Empobrecer Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

empobrecer means to impoverish, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Empobrecer means to impoverish, and it is used for a crisis impoverishing a country, overuse impoverishing the soil and poverty impoverishing families. It is the opposite of enriquecer, and it is a -cer spelling-change verb. This page puts empobrecer to work: twelve example sentences in different tenses and persons, grouped by use, then two short dialogues where the verb appears naturally, then the common mistakes to avoid, and finally a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every Spanish form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for empobrecer, and the full tables are on the empobrecer conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo empobrezco el país con la crisis. — I impoverish the country with the crisis.
  2. Él empobrece la tierra con el uso excesivo. — He/she impoverishes the soil with overuse.
  3. Ayer, yo empobrecí la lengua sin lectura. — Yesterday, I impoverished the language without reading.
  4. Antes, nosotros empobrecíamos a las familias del barrio. — Before, we used to impoverish the families in the neighbourhood.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú empobrecerás el país con la crisis. — Tomorrow, you will impoverish the country with the crisis.
  2. Yo empobrecería la tierra con el uso excesivo. — I would impoverish the soil with overuse.
  3. Él ha empobrecido la lengua sin lectura. — He/she has impoverished the language without reading.
  4. Espero que él empobrezca a las familias del barrio. — I hope he/she impoverishes the families in the neighbourhood.

With other people

  1. Nosotros empobrecemos el país con la crisis. — We impoverish the country with the crisis.
  2. Vosotros empobrecéis la tierra con el uso excesivo. — You all impoverish the soil with overuse.
  3. Antes, ellos empobrecían la lengua sin lectura. — Before, they used to impoverish the language without reading.
  4. Mañana, él empobrecerá a las familias del barrio. — Tomorrow, he/she will impoverish the families in the neighbourhood.

Empobrecer in context

Two short dialogues that use empobrecer the way people really use it. Read them aloud — the verb forms will stick much faster in a conversation than in a table.

Dialogue 1: today and yesterday

  • Ana: "Hola, ¿qué tal?" — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Luis: "Hoy empobrezco el país con la crisis." — "Today I impoverish the country with the crisis."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, empobrecí la lengua sin lectura." — "Yesterday I impoverished the language without reading."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú empobrecerás la tierra con el uso excesivo?" — "And tomorrow, will you will impoverish the soil with overuse?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros empobrecemos a las familias del barrio." — "Tomorrow we impoverish the families in the neighbourhood."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo empobrecería la tierra con el uso excesivo si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would impoverish the soil with overuse if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él empobrezca el país con la crisis." — "I hope he impoverishes the country with the crisis."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha empobrecido la lengua sin lectura." — "Surely. He has already has impoverished the language without reading."
  • Marta: "Vale, nos vemos mañana." — "OK, see you tomorrow."

Notice how the same verb changes with the tense: the present for the plan, the conditional for the wish, the subjunctive after espero que, and the present perfect for what has already happened. That is the whole point of learning a verb across its tenses, not just in one form.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo empobrece el país con la crisis. — Right: Yo empobrezco el país con la crisis. — The person matters: empobrece is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is empobrezco. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo empobreco la tierra con el uso excesivo. — Right: Yo empobrezco la tierra con el uso excesivo. — In the present, the correct first-person form is empobrezco, not empobreco. empobrecer is a spelling-change verb: c becomes zc before o and a, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
  3. Wrong: Treating empobrecer and enriquecer as identical in every context. — Right: Empobrecer means to impoverish, while enriquecer means to enrich, its opposite. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: empobrecer fits sentences such as Empobrezco el país con la crisis, while enriquecer belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy empobrecido la tierra con el uso excesivo. — Right: Yo he empobrecido la tierra con el uso excesivo. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he empobrecido, has empobrecido, ha empobrecido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo empobrecí la lengua sin lectura todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo empobrecía la lengua sin lectura todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (empobrecía), not the preterite. The preterite (empobrecí) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on empobrecer: four on the forms, three on the meaning, and three on spotting the correct sentence. Check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el país con la crisis. (present tense) A. empobrezco B. empobreces C. empobrece D. empobrecemos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ la tierra con el uso excesivo. (preterite tense) A. empobrecí B. empobreciste C. empobrecimos D. empobreció

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ la lengua sin lectura. (future tense) A. empobrecerá B. empobreceremos C. empobrecerás D. empobreceré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ a las familias del barrio. (imperfect tense) A. empobrecíais B. empobrecíamos C. empobrecía D. empobrecías

  5. What does "Yo empobrezco el país con la crisis." mean in English? A. I impoverish the country with the crisis. B. I impoverish the soil with overuse. C. I impoverish the language without reading. D. I impoverish the families in the neighbourhood.

  6. What does "Él empobreció la tierra con el uso excesivo." mean in English? A. He/she impoverished the country with the crisis. B. He/she impoverished the language without reading. C. He/she impoverished the families in the neighbourhood. D. He/she impoverished the soil with overuse.

  7. What does "Nosotros empobreceremos la lengua sin lectura." mean in English? A. We will impoverish the soil with overuse. B. We will impoverish the families in the neighbourhood. C. We will impoverish the language without reading. D. We will impoverish the country with the crisis.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo empobreco la tierra con el uso excesivo. B. Yo empobrece la tierra con el uso excesivo. C. Yo empobrezco la tierra con el uso excesivo.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él empobrecí la lengua sin lectura. B. Él empobreció la lengua sin lectura. C. Él empobrecieron la lengua sin lectura.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo empobrezca a las familias del barrio. B. Yo empobreca a las familias del barrio. C. Yo empobrezca a las familias del barrio.

Answer key

  1. empobrezco — The yo present form of empobrecer is empobrezco.
  2. empobreció — The el preterite form of empobrecer is empobreció.
  3. empobrecerás — The tu future form of empobrecer is empobrecerás.
  4. empobrecíamos — The nosotros imperfect form of empobrecer is empobrecíamos.
  5. I impoverish the country with the crisis. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form empobrezco, so the English is "I impoverish the country with the crisis." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she impoverished the soil with overuse. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form empobreció, so the English is "He/she impoverished the soil with overuse." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will impoverish the language without reading. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form empobreceremos, so the English is "We will impoverish the language without reading." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo empobrezco la tierra con el uso excesivo. — The correct sentence is "Yo empobrezco la tierra con el uso excesivo." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él empobreció la lengua sin lectura. — The correct sentence is "Él empobreció la lengua sin lectura." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo empobrezca a las familias del barrio. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo empobrezca a las familias del barrio." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

What does empobrecer mean, and when do I use it?

Empobrecer means to impoverish. Empobrecer means to impoverish, and it is used for a crisis impoverishing a country, overuse impoverishing the soil and poverty impoverishing families. It is the opposite of enriquecer, and it is a -cer spelling-change verb. A good first sentence to remember is Yo empobrezco el país con la crisis. — "I impoverish the country with the crisis."

What is the difference between empobrecer and enriquecer?

Empobrecer means to impoverish, while enriquecer means to enrich, its opposite. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use empobrecer when you mean to impoverish, as in Yo empobrezco la tierra con el uso excesivo., and use enriquecer for to enrich, its opposite.

How do I say "I impoverish" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo empobrecí la tierra con el uso excesivo.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo empobrecía la lengua sin lectura.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he empobrecido la tierra con el uso excesivo..

How do I practise empobrecer?

Start with the empobrecer conjugation page for the full tables, then the empobrecer in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Spelling change: c becomes zc before o and a, so yo empobrezco and the subjunctive empobrezca.

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