Mejorar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of mejorar — "to improve, to get better" in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for mejorar with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Mejorar means "to improve" or "to get better", and it is one of the most optimistic verbs in Spanish — your Spanish improves, the weather improves, a patient gets better, a situation improves. It works both ways: you can improve something (mejoro mi español, I improve my Spanish) and something can improve on its own (el tiempo mejora, the weather improves). It is a fully regular -ar verb, and the present tense is used constantly for progress that is happening now. To see it in a real sentence: Yo mejoro mi español cada día. — "I improve my Spanish every day.".
Present tense conjugation table: mejorar
Every person of mejorar in the present tense. The gerund is mejorando and the past participle is mejorado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | mejoro |
| tú | mejoras |
| él/ella/Ud. | mejora |
| nosotros/as | mejoramos |
| vosotros/as | mejoráis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | mejoran |
How the present indicative of mejorar is formed
The present indicative of mejorar is built from the stem mejor- plus the present indicative endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.
| Person | Ending | Form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | mejoro |
| tú | -as | mejoras |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | mejora |
| nosotros/as | -amos | mejoramos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | mejoráis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | mejoran |
Because mejorar is a regular -ar verb, there are no surprises in the present indicative: the stem mejor- never changes, and every person takes its normal ending. The only spelling detail to watch is the written accent on the vosotros form, mejoráis, which carries an accent on the vowel of the ending. Learn the six endings once and you can conjugate any regular -ar verb the same way.
The gerund of mejorar is mejorando and the past participle is mejorado. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.
When to use the present tense of mejorar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and mejorar appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.
Improving a skill
The present describes progress happening now, with practice as the cause.
"Yo mejoro mi español cada día." — "I improve my Spanish every day."
The weather improving
El tiempo mejora is the standard phrase for the weather getting better.
"El tiempo mejora por la tarde." — "The weather improves in the afternoon."
Health improving
A patient getting better is described with mejorar in the present.
"Mi abuelo mejora poco a poco." — "My grandfather is getting better little by little."
Improving a situation
The present describes a situation that is getting better now.
"La economía mejora este año." — "The economy is improving this year."
Improving something at work
Mejorar takes a direct object for the thing being improved.
"Nosotros mejoramos el servicio al cliente." — "We improve customer service."
The present tense vs the closest tenses
Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion
The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.
- Present — habit or general fact: Yo mejoro mi pronunciación con práctica. — "I improve my pronunciation with practice."
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Yo mejoré mi pronunciación con práctica. — the same idea, placed in the preterite.
Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add "used to" in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.
- Present — now: Tú mejoras mucho con este profesor. — "You improve a lot with this teacher."
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Tú mejorabas mucho con este profesor. — the same idea, placed in the imperfect.
Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen
The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.
- Present — now or a fixed plan: El equipo mejora cada semana. — "The team improves every week."
- Future — what will happen: El equipo mejorará cada semana. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: mejorar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show mejorar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo mejoro mi pronunciación con práctica. — "I improve my pronunciation with practice."
- Tú mejoras mucho con este profesor. — "You improve a lot with this teacher."
- El equipo mejora cada semana. — "The team improves every week."
- Nosotros mejoramos nuestras notas. — "We improve our grades."
- Vosotros mejoráis vuestro inglés rápidamente. — "You improve your English quickly."
- Los alumnos mejoran su vocabulario. — "The students improve their vocabulary."
- La situación mejora día a día. — "The situation improves day by day."
Common mistakes with mejorar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with mejorar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo mejoro a mi español cada día (adding a before the object).
✓ Correct: Yo mejoro mi español cada día.
Mejorar takes a direct object with no preposition: mejorar mi español, not mejorar a mi español.
✗ *El tiempo mejoran por la tarde (plural ending for a singular subject).
✓ Correct: El tiempo mejora por la tarde.
El tiempo is singular, so the verb is mejora. Mejoran is for plural subjects like los precios.
✗ *Vosotros melhorais vuestro inglés rápidamente.
✓ Correct: Vosotros mejoráis vuestro inglés rápidamente.
Mejoráis needs the written accent on the á, and the verb is spelled mejorar with a j, not melhor.
✗ *Nosotros mejoramos a el servicio.
✓ Correct: Nosotros mejoramos el servicio al cliente.
No a before a thing, and remember al cliente is a + el contracted — al is correct there because the client is a person.
Quiz: mejorar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of mejorar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
1. Which is the correct present tense form of mejorar for tú?
- a) mejoran
- b) mejora
- c) mejoro
- d) mejoras
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ mi pronunciación con práctica. — "I improve my pronunciation with practice."
- a) mejoras
- b) mejoré
- c) mejoro
- d) mejoran
3. Complete the sentence: El tiempo ______ por la tarde. — "The weather improves in the afternoon."
- a) mejora
- b) mejoras
- c) mejoramos
- d) mejoró
4. Which is the correct present tense form of mejorar for nosotros?
- a) mejoran
- b) mejoramos
- c) mejoras
- d) mejoro
5. Which sentence uses mejorar correctly in the present tense?
- a) El equipo mejora cada semana.
- b) El equipo mejoró cada semana.
- c) El equipo mejoras cada semana.
6. Which is the correct present tense form of mejorar for vosotros?
- a) mejoráis
- b) mejora
- c) mejoro
- d) mejoras
7. Complete the sentence: La economía ______ este año. — "The economy is improving this year."
- a) mejoró
- b) mejoran
- c) mejoro
- d) mejora
8. What is the gerund of mejorar?
- a) mejoramos
- b) mejorando
- c) mejoro
- d) mejorado
Answer key
d) mejoras — The tú form is mejoras. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; mejoro is yo, mejora is él/ella and mejoran is ellos/ellas.
c) mejoro — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: mejoro. The other options are the wrong person or the wrong tense.
a) mejora — The subject is él/ella/Ud., so the present form is mejora.
b) mejoramos — Nosotros takes mejoramos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem mejor-.
a) El equipo mejora cada semana. — El equipo mejora cada semana. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
a) mejoráis — Vosotros takes mejoráis. Remember the written accent on the ending — it is part of the correct spelling.
d) mejora — The subject is él/ella/Ud., so the present form is mejora.
b) mejorando — The gerund is mejorando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle mejorado.
Frequently asked questions
Is mejorar regular in the present tense?
Yes. mejorar is a regular -ar verb, so its present tense follows the standard endings exactly: mejoro, mejoras, mejora, mejoramos, mejoráis and mejoran.
What is the gerund and the past participle of mejorar?
The gerund is mejorando and the past participle is mejorado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I to improve, to get better" in Spanish?
Say mejoro. For example: Yo mejoro mi pronunciación con práctica. — "I improve my pronunciation with practice.".
What is the difference between mejorar and empeorar?
mejorar means "to improve, to get better", while empeorar means "to get worse". They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use mejorar when you mean "to improve, to get better" and empeorar when you mean "to get worse". The full conjugation of empeorar is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of mejorar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- mejorar examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Present tense guide — how the present tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.