Entristecerse in the Present Tense

Entristecerse means “to become sad”, and this page covers exactly one thing: entristecerse in the present tense. The present is the tense Spanish speakers reach for when they talk about routines, facts and what is happening now. On this page you will find the full present table for entristecerse, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the preterite, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about entristecerse in the present. For example: “Yo me entristezco con la noticia de la tarde.” — I become sad at the news in the afternoon. Everything on this page uses the forms of entristecerse exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Entristecerse in the Present Tense — full table

Person Pronoun Form
yo me entristezco
tú te entristeces
él/ella/Ud. se entristece
nosotros/as nos entristecemos
vosotros/as os entristecéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se entristecen

Gerund: entristeciendo · Past participle: entristecido

The gerund is entristeciendo, which you use with estar to say what is happening right now: “Estoy entristeciendo” means the action of entristecerse is in progress at this very moment. The past participle is entristecido, which you use with haber in the perfect tenses: “he entristecido” is the present perfect, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the present is only one part of how entristecerse is used.

How the present of entristecerse is formed

Entristecerse does not use one regular stem in this tense, so the forms below do not follow the simple stem + endings pattern. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. Learn the six forms as a set: yo entristezco, tú entristeces, él/ella/Ud. entristece, nosotros/as entristecemos, vosotros/as entristecéis, ellos/ellas/Uds. entristecen. Because entristecerse is reflexive, put the pronoun before each form: me entristezco, te entristeces, se entristece, nos entristecemos, os entristecéis, se entristecen.

When to use the present of entristecerse

The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use entristecerse in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. Routines and habits

The present tense is the tense of what you do regularly. When something happens every day, every week or every morning, the present is the right choice, and entristecerse is no exception. Example: “Yo me entristezco con la noticia de la tarde todos los días.” — I become sad at the news in the afternoon every day.

2. Facts and general truths

The present states facts that are true in general, not just right now. Use it to say what entristecerse means in practice and how it works in the world. Example: “Se entristece al recordar a su abuelo.” — He/she becomes sad remembering his grandfather.

3. What is happening right now

The present also describes actions in progress at this very moment. When something is happening as you speak, the present tense says so directly. Example: “Yo me entristezco con la película triste ahora.” — I become sad at the sad film now.

4. Scheduled events in the near future

Spanish often uses the present for things that are already arranged, such as plans for tomorrow or next week. The present sounds more certain than the future in these cases. Example: “Nosotros nos entristecemos en otoño sin sus amigos.” — We become sad in autumn without his friends.

5. Instructions and everyday speech

In everyday speech the present gives instructions, makes offers and states what someone does. It is the tense you will hear most often in conversation. Example: “Tú te entristeces con la noticia de la tarde.” — You become sad at the news in the afternoon.

Present Tense vs Preterite: how to choose

The closest tense to the present is the preterite, and choosing between them is one of the first decisions in Spanish. The rule is simple: the present describes routines, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite reports one finished action. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is whether the action is a habit or a finished event. Time words help: todos los días and cada semana point to the present, while ayer and la semana pasada point to the preterite.

  • Present Tense: “Yo me entristezco con la noticia de la tarde todos los días.” — I become sad at the news in the afternoon every day.

  • Preterite: “Ayer, yo me entristecí con la noticia de la tarde.” — Yesterday, I became sad at the news in the afternoon.

  • The present sentence describes a habit; the preterite sentence reports one finished action. Todos los días points to the present, ayer points to the preterite.

  • Present Tense: “Él se entristece al recordar a su abuelo cada semana.” — He/she becomes sad remembering his grandfather every week.

  • Preterite: “La semana pasada, él se entristeció al recordar a su abuelo.” — Last week, he became sad remembering his grandfather.

  • Cada semana describes a routine, so the present is right; la semana pasada names one finished week, so the preterite is right.

  • Present Tense: “Nosotros nos entristecemos con la película triste a menudo.” — We become sad at the sad film often.

  • Preterite: “Ayer, nosotros nos entristecimos con la película triste.” — Yesterday, we became sad at the sad film.

  • The present sentence counts no single event; the preterite sentence counts one finished action. That difference — habit versus finished event — is the whole decision.

Example sentences: entristecerse in the present

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions, the objects, the other verbs — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “Me entristezco con la noticia de la tarde.” — I become sad at the news in the afternoon.

  2. “Te entristeces al recordar a su abuelo.” — You become sad remembering his grandfather.

  3. “Se entristece con la película triste.” — He/she becomes sad at the sad film.

  4. “Nos entristecemos en otoño sin sus amigos.” — We become sad in autumn without his friends.

  5. “Os entristecéis con la noticia de la tarde.” — You become sad at the news in the afternoon.

  6. “Se entristecen al recordar a su abuelo.” — They become sad remembering his grandfather.

  7. “Me entristezco con la película triste.” — I become sad at the sad film.

  8. “Se entristece en otoño sin sus amigos.” — He/she becomes sad in autumn without his friends.

Common mistakes with entristecerse in the present

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

  • Wrong: “Yo entristezco con la noticia de la tarde.” Right: “Yo me entristezco con la noticia de la tarde.” Why: Entristecerse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required before every form. Without it the sentence is incomplete.

  • Wrong: “Espero que yo entristece al recordar a su abuelo.” Right: “Espero que yo entristezca al recordar a su abuelo.” Why: Entristecerse is a spelling-change verb: the final consonant of the stem changes before e, so the subjunctive is entristezca.

  • Wrong: “Nosotros entristeces con la película triste.” Right: “Nosotros nos entristecemos con la película triste.” Why: Nosotros needs nos entristecemos. The tú form entristeces belongs with tú.

  • Wrong: “Ellos entristezco en otoño sin sus amigos todos los días.” Right: “Ellos se entristecen en otoño sin sus amigos todos los días.” Why: The verb must agree with its subject. Ellos needs the ellos form se entristecen, not the yo form entristezco. This is the most common agreement slip in the present tense, and it happens because learners memorise the yo form first and then reuse it for every person.

Quiz: entristecerse in the present

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

1. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ con la noticia de la tarde.” (At the news in the afternoon.)

  • (a) me entristezco
  • (b) te entristeces
  • (c) se entristece

Answer: me entristezco — The yo form of entristecerse in the present is me entristezco. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.

2. Complete the sentence: “¿Tú ______ al recordar a su abuelo?” (Remembering his grandfather.)

  • (a) me entristezco
  • (b) se entristece
  • (c) te entristeces

Answer: te entristeces — The tú form of entristecerse in the present is te entristeces. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.

3. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ con la película triste.” (At the sad film.)

  • (a) te entristeces
  • (b) se entristece
  • (c) me entristezco

Answer: se entristece — The él/ella/Ud. form of entristecerse in the present is se entristece. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.

4. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ en otoño sin sus amigos.” (In autumn without his friends.)

  • (a) nos entristecemos
  • (b) me entristezco
  • (c) te entristeces

Answer: nos entristecemos — The nosotros/as form of entristecerse in the present is nos entristecemos. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.

5. What is the vosotros/as form of entristecerse in the present?

  • (a) me entristezco
  • (b) te entristeces
  • (c) os entristecéis

Answer: os entristecéis — From the table above: vosotros/as takes os entristecéis. Say it with the example sentence “Vosotros os entristecéis con la noticia de la tarde.” to fix it in your memory.

6. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ al recordar a su abuelo.” (Remembering his grandfather.)

  • (a) te entristeces
  • (b) se entristecen
  • (c) me entristezco

Answer: se entristecen — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of entristecerse in the present is se entristecen. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.

7. Which is the correct yo form of entristecerse in the present?

  • (a) me entristezco
  • (b) te entristeces
  • (c) se entristece

Answer: me entristezco — The yo form is me entristezco. The other two options are the forms for other persons.

8. Which sentence describes a habit in the present?

  • (a) Yo me entristecí con la noticia de la tarde todos los días.
  • (b) Nosotros nos entristeceremos con la noticia de la tarde mañana.
  • (c) Yo me entristezco con la noticia de la tarde todos los días.

Answer: Yo me entristezco con la noticia de la tarde todos los días. — “Yo me entristezco con la noticia de la tarde todos los días.” describes a habit, so it takes the present. The second option reports a finished action in the past, and the third looks to the future.

Frequently asked questions

Is entristecerse regular in the present?

Entristecerse is a spelling-change verb, so some forms change spelling to keep the same consonant sound, but the present forms in the table above are the correct ones: entristezco, entristeces, entristece, entristecemos, entristecéis, entristecen.

What is the past participle of entristecerse?

The past participle is entristecido: 'He entristecido' means 'I have become sad'. It is used with haber in every perfect tense. The gerund is entristeciendo.

Does entristecerse take a preposition?

It depends on the meaning. Entristecerse is reflexive: me entristezco. The -zc- spelling appears in the present (entristezco) and the subjunctive (entristezca). In the examples on this page, entristecerse appears with complements such as con la noticia de la tarde and al recordar a su abuelo, so copy those patterns when you write your own sentences.

How do I remember the present forms of entristecerse?

Say the six forms out loud in order, three times, with a real sentence for each one: yo me entristezco, tú te entristeces, él/ella/Ud. se entristece, nosotros/as nos entristecemos, vosotros/as os entristecéis, ellos/ellas/Uds. se entristecen. Then write three of your own sentences with entristecerse in the present, using the examples on this page as models.

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