Mejorarse in the Present Tense

Mejorarse means “to get better”, and this page covers exactly one thing: mejorarse in the present tense. The present is the tense Spanish speakers reach for when they talk about routines, facts and what is happening now. On this page you will find the full present table for mejorarse, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the preterite, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about mejorarse in the present. For example: “Yo me mejoro de la gripe poco a poco.” — I get better from the flu little by little. Everything on this page uses the forms of mejorarse exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Mejorarse in the Present Tense — full table

Person Pronoun Form
yo me mejoro
tú te mejoras
él/ella/Ud. se mejora
nosotros/as nos mejoramos
vosotros/as os mejoráis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se mejoran

Gerund: mejorando · Past participle: mejorado

The gerund is mejorando, which you use with estar to say what is happening right now: “Estoy mejorando” means the action of mejorarse is in progress at this very moment. The past participle is mejorado, which you use with haber in the perfect tenses: “he mejorado” is the present perfect, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the present is only one part of how mejorarse is used.

How the present of mejorarse is formed

Mejorarse is regular in the present tense. Take the stem mejor and add the present endings for -ar verbs: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an, giving mejoro, mejoras, mejora, mejoramos, mejoráis, mejoran. Watch the accents: the yo form is mejoro and the él/ella/Ud. form is mejora. Because mejorarse is reflexive, put the pronoun before each form: me mejoro, te mejoras, se mejora, nos mejoramos, os mejoráis, se mejoran.

When to use the present of mejorarse

The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use mejorarse in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. Routines and habits

The present tense is the tense of what you do regularly. When something happens every day, every week or every morning, the present is the right choice, and mejorarse is no exception. Example: “Yo me mejoro de la gripe poco a poco todos los días.” — I get better from the flu little by little every day.

2. Facts and general truths

The present states facts that are true in general, not just right now. Use it to say what mejorarse means in practice and how it works in the world. Example: “Se mejora con el descanso y la medicina.” — He/she gets better with rest and medicine.

3. What is happening right now

The present also describes actions in progress at this very moment. When something is happening as you speak, the present tense says so directly. Example: “Yo me mejoro en español con la práctica ahora.” — I get better at Spanish with practice now.

4. Scheduled events in the near future

Spanish often uses the present for things that are already arranged, such as plans for tomorrow or next week. The present sounds more certain than the future in these cases. Example: “Nosotros nos mejoramos poco a poco cada día.” — We get better little by little every day.

5. Instructions and everyday speech

In everyday speech the present gives instructions, makes offers and states what someone does. It is the tense you will hear most often in conversation. Example: “Tú te mejoras de la gripe poco a poco.” — You get better from the flu little by little.

Present Tense vs Preterite: how to choose

The closest tense to the present is the preterite, and choosing between them is one of the first decisions in Spanish. The rule is simple: the present describes routines, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite reports one finished action. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is whether the action is a habit or a finished event. Time words help: todos los días and cada semana point to the present, while ayer and la semana pasada point to the preterite.

  • Present Tense: “Yo me mejoro de la gripe poco a poco todos los días.” — I get better from the flu little by little every day.

  • Preterite: “Ayer, yo me mejoré de la gripe poco a poco.” — Yesterday, I got better from the flu little by little.

  • The present sentence describes a habit; the preterite sentence reports one finished action. Todos los días points to the present, ayer points to the preterite.

  • Present Tense: “Él se mejora con el descanso y la medicina cada semana.” — He/she gets better with rest and medicine every week.

  • Preterite: “La semana pasada, él se mejoró con el descanso y la medicina.” — Last week, he got better with rest and medicine.

  • Cada semana describes a routine, so the present is right; la semana pasada names one finished week, so the preterite is right.

  • Present Tense: “Nosotros nos mejoramos en español con la práctica a menudo.” — We get better at Spanish with practice often.

  • Preterite: “Ayer, nosotros nos mejoramos en español con la práctica.” — Yesterday, we got better at Spanish with practice.

  • The present sentence counts no single event; the preterite sentence counts one finished action. That difference — habit versus finished event — is the whole decision.

Example sentences: mejorarse in the present

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions, the objects, the other verbs — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “Me mejoro de la gripe poco a poco.” — I get better from the flu little by little.

  2. “Te mejoras con el descanso y la medicina.” — You get better with rest and medicine.

  3. “Se mejora en español con la práctica.” — He/she gets better at Spanish with practice.

  4. “Nos mejoramos poco a poco cada día.” — We get better little by little every day.

  5. “Os mejoráis de la gripe poco a poco.” — You get better from the flu little by little.

  6. “Se mejoran con el descanso y la medicina.” — They get better with rest and medicine.

  7. “Me mejoro en español con la práctica.” — I get better at Spanish with practice.

  8. “Se mejora poco a poco cada día.” — He/she gets better little by little every day.

Common mistakes with mejorarse in the present

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

  • Wrong: “Yo mejoro de la gripe poco a poco.” Right: “Yo me mejoro de la gripe poco a poco.” Why: Mejorarse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required before every form. Without it the sentence is incomplete.

  • Wrong: “Yo mejoro con el descanso y la medicina ayer.” Right: “Ayer yo mejoré con el descanso y la medicina.” Why: The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to mejoré.

  • Wrong: “Nosotros mejoras en español con la práctica.” Right: “Nosotros nos mejoramos en español con la práctica.” Why: Nosotros needs nos mejoramos. The tú form mejoras belongs with tú.

  • Wrong: “Ellos mejoro poco a poco cada día todos los días.” Right: “Ellos se mejoran poco a poco cada día todos los días.” Why: The verb must agree with its subject. Ellos needs the ellos form se mejoran, not the yo form mejoro. This is the most common agreement slip in the present tense, and it happens because learners memorise the yo form first and then reuse it for every person.

Quiz: mejorarse in the present

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

1. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ de la gripe poco a poco.” (From the flu little by little.)

  • (a) me mejoro
  • (b) te mejoras
  • (c) se mejora

Answer: me mejoro — The yo form of mejorarse in the present is me mejoro. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.

2. Complete the sentence: “¿Tú ______ con el descanso y la medicina?” (With rest and medicine.)

  • (a) me mejoro
  • (b) se mejora
  • (c) te mejoras

Answer: te mejoras — The tú form of mejorarse in the present is te mejoras. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.

3. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ en español con la práctica.” (At spanish with practice.)

  • (a) te mejoras
  • (b) se mejora
  • (c) me mejoro

Answer: se mejora — The él/ella/Ud. form of mejorarse in the present is se mejora. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.

4. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ poco a poco cada día.” (Little by little every day.)

  • (a) nos mejoramos
  • (b) me mejoro
  • (c) te mejoras

Answer: nos mejoramos — The nosotros/as form of mejorarse in the present is nos mejoramos. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.

5. What is the vosotros/as form of mejorarse in the present?

  • (a) me mejoro
  • (b) te mejoras
  • (c) os mejoráis

Answer: os mejoráis — From the table above: vosotros/as takes os mejoráis. Say it with the example sentence “Vosotros os mejoráis de la gripe poco a poco.” to fix it in your memory.

6. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ con el descanso y la medicina.” (With rest and medicine.)

  • (a) te mejoras
  • (b) se mejoran
  • (c) me mejoro

Answer: se mejoran — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of mejorarse in the present is se mejoran. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.

7. Which is the correct yo form of mejorarse in the present?

  • (a) me mejoro
  • (b) te mejoras
  • (c) se mejora

Answer: me mejoro — The yo form is me mejoro. The other two options are the forms for other persons.

8. Which sentence describes a habit in the present?

  • (a) Yo me mejoré de la gripe poco a poco todos los días.
  • (b) Nosotros nos mejoraremos de la gripe poco a poco mañana.
  • (c) Yo me mejoro de la gripe poco a poco todos los días.

Answer: Yo me mejoro de la gripe poco a poco todos los días. — “Yo me mejoro de la gripe poco a poco todos los días.” describes a habit, so it takes the present. The second option reports a finished action in the past, and the third looks to the future.

Frequently asked questions

Is mejorarse regular in the present?

Yes. Mejorarse is regular in the present: mejoro, mejoras, mejora, mejoramos, mejoráis, mejoran. Watch the accents on the yo and él forms, and remember that only context tells the nosotros form apart from the present-tense nosotros form when they are identical.

What is the past participle of mejorarse?

The past participle is mejorado: 'He mejorado' means 'I have got better'. It is used with haber in every perfect tense. The gerund is mejorando.

Does mejorarse take a preposition?

It depends on the meaning. Mejorarse is reflexive: me mejoro. Mejorar without the pronoun means improving something else, as in mejorar el texto. In the examples on this page, mejorarse appears with complements such as de la gripe poco a poco and con el descanso y la medicina, so copy those patterns when you write your own sentences.

How do I remember the present forms of mejorarse?

Say the six forms out loud in order, three times, with a real sentence for each one: yo me mejoro, tú te mejoras, él/ella/Ud. se mejora, nosotros/as nos mejoramos, vosotros/as os mejoráis, ellos/ellas/Uds. se mejoran. Then write three of your own sentences with mejorarse in the present, using the examples on this page as models.

Related pages