Embellecer Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish
embellecer means "to beautify" in English, and this page shows it in everyday use: real example sentences in several tenses, two short dialogues, the mistakes learners actually make, and a quiz to test yourself. You will see embellecer with the garden with flowers, the house with new pictures, the living room with lights and the city with parks — the situations where Spanish speakers really use it. A good first sentence to learn is: Cada día, yo embellezco el jardín con flores. — "Every day, I beautify the garden with flowers." Read the examples aloud, notice which tense each one uses, and then try the dialogues and the quiz.
embellecer in everyday sentences
Twelve sentences with embellecer, grouped by situation. Each one shows the verb in a different tense or person, with its English translation and a note on when to use that form.
Everyday use
- Cada día, yo embellezco el jardín con flores. — "Every day, I beautify the garden with flowers." The present tense fits a habit here.
- Ayer, yo embellecí la casa con cuadros nuevos. — "Yesterday, I beautified the house with new pictures." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, yo embellecía el salón con luces. — "In the past, I used to beautify the living room with lights." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, nosotros embelleceremos la ciudad con parques. — "Tomorrow, we will beautify the city with parks." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Si pudieras, tú embellecerías el jardín con flores. — "If you could, you would beautify the garden with flowers." The conditional fits something that would happen.
- Yo he embellecido la casa con cuadros nuevos. — "I have beautified the house with new pictures." The present perfect fits an action with present relevance.
More situations
- Normalmente, él embellece el salón con luces. — "Normally, he/she beautifies the living room with lights." The present tense fits a general truth here.
- Ayer, él embelleció la ciudad con parques. — "Yesterday, he/she beautified the city with parks." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, nosotros embellecíamos el jardín con flores. — "In the past, we used to beautify the garden with flowers." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, yo embelleceré la casa con cuadros nuevos. — "Tomorrow, I will beautify the house with new pictures." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Espero que él embellezca el salón con luces. — "I hope that he/she beautifies the living room with lights." The present subjunctive follows espero que.
- ¡Embellece la ciudad con parques! — "Beautify the city with parks!" The imperative fits a direct order or request.
The verb in context
Two short dialogues using embellecer naturally. Notice how the verb changes person and tense as the conversation moves, and how the complements stay the same kind of situation: the garden with flowers, the house with new pictures, the living room with lights and the city with parks.
Dialogue 1: talking about the garden with flowers
Ana: ¿Tú embelleces el jardín con flores? — "Do you beautify the garden with flowers?" Luis: Sí, yo embellezco el jardín con flores. — "I beautify the garden with flowers." Ana: ¿Y ayer? — "And yesterday?" Luis: Ayer, yo embellecí la casa con cuadros nuevos. — "Yesterday, I beautified the house with new pictures." Ana: Mañana, nosotros embelleceremos el salón con luces. — "Tomorrow, we will beautify the living room with lights." Luis: Si pudiera, yo embellecería la ciudad con parques. — "If I could, I would beautify the city with parks." Ana: Antes, yo embellecía la casa con cuadros nuevos. — "In the past, I used to beautify the house with new pictures." Luis: Yo he embellecido el jardín con flores. — "I have beautified the garden with flowers." Ana: ¡Embellece el salón con luces! — "Beautify the living room with lights!"
In this dialogue embellecer appears in the present, the preterite, the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present perfect. That is the point: one verb, many tenses, and the complement tells you which situation you are in. Try the same dialogue with your own complements.
Dialogue 2: talking about the living room with lights
Ana: Él embellece el salón con luces. — "he/she beautifies the living room with lights." Luis: ¿De verdad? ¿Él embellece el salón con luces todos los días? — "Really? Does he/she beautifies the living room with lights every day?" Ana: Sí, y ellos embellecen la ciudad con parques. — "they beautify the city with parks." Luis: Ayer, ellos embellecieron el salón con luces. — "Yesterday, they beautified the living room with lights." Ana: Espero que él embellezca la ciudad con parques. — "I hope that he/she beautifies the city with parks." Luis: Mañana, él embellecerá el salón con luces. — "Tomorrow, he/she will beautify the living room with lights." Ana: Antes, nosotros embellecíamos la ciudad con parques. — "In the past, we used to beautify the city with parks." Luis: Nosotros embellecemos el jardín con flores también. — "we beautify the garden with flowers too."
This dialogue shows embellecer in the third person and in the plural, which is where learners most often hesitate. Read it aloud with a partner, swapping the names and the complements for your own life, and the forms will start to feel automatic.
Common mistakes with embellecer
The errors learners actually make with embellecer in everyday use, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why it is wrong.
Mistake 1: Adding a reflexive pronoun that does not belong
- Wrong: Yo me embellezco el jardín con flores.
- Right: Yo embellezco el jardín con flores.
- Why: embellecer is not reflexive, so there is no pronoun to add: Yo embellezco el jardín con flores. is the correct sentence.
Mistake 2: Using the infinitive as a conjugated form
- Wrong: Yo embellecer el jardín con flores.
- Right: Yo embellezco el jardín con flores.
- Why: The infinitive embellecer is the dictionary form, not a conjugated form. In a sentence with yo you need the present-tense form embellezco.
Mistake 3: Using the present tense for yesterday
- Wrong: Ayer, yo embellezco la casa con cuadros nuevos.
- Right: Ayer, yo embellecí la casa con cuadros nuevos.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite: Ayer, yo embellecí la casa con cuadros nuevos. — "Yesterday, I beautified the house with new pictures."
Mistake 4: Mixing up the gerund and the participle
- Wrong: Estoy embellecido el salón con luces.
- Right: Estoy embelleciendo el salón con luces.
- Why: After estar you need the gerund embelleciendo for the progressive. The participle embellecido goes with haber in the perfect tenses (he embellecido), never after estar.
Mistake 5: Using the él form for nosotros
- Wrong: Nosotros embellece el jardín con flores.
- Right: Nosotros embellecemos el jardín con flores.
- Why: The person and the ending must match: nosotros takes embellecemos, while embellece belongs to él and ella.
Quiz: embellecer in use
Test yourself with ten questions on embellecer. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the yo form of embellecer in the present tense?
- (a) embelleces
- (b) embellece
- (c) embellecemos
- (d) embellezco
Answer: (d) embellezco. The yo form is embellezco.
2. What is the tú form of embellecer in the present tense?
- (a) embellece
- (b) embellecemos
- (c) embelleces
- (d) embellezco
Answer: (c) embelleces. The tú form is embelleces.
3. What is the él/ella form of embellecer in the present tense?
- (a) embellecemos
- (b) embellece
- (c) embellezco
- (d) embelleces
Answer: (b) embellece. The él/ella form is embellece.
4. Complete the sentence: Cada día, yo ___ el jardín con flores.
- (a) embellezco
- (b) embelleces
- (c) embellece
- (d) embellecemos
Answer: (a) embellezco. The sentence needs the yo form embellezco.
5. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ___ la casa con cuadros nuevos.
- (a) embelleciste
- (b) embelleció
- (c) embellecimos
- (d) embellecí
Answer: (d) embellecí. Ayer needs the preterite, and the yo form is embellecí.
6. Complete the sentence: Antes, yo ___ el salón con luces.
- (a) embellecíamos
- (b) embellecíais
- (c) embellecía
- (d) embellecías
Answer: (c) embellecía. Antes needs the imperfect, and the yo form is embellecía.
7. Complete the sentence: Mañana, yo ___ la ciudad con parques.
- (a) embelleceremos
- (b) embelleceré
- (c) embellecerás
- (d) embellecerá
Answer: (b) embelleceré. Mañana needs the future, and the yo form is embelleceré.
8. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el jardín con flores.
- (a) hemos embellecido
- (b) he embellecido
- (c) has embellecido
- (d) ha embellecido
Answer: (b) he embellecido. The present perfect uses haber plus the participle: he embellecido.
9. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ el salón con luces.
- (a) embellezcas
- (b) embellezcamos
- (c) embellecáis
- (d) embellezca
Answer: (d) embellezca. After espero que Spanish needs the subjunctive, and the él form is embellezca.
10. What does embellecer mean in English?
- (a) to seize, to take over
- (b) to draw near
- (c) to kneel
- (d) to beautify
Answer: (d) to beautify. embellecer means "to beautify" in English.
Frequently asked questions about embellecer
What does embellecer mean?
embellecer means "to beautify" in English. Use it when you talk about the garden with flowers, the house with new pictures, the living room with lights and the city with parks — for example: Cada día, yo embellezco el jardín con flores. — "Every day, I beautify the garden with flowers."
Is there a reflexive form of embellecer?
No. embellecer is not reflexive, so it is used without a pronoun: Cada día, yo embellezco el jardín con flores. — "Every day, I beautify the garden with flowers."
What is the most common mistake with embellecer?
The spelling change. Watch the spelling: the c becomes zc before o and a, so the yo form is embellezco and the subjunctive forms start with zc, for example embellezca. Practise the yo form and the subjunctive forms until they feel automatic, and check them against the table on the conjugation page.
How can I practise embellecer?
Take the quiz above, then make your own sentences: change the person in each example, change the complement to something from your own life, and say the sentence aloud. The verb quiz and the verb translator on this site give you more practice with the same forms.