Enfermarse Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

enfermarse means "to get sick" in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Enfermarse means "to get sick" or "to fall ill", and it is the reflexive partner of enfermar (to make someone sick). The se is what makes the sickness happen to the subject: me enfermo means I fall ill, while enfermo a alguien would mean I make someone ill. The present tense is used for falling ill now, for getting ill easily, and for the general fact that people get ill in winter. It is a regular -ar verb underneath, so the forms are simple — the pronoun is the part to practise: me enfermo, te enfermas, se enferma, nos enfermamos, os enfermáis, se enferman. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by meaning, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of enfermarse; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the enfermarse present tense page.

enfermarse in everyday use: examples with translations

Falling ill now

  1. Yo me enfermo con este frío. — "I get sick with this cold weather."
  2. Mi hijo se enferma con facilidad. — "My son gets ill easily."
  3. La semana pasada yo me enfermé de gripe. — "Last week I caught flu."
  4. De niño, yo me enfermaba mucho en invierno. — "As a child, I used to get ill a lot in winter."

Getting ill from something

  1. Tú te enfermas del estómago con esa comida. — "You get a stomach upset from that food."
  2. Ellos se enferman de gripe en enero. — "They catch flu in January."
  3. Tú te enfermarás si sales sin abrigo. — "You will get ill if you go out without a coat."
  4. Yo me he enfermado dos veces este año. — "I have fallen ill twice this year."

Getting ill in winter

  1. Nosotros nos enfermamos cada invierno. — "We get ill every winter."
  2. Ella se enferma de gripe cada año. — "She catches flu every year."
  3. Yo me enfermaría menos si me abrigara. — "I would get ill less if I wrapped up warm."
  4. Vosotros os enfermáis en el viaje. — "You get ill on the trip."

enfermarse in conversation

Two short dialogues that use enfermarse the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

A mother worries about her son in winter.

  • Madre: Mi hijo se enferma con facilidad. — "My son gets ill easily."
  • Hijo: Yo me enfermo con este frío. — "I get sick with this cold weather."
  • Madre: Nosotros nos enfermamos cada invierno. — "We get ill every winter."
  • Hijo: Tú te enfermarás si sales sin abrigo. — "You will get ill if you go out without a coat."

At school, children keep catching colds.

  • Profesora: Los niños se enferman en el colegio. — "The children get ill at school."
  • Padre: Ella se enferma de gripe cada año. — "She catches flu every year."
  • Profesora: Yo me enfermo si no duermo bien. — "I get sick if I don't sleep well."
  • Padre: ¿Tú te enfermas del estómago con esa comida? — "Do you get a stomach upset from that food?"

Common mistakes with enfermarse

The errors learners actually make with enfermarse, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ *Yo enfermo con este frío (dropping the pronoun).

✓ Correct: Yo me enfermo con este frío.

Enfermarse is reflexive: me enfermo. Yo enfermo without the pronoun means "I make (someone) ill".

✗ *Nosotros se enfermamos cada invierno (wrong pronoun).

✓ Correct: Nosotros nos enfermamos cada invierno.

Nosotros takes nos: nos enfermamos, not se enfermamos.

✗ *Ellos enferman de gripe en enero (missing se).

✓ Correct: Ellos se enferman de gripe en enero.

The pronoun is obligatory: se enferman. Without it the sentence is about making others ill.

✗ *Vosotros enfermáis en el viaje (missing os, and the accent).

✓ Correct: Vosotros os enfermáis en el viaje.

Vosotros needs os — os enfermáis — and enfermáis carries the written accent on the á.

Quiz: enfermarse in use

Ten questions on enfermarse — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ con este frío. — "I get sick with this cold weather."

  • a) se enferma
  • b) me enfermé
  • c) te enfermas
  • d) me enfermo

2. Complete the sentence: La semana pasada yo ______ de gripe. — "Last week I caught flu."

  • a) te enfermaste
  • b) se enfermó
  • c) me enfermo
  • d) me enfermé

3. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ de gripe en enero. — "They catch flu in January."

  • a) se enfermaron
  • b) te enfermas
  • c) me enfermo
  • d) se enferman

4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ cada invierno. — "We get ill every winter."

  • a) te enfermas
  • b) nos enfermamos
  • c) me enfermo
  • d) nos enfermamos

5. Which is the correct present tense form of enfermarse for yo?

  • a) te enfermas
  • b) nos enfermamos
  • c) me enfermo
  • d) se enferma

6. Which is the correct present tense form of enfermarse for tú?

  • a) se enferma
  • b) me enfermo
  • c) te enfermas
  • d) nos enfermamos

7. Which is the correct present tense form of enfermarse for ellos/ellas/Uds.?

  • a) se enferma
  • b) se enferman
  • c) me enfermo
  • d) te enfermas

8. Which sentence uses enfermarse correctly?

  • a) Nosotros se enferma poco porque comemos bien.
  • b) Nosotros enfermamos poco porque comemos bien.
  • c) Nosotros nos enfermamos poco porque comemos bien.

9. What is the past participle of enfermarse?

  • a) enfermado
  • b) enfermó
  • c) enfermándose
  • d) enfermo

10. What does enfermarse mean in English?

  • a) to go
  • b) to have
  • c) to get sick
  • d) to recover

Answer key

  1. d) me enfermo — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: me enfermo.

  2. d) me enfermé — The sentence needs the yo form in the preterite: me enfermé.

  3. d) se enferman — The sentence needs the ellos/ellas/Uds. form in the present: se enferman.

  4. b) nos enfermamos — The sentence needs the nosotros/as form in the present: nos enfermamos.

  5. c) me enfermo — The present tense form for yo is me enfermo.

  6. c) te enfermas — The present tense form for tú is te enfermas.

  7. b) se enferman — The present tense form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is se enferman.

  8. c) Nosotros nos enfermamos poco porque comemos bien. — Nosotros nos enfermamos poco porque comemos bien. is correct. The other sentences use the wrong person, the wrong tense, or the wrong pattern for this verb.

  9. a) enfermado — The past participle is enfermado. You need it for every perfect tense with haber: he enfermado, has enfermado, ha enfermado.

  10. c) to get sick — enfermarse means "to get sick".

Frequently asked questions

How do I use enfermarse in everyday conversation?

Start with the phrases in the examples above — especially the common combinations such as enfermarse de gripe and enfermarse en invierno. Use the present tense for habits and general facts, and the preterite for things that happened once. Say the sentences aloud until the forms feel automatic, then swap in your own details: your own town, your own family, your own routine.

What is the difference between enfermarse and curarse?

enfermarse means "to get sick", while curarse means "to recover". They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use enfermarse when you mean "to get sick" and curarse when you mean "to recover".

Which tense do I need most with enfermarse?

The present tense, for habits, routines and general facts — that is where you will use enfermarse most. The preterite comes next, for things that happened once and ended. The examples on this page use both, plus the imperfect, the future and the present perfect, so you can see the verb across the tenses you actually need.

Is enfermarse formal or informal?

enfermarse is neutral — it is used in both formal and informal Spanish, at home, at work and at school. There is no special formal version of it; the same forms work in a conversation with a friend and in a letter to a company. What changes is the situation, not the verb.

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