Introduction
Ingerir means “to ingest”, and it is one of the verbs you will use again and again in Spanish. Ingerir means to ingest or to take in, and it is the formal verb for eating, drinking and taking medicine: ingerir alimentos, ingerir pastillas. It is a stem-changing -ir verb, e to ie in the present and e to i in the preterite third person and the gerund: ingiero, ingirió, ingiriendo. This page shows ingerir in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct present-tense form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Ingiero alimentos sanos cada día.” — I ingest healthy food every day.
Ingerir in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how ingerir is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.
In the present: everyday use
These sentences use ingerir in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Ingiero alimentos sanos cada día.” — I ingest healthy food every day.
“¿Ingieres pastillas con agua?” — Do you ingest pills with water?
“Ingiere demasiada sal en la cena.” — He/she ingests too much salt at dinner.
“Nosotros ingerimos líquidos durante el partido.” — We ingest liquids during the match.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show ingerir in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo ingerí alimentos sanos cada día.” — Yesterday, I ingested healthy food every day. (preterite)
“Antes, él ingería pastillas con agua.” — Before, he used to ingest pills with water. (imperfect)
Plans and things already done
These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of ingerir stays the same.
“Mañana, nosotros ingeriremos demasiada sal en la cena.” — Tomorrow, we will ingest too much salt at dinner. (future)
“¿Tú has ingerido líquidos durante el partido?” — Have you ingested liquids during the match? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Vosotros ingerís alimentos sanos cada día.” — You ingest healthy food every day.
“Ellos ingieren pastillas con agua.” — They ingest pills with water.
“Yo ingiero demasiada sal en la cena.” — I ingest too much salt at dinner.
“Mi padre ingiere líquidos durante el partido.” — My father ingests liquids during the match.
Ingerir in context
Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how ingerir appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Marta: “¿Tú ingieres pastillas con agua?” — Do you ingest pills with water?
Pedro: “Sí, yo ingiero alimentos sanos cada día.” — Yes, I ingest healthy food every day.
Marta: “Nosotros ingerimos líquidos durante el partido.” — We ingest liquids during the match.
Pedro: “Y ellos ingieren pastillas con agua.” — And they ingest pills with water.
Marta: “Vosotros ingerís demasiada sal en la cena.” — You ingest too much salt at dinner.
Pedro: “Sí, y él ingiere alimentos sanos cada día.” — Yes, and he ingests healthy food every day.
A short paragraph
Ingiere alimentos sanos cada día, y nosotros ingerimos líquidos durante el partido. Yo ingiero pastillas con agua, y ellos ingieren demasiada sal en la cena. Ingerir is part of everyday life, because ingest is something people do in work, at home and with friends, in the present, the past and the future.
Common mistakes with ingerir
These are the errors learners actually make with ingerir. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo ingiere alimentos sanos cada día.” Right: “Yo ingiero alimentos sanos cada día.” Why: The person matters: ingiere is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is ingiero. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
Wrong: “Yo ingero pastillas con agua.” Right: “Yo ingiero pastillas con agua.” Why: Ingerir is a stem-changing verb (e → ie), so the stem changes in the present singular and third-person plural. The nosotros form keeps the original stem.
Wrong: “Treating ingerir and comer as identical in every context.” Right: “Ingerir means to ingest, while comer means to eat.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: ingerir fits sentences such as Ingiero alimentos sanos cada día, while comer belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy ingerido pastillas con agua.” Right: “Yo he ingerido pastillas con agua.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he ingerido, has ingerido, ha ingerido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo ingerí demasiada sal en la cena todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo ingería demasiada sal en la cena todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (ingería), not the preterite. The preterite (ingerí) is for one finished action.
Quiz: ingerir in use
Ten questions on ingerir in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ alimentos sanos cada día.” (You ingest healthy food every day.)
- (a) ingerís
- (b) ingiero
- (c) ingieres
Answer: ingerís — The vosotros/as form of ingerir in the present tense is ingerís.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ pastillas con agua.” (They ingest pills with water.)
- (a) ingieres
- (b) ingieren
- (c) ingiero
Answer: ingieren — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of ingerir in the present tense is ingieren.
3. Complete the sentence (preterite): “Ayer yo ______ alimentos sanos cada día.” (Yesterday I ingested healthy food every day.)
- (a) ingeriste
- (b) ingirió
- (c) ingerí
Answer: ingerí — In the preterite, the yo form of ingerir is ingerí.
4. Complete the sentence (imperfect): “Antes, él ______ pastillas con agua.” (Before, he used to ingest pills with water.)
- (a) ingería
- (b) ingiero
- (c) ingerías
Answer: ingería — In the imperfect, the él/ella/Ud. form of ingerir is ingería.
5. Complete the sentence (future): “Mañana, nosotros ______ demasiada sal en la cena.” (Tomorrow we will ingest too much salt at dinner.)
- (a) ingerirás
- (b) ingeriremos
- (c) ingeriré
Answer: ingeriremos — In the future, the nosotros/as form of ingerir is ingeriremos.
6. What does ingerir mean in English?
- (a) to ingest
- (b) to induce
- (c) to eat
Answer: to ingest — Ingerir means “to ingest”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo ingiere alimentos sanos cada día.
- (b) Ellos ingiere pastillas con agua.
- (c) Yo ingiero alimentos sanos cada día.
Answer: Yo ingiero alimentos sanos cada día. — “Yo ingiero alimentos sanos cada día.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I ingest healthy food every day.” in Spanish?
- (a) Mi padre ingiere líquidos durante el partido.
- (b) Ingiero alimentos sanos cada día.
- (c) Ingieren alimentos sanos cada día.
Answer: Ingiero alimentos sanos cada día. — “Ingiero alimentos sanos cada día.” is the correct translation.
9. What is the nosotros form of ingerir in the present tense?
- (a) ingiero
- (b) ingieres
- (c) ingerimos
Answer: ingerimos — The nosotros form is ingerimos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Mañana, nosotros ingeriremos demasiada sal en la cena.
- (b) Ingiero alimentos sanos cada día.
- (c) Ayer, yo ingerí alimentos sanos cada día.
Answer: Ingiero alimentos sanos cada día. — “Ingiero alimentos sanos cada día.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I ingest healthy food every day' in Spanish?
Say 'Ingiero alimentos sanos cada día'. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Ingiero alimentos sanos cada día todos los días'.
How do you say 'He ingests pills with water' in Spanish?
Say 'Él ingiere pastillas con agua'. The subject comes first, and the verb agrees with it: él takes ingiere.
What is the difference between ingerir and comer?
Ingerir means to ingest, while comer means to eat. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use ingerir when you mean to ingest, as in 'Ingiero alimentos sanos cada día', and use comer for to eat.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of ingerir — every tense of ingerir in one place.
- Ingerir in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on ingerir and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of ingerir until they are automatic.