | has ejercido |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha ejercido |
| nosotros/as | hemos ejercido |
| vosotros/as | habéis ejercido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han ejercido |
The present perfect of ejercer says «have done»: the action is finished but its result still matters now. «Hoy yo he ejercido dos veces» is the pattern. Learn the participle ejercido well — every perfect tense depends on it.
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había ejercido |
| tú | habías ejercido |
| él/ella/Ud. | había ejercido |
| nosotros/as | habíamos ejercido |
| vosotros/as | habíais ejercido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían ejercido |
The pluperfect of ejercer steps one event further back than the preterite. «Antes de salir, yo había ejercido» is the pattern: first this happened, then the story moved on. It is haber in the imperfect plus ejercido.
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré ejercido |
| tú | habrás ejercido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá ejercido |
| nosotros/as | habremos ejercido |
| vosotros/as | habréis ejercido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán ejercido |
The future perfect of ejercer combines the future of haber with ejercido. «Para el viernes, yo habré ejercido ya» is the pattern. Use it when the completion matters more than the action itself.
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría ejercido |
| tú | habrías ejercido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría ejercido |
| nosotros/as | habríamos ejercido |
| vosotros/as | habríais ejercido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían ejercido |
The conditional perfect of ejercer is the tense of «would have done». «Yo habría ejercido si hubiera podido» is the pattern. It is built from haber in the conditional plus ejercido.
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ejerza |
| tú | ejerzas |
| él/ella/Ud. | ejerza |
| nosotros/as | ejerzamos |
| vosotros/as | ejercáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ejerzan |
The present subjunctive of ejercer is the mood of what is wished, doubted or demanded rather than stated as fact. «Espero que tú ejerzas» is the pattern. If the trigger is in the past, switch to the imperfect subjunctive instead.
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ejerciera |
| tú | ejercieras |
| él/ella/Ud. | ejerciera |
| nosotros/as | ejerciéramos |
| vosotros/as | ejercierais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ejercieran |
The imperfect subjunctive of ejercer handles the hypothetical past and the polite conditional. «Ojalá yo ejerciera más a menudo» is the pattern. The -ra forms in the table are the standard ones; the -se forms use the same stem with -se endings.
Imperative — Affirmative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | ejerce |
| él/ella/Ud. | ejerza |
| nosotros/as | ejerzamos |
| vosotros/as | ejerced |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ejerzan |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The affirmative imperative of ejercer is for orders and instructions. «¡ejerce, por favor!» is the pattern. Remember there is no yo form in the imperative, and the nosotros form doubles as a suggestion: «¡ejerzamos!» means «let's do it».
Imperative — Negative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | ejerzas |
| él/ella/Ud. | ejerza |
| nosotros/as | ejerzamos |
| vosotros/as | ejercáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ejerzan |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The negative imperative of ejercer is built on the present subjunctive: «¡No ejerzas!». Learn it as a set with the subjunctive table above, and never follow no with the affirmative command form.
Example sentences
- Yo ejerzo todos los días. — I exercise every day.
- Ayer yo ejercí por la tarde. — Yesterday I exercised in the afternoon.
- Antes, yo ejercía todos los días. — In the past, I used to exercise every day.
- Mañana yo ejerceré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will exercise without fail.
- Si tuviera más tiempo, yo ejercería ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would exercise right now.
- Hoy yo he ejercido dos veces. — Today I have exercised twice.
- Espero que tú ejerzas pronto. — I hope You exercise soon.
- Si yo ejerciera, todo sería distinto. — If I exercised, everything would be different.
- Ahora mismo yo estoy ejerciendo. — Right now I am exercising.
- ¡ejerce, por favor! — Exercise, please!
Common mistakes
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 changes from c to z before a and o.
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.
6. Confusing the gerund with the past participle
Wrong: He ejerciendo.
Right: He ejercido.
The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he ejercido. The gerund ejerciendo goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy ejerciendo»), never with haber.
Quiz
Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.
1. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of ejercer in the present indicative?
- (a) ejerces
- (b) ejercen
- (c) ejerzo
- (d) ejerce
2. What is the yo form of ejercer in the preterite?
- (a) ejercí
- (b) ejercimos
- (c) ejerció
- (d) ejerciste
3. What is the tú form of ejercer in the imperfect?
- (a) ejercía
- (b) ejercíamos
- (c) ejercía
- (d) ejercías
4. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of ejercer in the future?
- (a) ejercerá
- (b) ejerceré
- (c) ejercerás
- (d) ejerceremos
5. What is the nosotros/as form of ejercer in the conditional?
- (a) ejercerías
- (b) ejercería
- (c) ejercería
- (d) ejerceríamos
6. What is the vosotros/as form of ejercer in the present perfect?
- (a) he ejercido
- (b) ha ejercido
- (c) habéis ejercido
- (d) has ejercido
7. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of ejercer in the present subjunctive?
- (a) ejerza
- (b) ejerza
- (c) ejerzas
- (d) ejerzan
8. What is the yo form of ejercer in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)?
- (a) ejerciera
- (b) ejerciera
- (c) ejercieras
- (d) ejerciéramos
9. What is the gerund of ejercer?
- (a) ejercido
- (b) ejercer
- (c) ejerciendo
- (d) ejerzo
10. What is the past participle of ejercer?
- (a) ejercer
- (b) ejercí
- (c) ejerciendo
- (d) ejercido
Answer key
1. (b) — In the present indicative, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of ejercer is ejercen. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (a) — In the preterite, the yo form of ejercer is ejercí. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (d) — In the imperfect, the tú form of ejercer is ejercías. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (a) — In the future, the él/ella/Ud. form of ejercer is ejercerá. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (d) — In the conditional, the nosotros/as form of ejercer is ejerceríamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (c) — In the present perfect, the vosotros/as form of ejercer is habéis ejercido. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (d) — In the present subjunctive, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of ejercer is ejerzan. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (a) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the yo form of ejercer is ejerciera. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (c) — The gerund of ejercer is ejerciendo. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy ejerciendo». 10. (d) — The past participle of ejercer is ejercido. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he ejercido».
Frequently asked questions
Is ejercer regular or irregular?
Mostly yes — ejercer takes the regular -er endings, but the spelling of the stem changes in some forms (for example the yo present ejerzo and the subjunctive ejerza). The endings never change; only the stem-final letter adjusts so the pronunciation stays the same.
What are the gerund and past participle of ejercer?
The gerund is ejerciendo and the past participle is ejercido. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy ejerciendo») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he ejercido»).
How do I say «I exercise» in Spanish?
Say «Yo ejerzo todos los días». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.
What is the difference between the preterite and the imperfect of ejercer?
Use the preterite (ejercí) for a single finished event and the imperfect (ejercía) for habits and background. «Ayer yo ejercí» reports something that happened and ended; «Antes, yo ejercía» describes what used to happen.
When do I use the subjunctive with ejercer?
Use the subjunctive after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions — for example «Espero que tú ejerzas». The trigger sits in the main clause; once it is there, the subjunctive form is required, not a stylistic choice.
How do I use ejercer in the present perfect?
Put haber in the present before the past participle: «Hoy yo he ejercido». The participle ejercido never changes for person — only haber changes — so once you know the participle, the whole perfect tense follows.
Related links
- Practise this verb in one tense: ejercer-present-tense
- More examples and a quiz: ejercer-examples-and-quiz
- Browse all Spanish verbs: /spanish/
- Related verb: distraerse
- Related verb: disponerse
- Related verb: emprender
- Conjugate any verb: verb-conjugator
- Test yourself: verb-quiz