Excederse Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish
excederse means "to go too far" 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 excederse with the food at the party, the spending on holiday, the drink at dinner and his words in the argument — the situations where Spanish speakers really use it. A good first sentence to learn is: Cada día, yo me excedo con la comida en la fiesta. — "Every day, I go too far with the food at the party." Read the examples aloud, notice which tense each one uses, and then try the dialogues and the quiz.
excederse in everyday sentences
Twelve sentences with excederse, 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 excedo con la comida en la fiesta. — "Every day, I go too far with the food at the party." The present tense fits a habit here.
- Ayer, yo me excedí con el gasto en las vacaciones. — "Yesterday, I went too far with the spending on holiday." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, yo me excedía con la bebida en la cena. — "In the past, I used to go too far with the drink at dinner." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, nosotros nos excederemos con las palabras en la discusión. — "Tomorrow, we will go too far with his words in the argument." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Si pudieras, tú te excederías con la comida en la fiesta. — "If you could, you would go too far with the food at the party." The conditional fits something that would happen.
- Yo me he excedido con el gasto en las vacaciones. — "I have gone too far with the spending on holiday." The present perfect fits an action with present relevance.
More situations
- Normalmente, él se excede con la bebida en la cena. — "Normally, he/she gos too far with the drink at dinner." The present tense fits a general truth here.
- Ayer, él se excedió con las palabras en la discusión. — "Yesterday, he/she went too far with his words in the argument." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, nosotros nos excedíamos con la comida en la fiesta. — "In the past, we used to go too far with the food at the party." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, yo me excederé con el gasto en las vacaciones. — "Tomorrow, I will go too far with the spending on holiday." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Espero que él se exceda con la bebida en la cena. — "I hope that he/she gos too far with the drink at dinner." The present subjunctive follows espero que.
- ¡No te excedas con las palabras en la discusión! — "Do not go too far with his words in the argument!" The imperative fits a direct order or request.
The verb in context
Two short dialogues using excederse naturally. Notice how the verb changes person and tense as the conversation moves, and how the complements stay the same kind of situation: the food at the party, the spending on holiday, the drink at dinner and his words in the argument.
Dialogue 1: talking about the food at the party
Sofía: ¿Tú te excedes con la comida en la fiesta? — "Do you go too far with the food at the party?" Diego: Sí, yo me excedo con la comida en la fiesta. — "I go too far with the food at the party." Sofía: ¿Y ayer? — "And yesterday?" Diego: Ayer, yo me excedí con el gasto en las vacaciones. — "Yesterday, I went too far with the spending on holiday." Sofía: Mañana, nosotros nos excederemos con la bebida en la cena. — "Tomorrow, we will go too far with the drink at dinner." Diego: Si pudiera, yo me excedería con las palabras en la discusión. — "If I could, I would go too far with his words in the argument." Sofía: Antes, yo me excedía con el gasto en las vacaciones. — "In the past, I used to go too far with the spending on holiday." Diego: Yo me he excedido con la comida en la fiesta. — "I have gone too far with the food at the party." Sofía: ¡No te excedas con la bebida en la cena! — "Do not go too far with the drink at dinner!"
In this dialogue excederse 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 the drink at dinner
Sofía: Él se excede con la bebida en la cena. — "he/she gos too far with the drink at dinner." Diego: ¿De verdad? ¿Él se excede con la bebida en la cena todos los días? — "Really? Does he/she gos too far with the drink at dinner every day?" Sofía: Sí, y ellos se exceden con las palabras en la discusión. — "they go too far with his words in the argument." Diego: Ayer, ellos se excedieron con la bebida en la cena. — "Yesterday, they went too far with the drink at dinner." Sofía: Espero que él se exceda con las palabras en la discusión. — "I hope that he/she gos too far with his words in the argument." Diego: Mañana, él se excederá con la bebida en la cena. — "Tomorrow, he/she will go too far with the drink at dinner." Sofía: Antes, nosotros nos excedíamos con las palabras en la discusión. — "In the past, we used to go too far with his words in the argument." Diego: Nosotros nos excedemos con la comida en la fiesta también. — "we go too far with the food at the party too."
This dialogue shows excederse 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 excederse
The errors learners actually make with excederse in everyday use, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why it is wrong.
Mistake 1: Forgetting the reflexive pronoun
- Wrong: Yo excedo con la comida en la fiesta.
- Right: Yo me excedo con la comida en la fiesta.
- Why: excederse is reflexive, so the pronoun is part of the verb: Yo me excedo con la comida en la fiesta.. Without me the sentence is incomplete.
Mistake 2: Using the infinitive as a conjugated form
- Wrong: Yo excederse con la comida en la fiesta.
- Right: Yo me excedo con la comida en la fiesta.
- Why: The infinitive excederse is the dictionary form, not a conjugated form. In a sentence with yo you need the present-tense form excedo.
Mistake 3: Using the present tense for yesterday
- Wrong: Ayer, yo me excedo con el gasto en las vacaciones.
- Right: Ayer, yo me excedí con el gasto en las vacaciones.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite: Ayer, yo me excedí con el gasto en las vacaciones. — "Yesterday, I went too far with the spending on holiday."
Mistake 4: Mixing up the gerund and the participle
- Wrong: Me estoy excedido con la bebida en la cena.
- Right: Me estoy excediendo con la bebida en la cena.
- Why: After estar you need the gerund excediendo for the progressive. The participle excedido goes with haber in the perfect tenses (me he excedido), never after estar.
Mistake 5: Using the él form for nosotros
- Wrong: Nosotros nos excede con la comida en la fiesta.
- Right: Nosotros nos excedemos con la comida en la fiesta.
- Why: The person and the ending must match: nosotros takes excedemos, while excede belongs to él and ella.
Quiz: excederse in use
Test yourself with ten questions on excederse. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the yo form of excederse in the present tense?
- (a) excedo
- (b) excedes
- (c) excede
- (d) excedemos
Answer: (a) excedo. The yo form is excedo.
2. What is the tú form of excederse in the present tense?
- (a) excedo
- (b) excede
- (c) excedemos
- (d) excedes
Answer: (d) excedes. The tú form is excedes.
3. What is the él/ella form of excederse in the present tense?
- (a) excedes
- (b) excedemos
- (c) excede
- (d) excedo
Answer: (c) excede. The él/ella form is excede.
4. Complete the sentence: Cada día, yo ___ con la comida en la fiesta.
- (a) excedemos
- (b) excedo
- (c) excedes
- (d) excede
Answer: (b) excedo. The sentence needs the yo form excedo.
5. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ___ con el gasto en las vacaciones.
- (a) excedí
- (b) excediste
- (c) excedió
- (d) excedimos
Answer: (a) excedí. Ayer needs the preterite, and the yo form is excedí.
6. Complete the sentence: Antes, yo ___ con la bebida en la cena.
- (a) excedías
- (b) excedíamos
- (c) excedíais
- (d) excedía
Answer: (d) excedía. Antes needs the imperfect, and the yo form is excedía.
7. Complete the sentence: Mañana, yo ___ con las palabras en la discusión.
- (a) excederá
- (b) excederemos
- (c) excederé
- (d) excederás
Answer: (c) excederé. Mañana needs the future, and the yo form is excederé.
8. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ con la comida en la fiesta.
- (a) se ha excedido
- (b) nos hemos excedido
- (c) me he excedido
- (d) te has excedido
Answer: (c) me he excedido. The present perfect uses haber plus the participle: me he excedido.
9. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ con la bebida en la cena.
- (a) exceda
- (b) excedas
- (c) excedamos
- (d) excedáis
Answer: (a) exceda. After espero que Spanish needs the subjunctive, and the él form is exceda.
10. What does excederse mean in English?
- (a) to go too far
- (b) to be quiet
- (c) to take (a long time), to be late
- (d) to be pleased
Answer: (a) to go too far. excederse means "to go too far" in English.
Frequently asked questions about excederse
What does excederse mean?
excederse means "to go too far" in English. Use it when you talk about the food at the party, the spending on holiday, the drink at dinner and his words in the argument — for example: Cada día, yo me excedo con la comida en la fiesta. — "Every day, I go too far with the food at the party."
Is excederse reflexive?
Yes. excederse is reflexive, so it always travels with a pronoun: me, te, se, nos, os, se. Cada día, yo me excedo con la comida en la fiesta. — "Every day, I go too far with the food at the party." If you drop the pronoun, the sentence is incomplete.
What is the most common mistake with excederse?
Forgetting the reflexive pronoun. Learners write the bare form — for example, Yo excedo con la comida en la fiesta — when the verb needs its pronoun: Cada día, yo me excedo con la comida en la fiesta. — "Every day, I go too far with the food at the party." Keep the pronoun with the verb and the mistake disappears.
How can I practise excederse?
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.