Enriquecerse Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish
enriquecerse means "to get rich" 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 enriquecerse with the family business, the sale of the house, work abroad and his father's books — the situations where Spanish speakers really use it. A good first sentence to learn is: Cada día, yo me enriquezco con el negocio de la familia. — "Every day, I get rich with the family business." Read the examples aloud, notice which tense each one uses, and then try the dialogues and the quiz.
enriquecerse in everyday sentences
Twelve sentences with enriquecerse, 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 me enriquezco con el negocio de la familia. — "Every day, I get rich with the family business." The present tense fits a habit here.
- Ayer, yo me enriquecí con la venta de la casa. — "Yesterday, I got rich with the sale of the house." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, yo me enriquecía con el trabajo en el extranjero. — "In the past, I used to get rich with work abroad." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, nosotros nos enriqueceremos con los libros de su padre. — "Tomorrow, we will get rich with his father's books." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Si pudieras, tú te enriquecerías con el negocio de la familia. — "If you could, you would get rich with the family business." The conditional fits something that would happen.
- Yo me he enriquecido con la venta de la casa. — "I have got rich with the sale of the house." The present perfect fits an action with present relevance.
More situations
- Normalmente, él se enriquece con el trabajo en el extranjero. — "Normally, he/she gets rich with work abroad." The present tense fits a general truth here.
- Ayer, él se enriqueció con los libros de su padre. — "Yesterday, he/she got rich with his father's books." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, nosotros nos enriquecíamos con el negocio de la familia. — "In the past, we used to get rich with the family business." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, yo me enriqueceré con la venta de la casa. — "Tomorrow, I will get rich with the sale of the house." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Espero que él se enriquezca con el trabajo en el extranjero. — "I hope that he/she gets rich with work abroad." The present subjunctive follows espero que.
- ¡No te enriquezcas con los libros de su padre! — "Do not get rich with his father's books!" The imperative fits a direct order or request.
The verb in context
Two short dialogues using enriquecerse naturally. Notice how the verb changes person and tense as the conversation moves, and how the complements stay the same kind of situation: the family business, the sale of the house, work abroad and his father's books.
Dialogue 1: talking about the family business
María: ¿Tú te enriqueces con el negocio de la familia? — "Do you get rich with the family business?" Carlos: Sí, yo me enriquezco con el negocio de la familia. — "I get rich with the family business." María: ¿Y ayer? — "And yesterday?" Carlos: Ayer, yo me enriquecí con la venta de la casa. — "Yesterday, I got rich with the sale of the house." María: Mañana, nosotros nos enriqueceremos con el trabajo en el extranjero. — "Tomorrow, we will get rich with work abroad." Carlos: Si pudiera, yo me enriquecería con los libros de su padre. — "If I could, I would get rich with his father's books." María: Antes, yo me enriquecía con la venta de la casa. — "In the past, I used to get rich with the sale of the house." Carlos: Yo me he enriquecido con el negocio de la familia. — "I have got rich with the family business." María: ¡No te enriquezcas con el trabajo en el extranjero! — "Do not get rich with work abroad!"
In this dialogue enriquecerse 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 work abroad
María: Él se enriquece con el trabajo en el extranjero. — "he/she gets rich with work abroad." Carlos: ¿De verdad? ¿Él se enriquece con el trabajo en el extranjero todos los días? — "Really? Does he/she gets rich with work abroad every day?" María: Sí, y ellos se enriquecen con los libros de su padre. — "they get rich with his father's books." Carlos: Ayer, ellos se enriquecieron con el trabajo en el extranjero. — "Yesterday, they got rich with work abroad." María: Espero que él se enriquezca con los libros de su padre. — "I hope that he/she gets rich with his father's books." Carlos: Mañana, él se enriquecerá con el trabajo en el extranjero. — "Tomorrow, he/she will get rich with work abroad." María: Antes, nosotros nos enriquecíamos con los libros de su padre. — "In the past, we used to get rich with his father's books." Carlos: Nosotros nos enriquecemos con el negocio de la familia también. — "we get rich with the family business too."
This dialogue shows enriquecerse 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 enriquecerse
The errors learners actually make with enriquecerse in everyday use, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why it is wrong.
Mistake 1: Forgetting the reflexive pronoun
- Wrong: Yo enriquezco con el negocio de la familia.
- Right: Yo me enriquezco con el negocio de la familia.
- Why: enriquecerse is reflexive, so the pronoun is part of the verb: Yo me enriquezco con el negocio de la familia.. Without me the sentence is incomplete.
Mistake 2: Using the infinitive as a conjugated form
- Wrong: Yo enriquecerse con el negocio de la familia.
- Right: Yo me enriquezco con el negocio de la familia.
- Why: The infinitive enriquecerse is the dictionary form, not a conjugated form. In a sentence with yo you need the present-tense form enriquezco.
Mistake 3: Using the present tense for yesterday
- Wrong: Ayer, yo me enriquezco con la venta de la casa.
- Right: Ayer, yo me enriquecí con la venta de la casa.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite: Ayer, yo me enriquecí con la venta de la casa. — "Yesterday, I got rich with the sale of the house."
Mistake 4: Mixing up the gerund and the participle
- Wrong: Me estoy enriquecido con el trabajo en el extranjero.
- Right: Me estoy enriqueciendo con el trabajo en el extranjero.
- Why: After estar you need the gerund enriqueciendo for the progressive. The participle enriquecido goes with haber in the perfect tenses (me he enriquecido), never after estar.
Mistake 5: Using the él form for nosotros
- Wrong: Nosotros nos enriquece con el negocio de la familia.
- Right: Nosotros nos enriquecemos con el negocio de la familia.
- Why: The person and the ending must match: nosotros takes enriquecemos, while enriquece belongs to él and ella.
Quiz: enriquecerse in use
Test yourself with ten questions on enriquecerse. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the yo form of enriquecerse in the present tense?
- (a) enriquece
- (b) enriquecemos
- (c) enriquezco
- (d) enriqueces
Answer: (c) enriquezco. The yo form is enriquezco.
2. What is the tú form of enriquecerse in the present tense?
- (a) enriquecemos
- (b) enriqueces
- (c) enriquezco
- (d) enriquece
Answer: (b) enriqueces. The tú form is enriqueces.
3. What is the él/ella form of enriquecerse in the present tense?
- (a) enriquece
- (b) enriquezco
- (c) enriqueces
- (d) enriquecemos
Answer: (a) enriquece. The él/ella form is enriquece.
4. Complete the sentence: Cada día, yo ___ con el negocio de la familia.
- (a) enriqueces
- (b) enriquece
- (c) enriquecemos
- (d) enriquezco
Answer: (d) enriquezco. The sentence needs the yo form enriquezco.
5. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ___ con la venta de la casa.
- (a) enriqueció
- (b) enriquecimos
- (c) enriquecí
- (d) enriqueciste
Answer: (c) enriquecí. Ayer needs the preterite, and the yo form is enriquecí.
6. Complete the sentence: Antes, yo ___ con el trabajo en el extranjero.
- (a) enriquecíais
- (b) enriquecía
- (c) enriquecías
- (d) enriquecíamos
Answer: (b) enriquecía. Antes needs the imperfect, and the yo form is enriquecía.
7. Complete the sentence: Mañana, yo ___ con los libros de su padre.
- (a) enriqueceré
- (b) enriquecerás
- (c) enriquecerá
- (d) enriqueceremos
Answer: (a) enriqueceré. Mañana needs the future, and the yo form is enriqueceré.
8. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ con el negocio de la familia.
- (a) me he enriquecido
- (b) te has enriquecido
- (c) se ha enriquecido
- (d) nos hemos enriquecido
Answer: (a) me he enriquecido. The present perfect uses haber plus the participle: me he enriquecido.
9. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ con el trabajo en el extranjero.
- (a) enriquezcamos
- (b) enriquecáis
- (c) enriquezca
- (d) enriquezcas
Answer: (c) enriquezca. After espero que Spanish needs the subjunctive, and the él form is enriquezca.
10. What does enriquecerse mean in English?
- (a) to become passionate about
- (b) to seize, to take over
- (c) to get rich
- (d) to move away
Answer: (c) to get rich. enriquecerse means "to get rich" in English.
Frequently asked questions about enriquecerse
What does enriquecerse mean?
enriquecerse means "to get rich" in English. Use it when you talk about the family business, the sale of the house, work abroad and his father's books — for example: Cada día, yo me enriquezco con el negocio de la familia. — "Every day, I get rich with the family business."
Is enriquecerse reflexive?
Yes. enriquecerse is reflexive, so it always travels with a pronoun: me, te, se, nos, os, se. Cada día, yo me enriquezco con el negocio de la familia. — "Every day, I get rich with the family business." If you drop the pronoun, the sentence is incomplete.
What is the most common mistake with enriquecerse?
Forgetting the reflexive pronoun. Learners write the bare form — for example, Yo enriquezco con el negocio de la familia — when the verb needs its pronoun: Cada día, yo me enriquezco con el negocio de la familia. — "Every day, I get rich with the family business." Keep the pronoun with the verb and the mistake disappears.
How can I practise enriquecerse?
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.