Fortalecerse Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish
fortalecerse means "to grow stronger" 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 fortalecerse with daily exercise, healthy food, the illness and work in the fields — the situations where Spanish speakers really use it. A good first sentence to learn is: Cada día, yo me fortalezco con el ejercicio diario. — "Every day, I grow stronger with daily exercise." Read the examples aloud, notice which tense each one uses, and then try the dialogues and the quiz.
fortalecerse in everyday sentences
Twelve sentences with fortalecerse, 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 fortalezco con el ejercicio diario. — "Every day, I grow stronger with daily exercise." The present tense fits a habit here.
- Ayer, yo me fortalecí con la comida sana. — "Yesterday, I grew stronger with healthy food." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, yo me fortalecía después de la enfermedad. — "In the past, I used to grow stronger after the illness." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, nosotros nos fortaleceremos con el trabajo en el campo. — "Tomorrow, we will grow stronger with work in the fields." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Si pudieras, tú te fortalecerías con el ejercicio diario. — "If you could, you would grow stronger with daily exercise." The conditional fits something that would happen.
- Yo me he fortalecido con la comida sana. — "I have grown stronger with healthy food." The present perfect fits an action with present relevance.
More situations
- Normalmente, él se fortalece después de la enfermedad. — "Normally, he/she grows stronger after the illness." The present tense fits a general truth here.
- Ayer, él se fortaleció con el trabajo en el campo. — "Yesterday, he/she grew stronger with work in the fields." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, nosotros nos fortalecíamos con el ejercicio diario. — "In the past, we used to grow stronger with daily exercise." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, yo me fortaleceré con la comida sana. — "Tomorrow, I will grow stronger with healthy food." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Espero que él se fortalezca después de la enfermedad. — "I hope that he/she grows stronger after the illness." The present subjunctive follows espero que.
- ¡No te fortalezcas con el trabajo en el campo! — "Do not grow stronger with work in the fields!" The imperative fits a direct order or request.
The verb in context
Two short dialogues using fortalecerse naturally. Notice how the verb changes person and tense as the conversation moves, and how the complements stay the same kind of situation: daily exercise, healthy food, the illness and work in the fields.
Dialogue 1: talking about daily exercise
María: ¿Tú te fortaleces con el ejercicio diario? — "Do you grow stronger with daily exercise?" Carlos: Sí, yo me fortalezco con el ejercicio diario. — "I grow stronger with daily exercise." María: ¿Y ayer? — "And yesterday?" Carlos: Ayer, yo me fortalecí con la comida sana. — "Yesterday, I grew stronger with healthy food." María: Mañana, nosotros nos fortaleceremos después de la enfermedad. — "Tomorrow, we will grow stronger after the illness." Carlos: Si pudiera, yo me fortalecería con el trabajo en el campo. — "If I could, I would grow stronger with work in the fields." María: Antes, yo me fortalecía con la comida sana. — "In the past, I used to grow stronger with healthy food." Carlos: Yo me he fortalecido con el ejercicio diario. — "I have grown stronger with daily exercise." María: ¡No te fortalezcas después de la enfermedad! — "Do not grow stronger after the illness!"
In this dialogue fortalecerse 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 illness
María: Él se fortalece después de la enfermedad. — "he/she grows stronger after the illness." Carlos: ¿De verdad? ¿Él se fortalece después de la enfermedad todos los días? — "Really? Does he/she grows stronger after the illness every day?" María: Sí, y ellos se fortalecen con el trabajo en el campo. — "they grow stronger with work in the fields." Carlos: Ayer, ellos se fortalecieron después de la enfermedad. — "Yesterday, they grew stronger after the illness." María: Espero que él se fortalezca con el trabajo en el campo. — "I hope that he/she grows stronger with work in the fields." Carlos: Mañana, él se fortalecerá después de la enfermedad. — "Tomorrow, he/she will grow stronger after the illness." María: Antes, nosotros nos fortalecíamos con el trabajo en el campo. — "In the past, we used to grow stronger with work in the fields." Carlos: Nosotros nos fortalecemos con el ejercicio diario también. — "we grow stronger with daily exercise too."
This dialogue shows fortalecerse 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 fortalecerse
The errors learners actually make with fortalecerse in everyday use, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why it is wrong.
Mistake 1: Forgetting the reflexive pronoun
- Wrong: Yo fortalezco con el ejercicio diario.
- Right: Yo me fortalezco con el ejercicio diario.
- Why: fortalecerse is reflexive, so the pronoun is part of the verb: Yo me fortalezco con el ejercicio diario.. Without me the sentence is incomplete.
Mistake 2: Using the infinitive as a conjugated form
- Wrong: Yo fortalecerse con el ejercicio diario.
- Right: Yo me fortalezco con el ejercicio diario.
- Why: The infinitive fortalecerse is the dictionary form, not a conjugated form. In a sentence with yo you need the present-tense form fortalezco.
Mistake 3: Using the present tense for yesterday
- Wrong: Ayer, yo me fortalezco con la comida sana.
- Right: Ayer, yo me fortalecí con la comida sana.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite: Ayer, yo me fortalecí con la comida sana. — "Yesterday, I grew stronger with healthy food."
Mistake 4: Mixing up the gerund and the participle
- Wrong: Me estoy fortalecido después de la enfermedad.
- Right: Me estoy fortaleciendo después de la enfermedad.
- Why: After estar you need the gerund fortaleciendo for the progressive. The participle fortalecido goes with haber in the perfect tenses (me he fortalecido), never after estar.
Mistake 5: Using the él form for nosotros
- Wrong: Nosotros nos fortalece con el ejercicio diario.
- Right: Nosotros nos fortalecemos con el ejercicio diario.
- Why: The person and the ending must match: nosotros takes fortalecemos, while fortalece belongs to él and ella.
Quiz: fortalecerse in use
Test yourself with ten questions on fortalecerse. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the yo form of fortalecerse in the present tense?
- (a) fortalece
- (b) fortalecemos
- (c) fortalezco
- (d) fortaleces
Answer: (c) fortalezco. The yo form is fortalezco.
2. What is the tú form of fortalecerse in the present tense?
- (a) fortalecemos
- (b) fortaleces
- (c) fortalezco
- (d) fortalece
Answer: (b) fortaleces. The tú form is fortaleces.
3. What is the él/ella form of fortalecerse in the present tense?
- (a) fortalece
- (b) fortalezco
- (c) fortaleces
- (d) fortalecemos
Answer: (a) fortalece. The él/ella form is fortalece.
4. Complete the sentence: Cada día, yo ___ con el ejercicio diario.
- (a) fortaleces
- (b) fortalece
- (c) fortalecemos
- (d) fortalezco
Answer: (d) fortalezco. The sentence needs the yo form fortalezco.
5. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ___ con la comida sana.
- (a) fortaleció
- (b) fortalecimos
- (c) fortalecí
- (d) fortaleciste
Answer: (c) fortalecí. Ayer needs the preterite, and the yo form is fortalecí.
6. Complete the sentence: Antes, yo ___ después de la enfermedad.
- (a) fortalecíais
- (b) fortalecía
- (c) fortalecías
- (d) fortalecíamos
Answer: (b) fortalecía. Antes needs the imperfect, and the yo form is fortalecía.
7. Complete the sentence: Mañana, yo ___ con el trabajo en el campo.
- (a) fortaleceré
- (b) fortalecerás
- (c) fortalecerá
- (d) fortaleceremos
Answer: (a) fortaleceré. Mañana needs the future, and the yo form is fortaleceré.
8. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ con el ejercicio diario.
- (a) me he fortalecido
- (b) te has fortalecido
- (c) se ha fortalecido
- (d) nos hemos fortalecido
Answer: (a) me he fortalecido. The present perfect uses haber plus the participle: me he fortalecido.
9. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ después de la enfermedad.
- (a) fortalezcamos
- (b) fortalecáis
- (c) fortalezca
- (d) fortalezcas
Answer: (c) fortalezca. After espero que Spanish needs the subjunctive, and the él form is fortalezca.
10. What does fortalecerse mean in English?
- (a) to open up
- (b) to button oneself up
- (c) to grow stronger
- (d) to shorten, to abbreviate
Answer: (c) to grow stronger. fortalecerse means "to grow stronger" in English.
Frequently asked questions about fortalecerse
What does fortalecerse mean?
fortalecerse means "to grow stronger" in English. Use it when you talk about daily exercise, healthy food, the illness and work in the fields — for example: Cada día, yo me fortalezco con el ejercicio diario. — "Every day, I grow stronger with daily exercise."
Is fortalecerse reflexive?
Yes. fortalecerse is reflexive, so it always travels with a pronoun: me, te, se, nos, os, se. Cada día, yo me fortalezco con el ejercicio diario. — "Every day, I grow stronger with daily exercise." If you drop the pronoun, the sentence is incomplete.
What is the most common mistake with fortalecerse?
Forgetting the reflexive pronoun. Learners write the bare form — for example, Yo fortalezco con el ejercicio diario — when the verb needs its pronoun: Cada día, yo me fortalezco con el ejercicio diario. — "Every day, I grow stronger with daily exercise." Keep the pronoun with the verb and the mistake disappears.
How can I practise fortalecerse?
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.