Graduarse Examples, Sentences & Quiz

Introduction

graduarse means to graduate, and it is one of those verbs that shows up everywhere once you start listening for it. It is a regular -ar verb, reflexive verb, and this page puts it to work: real example sentences in several tenses, grouped by use, two short passages that show the verb in context, the mistakes learners make with it, a ten-question quiz and answers to common questions. If you only learn one sentence, make it «Me gradúo todos los días» — I graduate every day. The rest of this page builds out from there, tense by tense, so you can use graduarse the way native speakers do — in the present for habits, in the past for finished events, and in the subjunctive after wishes and doubts.

Graduarse in real example sentences

In the present: everyday use

The present is where graduarse lives most of the time — routines, facts and what is happening now:

  1. Me gradúo todos los días. — I graduate every day.
  2. Te gradúas en el trabajo. — You graduate at work.
  3. Se gradúa con mi familia. — He graduates with my family.
  4. Nos graduamos por la mañana. — We graduate in the morning.

Talking about the past

In the past, choose the preterite for a finished event and the imperfect for a habit or background:

  1. Ayer me gradué por la tarde. — Yesterday I graduated in the afternoon.
  2. Antes, me graduaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to graduate every day.
  3. La semana pasada se graduó dos veces. — Last week He graduated twice.

Plans and things already done

The future, the conditional and the present perfect round out the picture — plans, hypotheticals and recent events:

  1. Mañana me graduaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will graduate without fail.
  2. Si tuviera más tiempo, me graduaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would graduate right now.
  3. Hoy me he graduado dos veces. — Today I have graduated twice.

More everyday uses

The subjunctive, the imperative and the progressive cover wishes, commands and actions in progress:

  1. Espero que te gradúes pronto. — I hope You graduate soon.
  2. ¡No te gradúes! — Don't graduate!
  3. Ahora mismo me estoy graduando. — Right now I am graduating.

Graduarse in context

A short dialogue

Ana: «Me gradúo en el trabajo.» — I graduate at work. Luis: «¡Qué bien! Me gradúo con mi familia.» — I graduate with my family. Ana: «Mañana me graduaré sin falta.» — Tomorrow I will graduate without fail. Luis: «Si tuviera más tiempo, me graduaría ahora mismo.» — If I had more time, I would graduate right now. Ana: «Hoy me he graduado dos veces.» — Today I have graduated twice.

A short paragraph

Ayer me gradué por la tarde. Antes, me graduaba todos los días. Hoy me he graduado dos veces. Mañana me graduaré sin falta.

Yesterday I graduated in the afternoon. In the past, I used to graduate every day. Today I have graduated twice. Tomorrow I will graduate without fail.

Common mistakes with graduarse

1. Forgetting the reflexive pronoun

Wrong: yo gradúo todos los días.

Right: me gradúo todos los días.

graduarse is reflexive: the pronoun me belongs before every conjugated form. Without it, you are using the non-reflexive verb, which means something different — doing the action to someone else instead of to yourself.

2. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer me graduaba.

Right: Ayer me gradué.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, gradué. The imperfect graduaba describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.

3. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que te gradúas.

Right: Espero que te gradúes.

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: gradúes, not the indicative gradúas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.

4. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No te gradúa.

Right: No te gradúes.

Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no gradúes. The affirmative gradúa can never follow no.

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He graduando.

Right: He graduado.

The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he graduado. The gerund graduando goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy graduando»), never with haber.

Quiz: graduarse in use

Test yourself on graduarse in use. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of graduarse in the present indicative?

- (a) gradúa
- (b) gradúas
- (c) graduamos
- (d) gradúo

2. What is the nosotros/as form of graduarse in the preterite?

- (a) graduamos
- (b) graduaste
- (c) graduó
- (d) gradué

3. What is the vosotros/as form of graduarse in the future?

- (a) graduará
- (b) graduarás
- (c) graduaréis
- (d) graduaré

4. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of graduarse in the present perfect?

- (a) han graduado
- (b) has graduado
- (c) ha graduado
- (d) he graduado

5. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of graduarse in the imperfect?

- (a) graduaba
- (b) graduabas
- (c) graduábamos
- (d) graduaba

6. What is the gerund of graduarse?

- (a) graduado
- (b) graduarse
- (c) gradúo
- (d) graduando

7. What is the past participle of graduarse?

- (a) graduando
- (b) graduarse
- (c) gradué
- (d) graduado

8. Which sentence uses graduarse correctly?

- (a) *Yo gradúa todos los días.*
- (b) *Yo graduarse todos los días.*
- (c) *Yo gradúas todos los días.*
- (d) *Me gradúo todos los días.* — I graduate every day.

9. Which sentence uses graduarse correctly?

- (a) *Ayer yo graduarse por la tarde.*
- (b) *Ayer me gradué por la tarde.* — Yesterday I graduated in the afternoon.
- (c) *Ayer yo graduaba por la tarde.*
- (d) *Ayer yo gradúo por la tarde.*

10. What does graduarse mean?

- (a) to live in
- (b) to graduate
- (c) to generate
- (d) to found

Answer key

1. (a) — In the present indicative, the él/ella/Ud. form of graduarse is gradúa. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (a) — In the preterite, the nosotros/as form of graduarse is graduamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (c) — In the future, the vosotros/as form of graduarse is graduaréis. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (a) — In the present perfect, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of graduarse is han graduado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (a) — In the imperfect, the él/ella/Ud. form of graduarse is graduaba. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (d) — The gerund of graduarse is graduando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy graduando». 7. (d) — The past participle of graduarse is graduado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he graduado». 8. (d) — Only this sentence pairs the right person with the right form of graduarse; the others mix a person with another person's form, or use the infinitive instead of a conjugated form. 9. (b) — Only this sentence pairs the right person with the right form of graduarse; the others mix a person with another person's form, or use the infinitive instead of a conjugated form. 10. (b) — graduarse means «to graduate».

Frequently asked questions

How do you say 'I graduate' in Spanish?

Say «Me gradúo todos los días». That is the present-tense yo form, and it is the sentence you will use most with this verb.

How do you say 'I graduated' about yesterday?

Say «Ayer me gradué por la tarde». The preterite is the tense for a finished event: yesterday, last week, last night.

Is graduarse reflexive?

Yes — graduarse is reflexive, so every conjugated form takes its pronoun: me gradúo, te gradúas, se gradúa. The pronoun always comes before the verb, except in affirmative commands, where it attaches to the end.

Which tense do learners find hardest with graduarse?

Most learners struggle with choosing between the preterite and the imperfect, not with the forms themselves. Use the preterite (gradué) for a single finished event and the imperfect (graduaba) for habits and background. After that, the subjunctive is the next step.

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