Empobrecer Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of empobrecer — "to impoverish" in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for empobrecer with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. 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. To see it in a real sentence: Él empobrece el país con la crisis. — "He/she impoverishes the country with the crisis." Work through the table below, then the formation notes, the usage rules and the contrast with the preterite, and test yourself at the end.

Present tense conjugation table: empobrecer

Every person of empobrecer in the present tense. The gerund is empobreciendo and the past participle is empobrecido.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo empobrezco
tú empobreces
él/ella/Ud. empobrece
nosotros/as empobrecemos
vosotros/as empobrecéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. empobrecen

How the present indicative of empobrecer is formed

The present indicative of empobrecer is built from the stem empobrec- plus the present endings for -er verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -er ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.

Person Ending Form
yo -o empobrezco
tú -es empobreces
él/ella/Ud. -e empobrece
nosotros/as -emos empobrecemos
vosotros/as -éis empobrecéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -en empobrecen

empobrecer is a spelling-change verb: c becomes zc before o and a. That is why the written form changes in some persons — the sound stays the same, and only the spelling adapts. In this tense, watch the first-person form empobrezco in particular.

The gerund of empobrecer is empobreciendo and the past participle is empobrecido. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.

When to use the present tense of empobrecer

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and empobrecer appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.

Habits and routines

The present tense describes things you do regularly. If you do it every day, every week or every morning, the present is the tense to use. For empobrecer, this use looks like this: "Yo empobrezco el país con la crisis." — "I impoverish the country with the crisis." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

General facts

The present tense states facts that are generally true, not tied to one moment. It is the tense for definitions and permanent situations. For empobrecer, this use looks like this: "Él empobrece la tierra con el uso excesivo." — "He/she impoverishes the soil with overuse." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

What is happening now

The present tense also covers what is happening at this moment, especially with verbs that describe an action in progress. For empobrecer, this use looks like this: "Nosotros empobrecemos la lengua sin lectura." — "We impoverish the language without reading." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Timetables and schedules

The present tense is used for fixed plans and timetables, such as trains, classes and opening times, even when they refer to the future. For empobrecer, this use looks like this: "Ellos empobrecen a las familias del barrio." — "They impoverish the families in the neighbourhood." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Instructions and requests

The present tense appears in instructions and polite requests, where it sounds softer than a direct command. For empobrecer, this use looks like this: "Tú empobreces el país con la crisis." — "You impoverish the country with the crisis." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

The present tense vs the preterite

Learners often mix up the present and the preterite with empobrecer. The rule is simple: the present is for habits, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite is for one finished action in the past. The three pairs below show the same idea in both tenses, so you can feel the difference.

Pair 1: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Yo empobrezco el país con la crisis." — "I impoverish the country with the crisis."
  • Preterite: "Yo empobrecí el país con la crisis." — "I impoverished the country with the crisis." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 2: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Él empobrece la tierra con el uso excesivo." — "He/she impoverishes the soil with overuse."
  • Preterite: "Él empobreció la tierra con el uso excesivo." — "He/she impoverished the soil with overuse." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 3: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Nosotros empobrecemos la lengua sin lectura." — "We impoverish the language without reading."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros empobrecimos la lengua sin lectura." — "We impoverished the language without reading." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Example sentences in the present tense

Eight natural sentences with empobrecer in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo empobrezco el país con la crisis. — I impoverish the country with the crisis.
  2. Tú empobreces la tierra con el uso excesivo. — You impoverish the soil with overuse.
  3. Él empobrece la lengua sin lectura. — He/she impoverishes the language without reading.
  4. Nosotros empobrecemos a las familias del barrio. — We impoverish the families in the neighbourhood.
  5. Vosotros empobrecéis el país con la crisis. — You all impoverish the country with the crisis.
  6. Ellos empobrecen la tierra con el uso excesivo. — They impoverish the soil with overuse.
  7. Yo empobrezco la lengua sin lectura. — I impoverish the language without reading.
  8. Él empobrece a las familias del barrio. — He/she impoverishes the families in the neighbourhood.

Common mistakes

  1. 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.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo empobrezco la lengua sin lectura. — Right: Ayer, yo empobrecí la lengua sin lectura. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (empobrecí), not the present (empobrezco). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. 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.
  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. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

Eight questions on the present tense of empobrecer. Choose the right form, then 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: Tú ___ la tierra con el uso excesivo. (present tense) A. empobreces B. empobrezco C. empobrece D. empobrecemos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ la lengua sin lectura. (present tense) A. empobrece B. empobrezco C. empobreces D. empobrecemos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ a las familias del barrio. (present tense) A. empobrecemos B. empobrezco C. empobreces D. empobrece

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ el país con la crisis. (present tense) A. empobrecéis B. empobrezco C. empobreces D. empobrece

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ la tierra con el uso excesivo. (present tense) A. empobrecen B. empobrezco C. empobreces D. empobrece

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la lengua sin lectura. (present tense) A. empobrezco B. empobreces C. empobrece D. empobrecemos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ a las familias del barrio. (present tense) A. empobrece B. empobrezco C. empobreces D. empobrecemos

Answer key

  1. empobrezco — The yo present form of empobrecer is empobrezco. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. empobreces — The tu present form of empobrecer is empobreces. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. empobrece — The el present form of empobrecer is empobrece. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. empobrecemos — The nosotros present form of empobrecer is empobrecemos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. empobrecéis — The vosotros present form of empobrecer is empobrecéis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. empobrecen — The ellos present form of empobrecer is empobrecen. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. empobrezco — The yo present form of empobrecer is empobrezco. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. empobrece — The el present form of empobrecer is empobrece. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of empobrecer?

Use the present tense of empobrecer for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo empobrezco el país con la crisis. — "I impoverish the country with the crisis." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of empobrecer formed?

Take the stem empobrec- and add the present endings for -er verbs. The full table is at the top of this page. Remember the spelling change: c becomes zc before o and a.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of empobrecer?

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo empobrezco la tierra con el uso excesivo. with Yo empobrecí la tierra con el uso excesivo. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of empobrecer?

Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the empobrecer examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Empobrecer conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.

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