Enfermarse Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of enfermarse — "to get sick" 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 enfermarse 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. 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. To see it in a real sentence: Yo me enfermo con este frío. — "I get sick with this cold weather.".
Present tense conjugation table: enfermarse
Every person of enfermarse in the present tense. The gerund is enfermándose and the past participle is enfermado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | me enfermo |
| tú | te enfermas |
| él/ella/Ud. | se enferma |
| nosotros/as | nos enfermamos |
| vosotros/as | os enfermáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | se enferman |
How the present indicative of enfermarse is formed
The present indicative of enfermarse is built from the stem enferm- plus the present indicative endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar 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 | me enfermo |
| tú | -as | te enfermas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | se enferma |
| nosotros/as | -amos | nos enfermamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | os enfermáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | se enferman |
enfermarse is a reflexive verb, so every form carries a reflexive pronoun in front of it: me, te, se, nos, os, se. The verb itself is a regular -ar verb built on the stem enferm-, so the only extra work is matching the pronoun to the person — me enfermo for yo, te enfermas for tú, se enferma for él/ella, nos enfermamos for nosotros, os enfermáis for vosotros and se enferman for ellos/ellas. The pronoun always goes before the conjugated verb in the present tense. The gerund is enfermándose, with the pronoun attached to the end, and the past participle is enfermado.
The gerund of enfermarse is enfermándose and the past participle is enfermado. 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 enfermarse
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and enfermarse 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.
Falling ill now
The present describes an illness starting at this moment.
"Yo me enfermo con este frío." — "I get sick with this cold weather."
Getting ill easily
The present states a general fact about someone's health.
"Mi hijo se enferma con facilidad." — "My son gets ill easily."
Getting ill in winter
The present describes a seasonal pattern.
"Nosotros nos enfermamos cada invierno." — "We get ill every winter."
Getting ill from food
Enfermarse de or del estómago names the cause.
"Tú te enfermas del estómago con esa comida." — "You get a stomach upset from that food."
Getting ill with flu
Enfermarse de gripe is the standard phrase for catching flu.
"Ellos se enferman de gripe en enero." — "They catch flu in January."
The present tense vs the closest tenses
Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion
The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.
- Present — habit or general fact: Yo me enfermo si no duermo bien. — "I get sick if I don't sleep well."
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Yo me enfermé si no duermo bien. — the same idea, placed in the preterite.
Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add "used to" in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.
- Present — now: Tú te enfermas con el cambio de tiempo. — "You get sick with the change of weather."
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Tú te enfermabas con el cambio de tiempo. — the same idea, placed in the imperfect.
Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen
The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.
- Present — now or a fixed plan: Mi madre se enferma de los nervios. — "My mother gets ill from nerves."
- Future — what will happen: Mi madre se enfermará de los nervios. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: enfermarse in the present tense
Seven sentences that show enfermarse in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo me enfermo si no duermo bien. — "I get sick if I don't sleep well."
- Tú te enfermas con el cambio de tiempo. — "You get sick with the change of weather."
- Mi madre se enferma de los nervios. — "My mother gets ill from nerves."
- Nosotros nos enfermamos poco porque comemos bien. — "We rarely get ill because we eat well."
- Vosotros os enfermáis en el viaje. — "You get ill on the trip."
- Los niños se enferman en el colegio. — "The children get ill at school."
- Ella se enferma de gripe cada año. — "She catches flu every year."
Common mistakes with enfermarse in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with enfermarse in the present tense. Each one shows 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 the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of enfermarse. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
1. Which is the correct present tense form of enfermarse for tú?
- a) se enferman
- b) se enferma
- c) me enfermo
- d) te enfermas
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ si no duermo bien. — "I get sick if I don't sleep well."
- a) se enferman
- b) me enfermo
- c) te enfermas
- d) me enfermé
3. Complete the sentence: Mi hijo ______ con facilidad. — "My son gets ill easily."
- a) te enfermas
- b) se enfermó
- c) nos enfermamos
- d) se enferma
4. Which is the correct present tense form of enfermarse for nosotros?
- a) nos enfermamos
- b) te enfermas
- c) me enfermo
- d) se enferman
5. Which sentence uses enfermarse correctly in the present tense?
- a) Mi madre te enfermas de los nervios.
- b) Mi madre se enfermó de los nervios.
- c) Mi madre se enferma de los nervios.
6. Which is the correct present tense form of enfermarse for yo, including the reflexive pronoun?
- a) me enfermo
- b) te enfermas
- c) se enferma
- d) enfermo
7. Complete the sentence: Tú ______ del estómago con esa comida. — "You get a stomach upset from that food."
- a) me enfermo
- b) se enferman
- c) te enfermaste
- d) te enfermas
8. What is the gerund of enfermarse?
- a) enfermandose
- b) enfermamos
- c) enfermándose
- d) enfermado
Answer key
d) te enfermas — The tú form is te enfermas. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; me enfermo is yo, se enferma is él/ella and se enferman is ellos/ellas.
b) me enfermo — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: me enfermo. The other options are the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) se enferma — The subject is él/ella/Ud., so the present form is se enferma.
a) nos enfermamos — Nosotros takes nos enfermamos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem enferm-.
c) Mi madre se enferma de los nervios. — Mi madre se enferma de los nervios. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
a) me enfermo — Reflexive verbs need the pronoun: me enfermo. Without me the verb means something else, and the other options belong to different persons.
d) te enfermas — The subject is tú, so the present form is te enfermas.
c) enfermándose — The gerund is enfermándose. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle enfermado.
Frequently asked questions
Is enfermarse regular in the present tense?
The verb itself is regular — it is a normal -ar verb — but it is reflexive, so every form carries a pronoun: me enfermo, te enfermas, se enferma, nos enfermamos, os enfermáis and se enferman. The pronoun is part of the verb, not an optional extra.
What is the gerund and the past participle of enfermarse?
The gerund is enfermándose and the past participle is enfermado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I to get sick" in Spanish?
Say me enfermo. For example: Yo me enfermo si no duermo bien. — "I get sick if I don't sleep well.".
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". The full conjugation of curarse is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of enfermarse — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- enfermarse examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Present tense guide — how the present tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.