Marchitarse Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb marchitarse means to wither, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Marchitarse is a regular -ar, reflexive verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. Marchitarse is reflexive, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun that matches the person: me, te, se, nos, os or se. For example, me marchito sin agua means "I wither without water". Without the pronoun, the verb changes meaning or stops making sense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of marchitarse in all thirteen tenses, notes on when to use each one, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. For example, in the present tense you say Yo me marchito sin agua — "I wither without water" — and in the preterite you say En verano, yo me marchité — "In summer, I withered". Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: marchitarse
  • English: to wither
  • Verb type: regular -ar, reflexive verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: marchitando
  • Past participle: marchitado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + marchitado)
  • Reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nos, os, se — one before every conjugated form, matching the person.

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for marchitarse, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Marchitarse is reflexive: me marchito, te marchitas. Without the pronoun, marchitar means something else — it acts on someone or something else, not on yourself.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for marchitarse. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.

Gerund: marchitando · Past participle: marchitado

Present indicative

Person Pronoun Form
yo me marchito
tú te marchitas
él/ella/Ud. se marchita
nosotros/as nos marchitamos
vosotros/as os marchitáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se marchitan

Preterite

Person Pronoun Form
yo me marchité
tú te marchitaste
él/ella/Ud. se marchitó
nosotros/as nos marchitamos
vosotros/as os marchitasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se marchitaron

Imperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me marchitaba
tú te marchitabas
él/ella/Ud. se marchitaba
nosotros/as nos marchitábamos
vosotros/as os marchitabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se marchitaban

Future

Person Pronoun Form
yo me marchitaré
tú te marchitarás
él/ella/Ud. se marchitará
nosotros/as nos marchitaremos
vosotros/as os marchitaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se marchitarán

Conditional

Person Pronoun Form
yo me marchitaría
tú te marchitarías
él/ella/Ud. se marchitaría
nosotros/as nos marchitaríamos
vosotros/as os marchitaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se marchitarían

Present perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me he marchitado
tú te has marchitado
él/ella/Ud. se ha marchitado
nosotros/as nos hemos marchitado
vosotros/as os habéis marchitado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se han marchitado

Pluperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me había marchitado
tú te habías marchitado
él/ella/Ud. se había marchitado
nosotros/as nos habíamos marchitado
vosotros/as os habíais marchitado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habían marchitado

Future perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habré marchitado
tú te habrás marchitado
él/ella/Ud. se habrá marchitado
nosotros/as nos habremos marchitado
vosotros/as os habréis marchitado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrán marchitado

Conditional perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habría marchitado
tú te habrías marchitado
él/ella/Ud. se habría marchitado
nosotros/as nos habríamos marchitado
vosotros/as os habríais marchitado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrían marchitado

Present subjunctive

Person Pronoun Form
yo me marchite
tú te marchites
él/ella/Ud. se marchite
nosotros/as nos marchitemos
vosotros/as os marchitéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se marchiten

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Pronoun Form
yo me marchitara
tú te marchitaras
él/ella/Ud. se marchitara
nosotros/as nos marchitáramos
vosotros/as os marchitarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se marchitaran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Pronoun Form
tú te marchita
él/ella/Ud. se marchite
nosotros/as nos marchitemos
vosotros/as os marchitad
ellos/ellas/Uds. se marchiten

Imperative (negative)

Person Pronoun Form
tú te marchites
él/ella/Ud. se marchite
nosotros/as nos marchitemos
vosotros/as os marchitéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se marchiten

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund marchitando with estar for the progressive: estoy marchitando (or me estoy marchitando for this reflexive verb)
Past participle marchitado with haber for the perfect tenses: he marchitado

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. It is the tense you will use most often in everyday conversation, for habits with words like todos los días and for statements that are true in general. For marchitarse, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: En verano, yo me marchito — "In summer, I wither". Learn the present indicative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions in the past — things that started and ended, often with time words like ayer, anoche or la semana pasada. The preterite moves a story forward, one completed event at a time. For marchitarse, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me marchité poco a poco — "I withered little by little". Learn the preterite forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with words like antes, de niño or mientras. It describes how things used to be, not one finished event. For marchitarse, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me marchitaba sin agua — "I used to wither without water". Learn the imperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. It talks about what will happen, not what is happening now. For marchitarse, the future looks like this in a real sentence: En verano, yo me marchitaré — "In summer, I will wither". Learn the future forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often in si clauses. It softens a request and describes imagined situations. For marchitarse, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me marchitaría poco a poco — "I would wither little by little". Learn the conditional forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. It connects the past with the present moment. For marchitarse, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me he marchitado sin agua — "I have withered without water". Learn the present perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. It is the past of the past, and it usually appears with antes de or ya. For marchitarse, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: En verano, yo me había marchitado — "In summer, I had withered". Learn the pluperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time, often with para mañana or para el viernes. For marchitarse, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me habré marchitado poco a poco — "I will have withered little by little". Learn the future perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. It looks back at a past that never happened. For marchitarse, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me habría marchitado sin agua — "I would have withered without water". Learn the conditional perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. The subjunctive does not state a fact; it states an attitude towards the action. For marchitarse, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él se marchite en verano — "I hope he withers in summer". Learn the present subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past, and note the -ra forms shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For marchitarse, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo me marchitara poco a poco, todo cambiaría — "If I withered little by little, everything would change". Learn the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. It tells someone to do something, and it has no yo form. For marchitarse, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Que se marchite sin agua — "Let him wither without water". Learn the imperative (affirmative) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. It uses the subjunctive forms, so it looks different from the affirmative commands. For marchitarse, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No te marchites en verano — "Don't wither in summer". Learn the imperative (negative) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with marchitarse, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Yo me marchito poco a poco — "I wither little by little"
  2. Él se marchita sin agua — "He withers without water"
  3. En verano, yo me marchité — "In summer, I withered"
  4. Yo me marchitaba poco a poco — "I used to wither little by little"
  5. Tú te marchitarás sin agua — "You will wither without water"
  6. En verano, yo me marchitaría — "In summer, I would wither"
  7. Él se ha marchitado poco a poco — "He has withered little by little"
  8. Espero que él se marchite sin agua — "I hope he withers without water"
  9. En verano, yo me había marchitado — "In summer, I had withered"
  10. Ellos se marchitaban poco a poco — "They used to wither little by little"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo marchito sin agua — Right: Yo me marchito sin agua — Marchitarse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required: without it the verb means something else, or nothing at all.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo me marchito — Right: Ayer, yo me marchité — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to marchité.
  3. Wrong: De niño, yo me marchité todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo me marchitaba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (marchitaba), not the preterite. The preterite (marchité) is for one finished action.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy marchitado en verano. — Right: Yo me he marchitado en verano. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he marchitado, has marchitado, ha marchitado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: Espero que él marchita sin agua. — Right: Espero que él se marchite sin agua. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: marchite. The indicative marchita is wrong here.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on marchitarse. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo me ___ sin agua. (present tense) A. he marchitado B. habrá marchitado C. marchitaron D. marchito

  2. Complete the sentence: Él se ___ sin agua. (preterite) A. marchitéis B. marchitó C. marchitas D. marchitaste

  3. Complete the sentence: Nosotros nos ___ sin agua. (imperfect) A. marchita B. marchitas C. marchitábamos D. marchitad

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú te ___ sin agua. (future) A. marchitarás B. habría marchitado C. marchitaste D. marchitemos

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo me ___ sin agua. (conditional) A. marchitamos B. he marchitado C. marchitaréis D. marchitaría

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él se ___ sin agua. (present subjunctive) A. habríamos marchitado B. habrían marchitado C. marchite D. marchitarías

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo me ___ sin agua, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. marchitarían B. marchitara C. marchitaríamos D. marchitarais

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros nos ___ sin agua. (present perfect) A. habrás marchitado B. marchitáis C. hemos marchitado D. he marchitado

  9. Complete the command: No te ___ sin agua. (negative imperative, tú) A. marchitéis B. marchiten C. marchitemos D. marchites

  10. Which is the gerund of marchitarse, used with estar for the progressive? A. marchitando B. marchitado C. marchitaba D. marchito

Answer key

  1. me marchito — The yo present tense of marchitarse is me marchito.
  2. se marchitó — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of marchitarse is se marchitó.
  3. nos marchitábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of marchitarse is nos marchitábamos.
  4. te marchitarás — The tú future of marchitarse is te marchitarás.
  5. me marchitaría — The yo conditional of marchitarse is me marchitaría.
  6. se marchite — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of marchitarse is se marchite.
  7. me marchitara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of marchitarse is me marchitara.
  8. nos hemos marchitado — The nosotros/as present perfect of marchitarse is nos hemos marchitado.
  9. te marchites — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: te marchites.
  10. marchitando — The gerund of marchitarse is marchitando: estoy marchitando. The participle marchitado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does marchitarse mean in English?

Marchitarse means to wither. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo me marchito sin agua. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is marchitarse a reflexive verb?

Yes. Marchitarse is reflexive, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun that matches the person: me, te, se, nos, os or se. For example, Yo me marchito sin agua and En verano, él se marchita. If you leave the pronoun out, the verb changes meaning or stops making sense.

What is the gerund and the past participle of marchitarse?

The gerund is marchitando, used with estar for the progressive: estoy marchitando. The past participle is marchitado, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he marchitado.

How do I say “I wither” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: En verano, yo me marchité. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo me marchitaba poco a poco. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo me he marchitado sin agua.

How do I practise marchitarse?

Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the marchitarse examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.

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