Merecer Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

merecer means to deserve, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Merecer means to deserve, and it is used for deserving a rest, a second chance, a prize and more respect. It is a -cer spelling-change verb: yo merezco, and it often appears with the structure merecer + infinitive, as in merece descansar. This page puts merecer to work: twelve example sentences in different tenses and persons, grouped by use, then two short dialogues where the verb appears naturally, then the common mistakes to avoid, and finally a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every Spanish form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for merecer, and the full tables are on the merecer conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo merezco un descanso después del trabajo. — I deserve a rest after the work.
  2. Él merece una segunda oportunidad. — He/she deserves a second chance.
  3. Ayer, yo merecí el premio por su esfuerzo. — Yesterday, I deserved the prize for his effort.
  4. Antes, nosotros merecíamos más respeto de sus jefes. — Before, we used to deserve more respect from her bosses.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú merecerás un descanso después del trabajo. — Tomorrow, you will deserve a rest after the work.
  2. Yo merecería una segunda oportunidad. — I would deserve a second chance.
  3. Él ha merecido el premio por su esfuerzo. — He/she has deserved the prize for his effort.
  4. Espero que él merezca más respeto de sus jefes. — I hope he/she deserves more respect from her bosses.

With other people

  1. Nosotros merecemos un descanso después del trabajo. — We deserve a rest after the work.
  2. Vosotros merecéis una segunda oportunidad. — You all deserve a second chance.
  3. Antes, ellos merecían el premio por su esfuerzo. — Before, they used to deserve the prize for his effort.
  4. Mañana, él merecerá más respeto de sus jefes. — Tomorrow, he/she will deserve more respect from her bosses.

Merecer in context

Two short dialogues that use merecer the way people really use it. Read them aloud — the verb forms will stick much faster in a conversation than in a table.

Dialogue 1: today and yesterday

  • Ana: "Hola, ¿qué tal?" — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Luis: "Hoy merezco un descanso después del trabajo." — "Today I deserve a rest after the work."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, merecí el premio por su esfuerzo." — "Yesterday I deserved the prize for his effort."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú merecerás una segunda oportunidad?" — "And tomorrow, will you will deserve a second chance?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros merecemos más respeto de sus jefes." — "Tomorrow we deserve more respect from her bosses."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo merecería una segunda oportunidad si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would deserve a second chance if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él merezca un descanso después del trabajo." — "I hope he deserves a rest after the work."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha merecido el premio por su esfuerzo." — "Surely. He has already has deserved the prize for his effort."
  • Marta: "Vale, nos vemos mañana." — "OK, see you tomorrow."

Notice how the same verb changes with the tense: the present for the plan, the conditional for the wish, the subjunctive after espero que, and the present perfect for what has already happened. That is the whole point of learning a verb across its tenses, not just in one form.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo merece un descanso después del trabajo. — Right: Yo merezco un descanso después del trabajo. — The person matters: merece is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is merezco. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo mereco una segunda oportunidad. — Right: Yo merezco una segunda oportunidad. — In the present, the correct first-person form is merezco, not mereco. merecer is a spelling-change verb: c becomes zc before o and a, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
  3. Wrong: Treating merecer and ganar as identical in every context. — Right: Merecer means to deserve, while ganar means to win or earn, the close verb. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: merecer fits sentences such as Merezco un descanso después del trabajo, while ganar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy merecido una segunda oportunidad. — Right: Yo he merecido una segunda oportunidad. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he merecido, has merecido, ha merecido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo merecí el premio por su esfuerzo todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo merecía el premio por su esfuerzo todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (merecía), not the preterite. The preterite (merecí) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on merecer: four on the forms, three on the meaning, and three on spotting the correct sentence. Check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ un descanso después del trabajo. (present tense) A. merezco B. mereces C. merece D. merecemos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ una segunda oportunidad. (preterite tense) A. merecí B. mereciste C. merecimos D. mereció

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el premio por su esfuerzo. (future tense) A. merecerá B. mereceremos C. merecerás D. mereceré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ más respeto de sus jefes. (imperfect tense) A. merecíais B. merecíamos C. merecía D. merecías

  5. What does "Yo merezco un descanso después del trabajo." mean in English? A. I deserve a rest after the work. B. I deserve a second chance. C. I deserve the prize for his effort. D. I deserve more respect from her bosses.

  6. What does "Él mereció una segunda oportunidad." mean in English? A. He/she deserved a rest after the work. B. He/she deserved the prize for his effort. C. He/she deserved more respect from her bosses. D. He/she deserved a second chance.

  7. What does "Nosotros mereceremos el premio por su esfuerzo." mean in English? A. We will deserve a second chance. B. We will deserve more respect from her bosses. C. We will deserve the prize for his effort. D. We will deserve a rest after the work.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo mereco una segunda oportunidad. B. Yo merece una segunda oportunidad. C. Yo merezco una segunda oportunidad.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él merecí el premio por su esfuerzo. B. Él mereció el premio por su esfuerzo. C. Él merecieron el premio por su esfuerzo.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo merezca más respeto de sus jefes. B. Yo mereca más respeto de sus jefes. C. Yo merezca más respeto de sus jefes.

Answer key

  1. merezco — The yo present form of merecer is merezco.
  2. mereció — The el preterite form of merecer is mereció.
  3. merecerás — The tu future form of merecer is merecerás.
  4. merecíamos — The nosotros imperfect form of merecer is merecíamos.
  5. I deserve a rest after the work. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form merezco, so the English is "I deserve a rest after the work." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she deserved a second chance. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form mereció, so the English is "He/she deserved a second chance." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will deserve the prize for his effort. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form mereceremos, so the English is "We will deserve the prize for his effort." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo merezco una segunda oportunidad. — The correct sentence is "Yo merezco una segunda oportunidad." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él mereció el premio por su esfuerzo. — The correct sentence is "Él mereció el premio por su esfuerzo." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo merezca más respeto de sus jefes. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo merezca más respeto de sus jefes." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

What does merecer mean, and when do I use it?

Merecer means to deserve. Merecer means to deserve, and it is used for deserving a rest, a second chance, a prize and more respect. It is a -cer spelling-change verb: yo merezco, and it often appears with the structure merecer + infinitive, as in merece descansar. A good first sentence to remember is Yo merezco un descanso después del trabajo. — "I deserve a rest after the work."

What is the difference between merecer and ganar?

Merecer means to deserve, while ganar means to win or earn, the close verb. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use merecer when you mean to deserve, as in Yo merezco una segunda oportunidad., and use ganar for to win or earn, the close verb.

How do I say "I deserve" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo merecí una segunda oportunidad.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo merecía el premio por su esfuerzo.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he merecido una segunda oportunidad..

How do I practise merecer?

Start with the merecer conjugation page for the full tables, then the merecer in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Spelling change: c becomes zc before o and a, so yo merezco and the subjunctive merezca.

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