Medir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

medir means "to measure" in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Medir means to measure: medir la habitación, medir la temperatura. It is also used figuratively: medir sus palabras means to weigh your words before speaking. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by use, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of medir; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the medir present tense page.

medir in everyday use: examples with translations

Everyday present uses

How the verb sounds in the present, the future and in hypotheticals — the forms you will use most often.

  1. Yo mido la habitación con una cinta — "I measure the room with a tape measure"
  2. Mi amigo mide la temperatura del agua — "My friend measures the water temperature"
  3. Mañana, tú medirás dos metros de tela — "Tomorrow, you will measure two metres of fabric"
  4. Yo mediría el tiempo con un cronómetro si pudiera — "I would measure the time with a stopwatch if I could"

Talking about the past

The same verb in the past: one finished action, a habit, something that has just happened, and something that had already happened.

  1. Ayer, yo medí la habitación con una cinta — "Yesterday, I measured the room with a tape measure"
  2. Antes, nosotros medíamos la temperatura del agua — "Before, we used to measure the water temperature"
  3. Él ha medido dos metros de tela — "He has measured two metres of fabric"
  4. Yo ya había medido el tiempo con un cronómetro antes de salir — "I already had measured the time with a stopwatch before leaving"

Wishes, conditions and commands

The verb after espero que, in si clauses, as a command — and in the conditional perfect, for what would have happened.

  1. Espero que él mida la habitación con una cinta — "I hope he measures the room with a tape measure"
  2. Si yo midiera la temperatura del agua, todo cambiaría — "If I measured the water temperature, everything would change"
  3. Mide dos metros de tela. — "Measure two metres of fabric."
  4. Yo habría medido el tiempo con un cronómetro con más tiempo — "I would have measured the time with a stopwatch with more time"

medir in conversation

Two short dialogues that use medir the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

Two friends talk about it.

  • Lucía: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Lucía: Yo mido la habitación con una cinta — "I measure the room with a tape measure"
  • Marcos: Él mide la temperatura del agua — "He measures the water temperature"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo medí dos metros de tela — "Yesterday, I measured two metres of fabric"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú medirás el tiempo con un cronómetro — "Tomorrow, you will measure the time with a stopwatch"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Mide sus palabras antes de hablar. — "Measure his words before speaking."
  • Lucía: Él ha medido la habitación con una cinta — "He has measured the room with a tape measure"
  • Marcos: Espero que él mida la temperatura del agua — "I hope he measures the water temperature"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo medía dos metros de tela — "Before, I used to measure two metres of fabric"

Common mistakes with medir

The errors learners actually make with medir, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ *Yo medo el tiempo con un cronómetro.

✓ Correct: Yo mido el tiempo con un cronómetro.

medir is a stem-changing verb (e → i): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is mido, not medo.

✗ *Espero que él mide el tiempo con un cronómetro

✓ Correct: Espero que él mida el tiempo con un cronómetro

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él mida el tiempo con un cronómetro — not the indicative Espero que él mide el tiempo con un cronómetro.

✗ *Ayer, yo mido sus palabras antes de hablar

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo medí sus palabras antes de hablar

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo medí sus palabras antes de hablar.

✗ *De niño, yo medí la habitación con una cinta todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo medía la habitación con una cinta todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo medía la habitación con una cinta todos los días.

✗ *Yo mido en dos metros de tela.

✓ Correct: Yo mido dos metros de tela.

medir takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo mido dos metros de tela.

Quiz: medir in use

Ten questions on medir — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ la habitación con una cinta — "I measure the room with a tape measure" (present) A. mides B. mide C. medimos D. mido

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ la temperatura del agua — "Yesterday, I measured the water temperature" (preterite) A. midió B. medimos C. medí D. mediste

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ dos metros de tela — "Before, we used to measure two metres of fabric" (imperfect) A. medíais B. medíamos C. medía D. medías

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ el tiempo con un cronómetro — "Tomorrow, you will measure the time with a stopwatch" (future) A. medirás B. mediré C. medirá D. mediremos

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ sus palabras antes de hablar — "I would measure his words before speaking" (conditional) A. medirías B. mediríamos C. mediríais D. mediría

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ la habitación con una cinta — "He has measured the room with a tape measure" (present perfect) A. hemos medido B. ha medido C. he medido D. has medido

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ la temperatura del agua — "I hope he measures the water temperature" (present subjunctive) A. mida B. midas C. midamos D. midáis

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ dos metros de tela. — "Measure two metres of fabric." (affirmative imperative) A. medid B. mide C. mida D. midamos

  9. Which is the gerund of medir, used with estar for the progressive? A. medí B. midiendo C. medido D. mido

  10. What does medir mean in English? A. to weigh B. to enjoy C. to cross D. to measure

Answer key

  1. mido — The present form for yo is mido.
  2. medí — The preterite form for yo is medí.
  3. medíamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is medíamos.
  4. medirás — The future form for tú is medirás.
  5. mediría — The conditional form for yo is mediría.
  6. ha medido — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha medido.
  7. mida — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is mida.
  8. mide — The affirmative imperative form is mide.
  9. midiendo — The gerund of medir is midiendo: estoy midiendo. The participle medido is used with haber instead.
  10. to measure — medir means to measure.

Frequently asked questions

What does medir mean in English?

medir means to measure. For example: Yo mido la habitación con una cinta — "I measure the room with a tape measure". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with medir?

medir takes its complement directly, with no preposition, as in the examples above. Adding an extra preposition is a common learner error.

Is medir regular?

No. medir is a stem-changing -ir verb (e → i). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: mido, mides, mide and miden — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: medimos, medís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: midió, midieron, and the gerund is midiendo.

How do I practise medir?

Start with the present tense table on the full conjugation page, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure, and come back to the sentences above until you can say them without looking.

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