Ejercitarse Examples, Sentences & Quiz

Introduction

ejercitarse 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, 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 ejercito todos los días» — I exercise every day. The rest of this page builds out from there, tense by tense, so you can use ejercitarse the way native speakers do — in the present for habits, in the past for finished events, and in the subjunctive after wishes and doubts.

Ejercitarse in real example sentences

In the present: everyday use

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

  1. Me ejercito todos los días. — I exercise every day.
  2. Te ejercitas en el trabajo. — You exercise at work.
  3. Se ejercita con mi familia. — He exercises with my family.
  4. Nos 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 me ejercité por la tarde. — Yesterday I exercised in the afternoon.
  2. Antes, me ejercitaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to exercise every day.
  3. La semana pasada se 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 me ejercitaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will exercise without fail.
  2. Si tuviera más tiempo, me ejercitaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would exercise right now.
  3. Hoy me 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 te ejercites pronto. — I hope You exercise soon.
  2. ¡No te ejercites! — Don't exercise!
  3. Ahora mismo me estoy ejercitando. — Right now I am exercising.

Ejercitarse in context

A short dialogue

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

A short paragraph

Ayer me ejercité por la tarde. Antes, me ejercitaba todos los días. Hoy me he ejercitado dos veces. Mañana me 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 ejercitarse

1. Forgetting the reflexive pronoun

Wrong: yo ejercito todos los días.

Right: me ejercito todos los días.

ejercitarse 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 ejercitaba.

Right: Ayer me 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.

3. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que te ejercitas.

Right: Espero que te ejercites.

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

4. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No te ejercita.

Right: No te ejercites.

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

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: ejercitarse in use

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

1. What is the tú form of ejercitarse in the present indicative?

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

2. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of ejercitarse in the preterite?

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

3. What is the nosotros/as form of ejercitarse in the future?

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

4. What is the vosotros/as form of ejercitarse in the present perfect?

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

5. What is the tú form of ejercitarse in the imperfect?

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

6. What is the gerund of ejercitarse?

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

7. What is the past participle of ejercitarse?

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

8. Which sentence uses ejercitarse correctly?

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

9. Which sentence uses ejercitarse correctly?

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

10. What does ejercitarse mean?

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

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

How do you say 'I exercise' in Spanish?

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

Is ejercitarse reflexive?

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

Which tense do learners find hardest with ejercitarse?

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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