Ejercitar Examples, Sentences & Quiz

Introduction

ejercitar means to exercise, and it is one of those verbs that shows up everywhere once you start listening for it. It is a regular -ar 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 ejercito todos los días» — I exercise every day. The rest of this page builds out from there, tense by tense, so you can use ejercitar the way native speakers do — in the present for habits, in the past for finished events, and in the subjunctive after wishes and doubts.

Ejercitar in real example sentences

In the present: everyday use

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

  1. Yo ejercito todos los días. — I exercise every day.
  2. Tú ejercitas en el trabajo. — You exercise at work.
  3. Él ejercita con mi familia. — He exercises with my family.
  4. Nosotros ejercitamos 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 ejercité por la tarde. — Yesterday I exercised in the afternoon.
  2. Antes, yo ejercitaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to exercise every day.
  3. La semana pasada él ejercitó 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 ejercitaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will exercise without fail.
  2. Si tuviera más tiempo, yo ejercitaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would exercise right now.
  3. Hoy yo he ejercitado 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 ejercites pronto. — I hope You exercise soon.
  2. ¡ejercita, por favor! — Exercise, please!
  3. Ahora mismo yo estoy ejercitando. — Right now I am exercising.

Ejercitar in context

A short dialogue

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

A short paragraph

Ayer yo ejercité por la tarde. Antes, yo ejercitaba todos los días. Hoy yo he ejercitado dos veces. Mañana yo ejercitaré 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 ejercitar

1. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer yo ejercitaba.

Right: Ayer yo ejercité.

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

2. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que tú ejercitas.

Right: Espero que tú ejercites.

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

3. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No ejercita.

Right: No ejercites.

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

4. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

Wrong: Yo ejercitar todos los días.

Right: Yo ejercito todos los días.

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

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He ejercitando.

Right: He ejercitado.

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

Quiz: ejercitar in use

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

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

- (a) ejercitamos
- (b) ejercito
- (c) ejercita
- (d) ejercitas

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

- (a) ejercité
- (b) ejercitamos
- (c) ejercitaste
- (d) ejercitó

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

- (a) ejercitará
- (b) ejercitaré
- (c) ejercitarás
- (d) ejercitaremos

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

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

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

- (a) ejercitábamos
- (b) ejercitabas
- (c) ejercitaba
- (d) ejercitaba

6. What is the gerund of ejercitar?

- (a) ejercito
- (b) ejercitar
- (c) ejercitando
- (d) ejercitado

7. What is the past participle of ejercitar?

- (a) ejercité
- (b) ejercitado
- (c) ejercitar
- (d) ejercitando

8. Which sentence uses ejercitar correctly?

- (a) *Yo ejercito todos los días.* — I exercise every day.
- (b) *Yo ejercitas todos los días.*
- (c) *Yo ejercitar todos los días.*
- (d) *Yo ejercita todos los días.*

9. Which sentence uses ejercitar correctly?

- (a) *Ayer yo ejercito por la tarde.*
- (b) *Ayer yo ejercitaba por la tarde.*
- (c) *Ayer yo ejercité por la tarde.* — Yesterday I exercised in the afternoon.
- (d) *Ayer yo ejercitar por la tarde.*

10. What does ejercitar mean?

- (a) to educate
- (b) to exercise
- (c) to exercise
- (d) to exercise

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

How do you say 'I exercise' in Spanish?

Say «Yo ejercito 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 ejercité por la tarde». The preterite is the tense for a finished event: yesterday, last week, last night.

Is ejercitar reflexive?

No — ejercitar is not reflexive. It conjugates without a pronoun: yo ejercito, tú ejercitas, él ejercita. 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 ejercitar?

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

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