Morder Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

morder means "to bite" 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. Morder means to bite: morder una manzana, morder el bocadillo. It takes a direct object for the thing bitten and a person with a for the person bitten: morder a su hermano. 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 morder; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the morder present tense page.

morder 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 muerdo una manzana verde — "I bite a green apple"
  2. Mi amigo muerde el bocadillo con hambre — "My friend bites the sandwich hungrily"
  3. Mañana, tú morderás la cuerda con los dientes — "Tomorrow, you will bite the rope with his teeth"
  4. Yo mordería a su hermano en el brazo si pudiera — "I would bite his brother on the arm 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 mordí una manzana verde — "Yesterday, I bit a green apple"
  2. Antes, nosotros mordíamos el bocadillo con hambre — "Before, we used to bite the sandwich hungrily"
  3. Él ha mordido la cuerda con los dientes — "He has bitten the rope with his teeth"
  4. Yo ya había mordido a su hermano en el brazo antes de salir — "I already had bitten his brother on the arm 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 muerda una manzana verde — "I hope he bites a green apple"
  2. Si yo mordiera el bocadillo con hambre, todo cambiaría — "If I bit the sandwich hungrily, everything would change"
  3. Muerde la cuerda con los dientes. — "Bite the rope with his teeth."
  4. Yo habría mordido a su hermano en el brazo con más tiempo — "I would have bitten his brother on the arm with more time"

morder in conversation

Two short dialogues that use morder 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 muerdo una manzana verde — "I bite a green apple"
  • Marcos: Él muerde el bocadillo con hambre — "He bites the sandwich hungrily"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo mordí la cuerda con los dientes — "Yesterday, I bit the rope with his teeth"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú morderás a su hermano en el brazo — "Tomorrow, you will bite his brother on the arm"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Muerde el lápiz mientras piensa. — "Bite the pencil while thinking."
  • Lucía: Él ha mordido una manzana verde — "He has bitten a green apple"
  • Marcos: Espero que él muerda el bocadillo con hambre — "I hope he bites the sandwich hungrily"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo mordía la cuerda con los dientes — "Before, I used to bite the rope with his teeth"

Common mistakes with morder

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

✗ *Yo mordo a su hermano en el brazo.

✓ Correct: Yo muerdo a su hermano en el brazo.

morder is a stem-changing verb (o → ue): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is muerdo, not mordo.

✗ *Espero que él muerde a su hermano en el brazo

✓ Correct: Espero que él muerda a su hermano en el brazo

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él muerda a su hermano en el brazo — not the indicative Espero que él muerde a su hermano en el brazo.

✗ *Ayer, yo muerdo el lápiz mientras piensa

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo mordí el lápiz mientras piensa

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo mordí el lápiz mientras piensa.

✗ *De niño, yo mordí una manzana verde todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo mordía una manzana verde todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo mordía una manzana verde todos los días.

✗ *Yo muerdo en la cuerda con los dientes.

✓ Correct: Yo muerdo la cuerda con los dientes.

morder takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo muerdo la cuerda con los dientes.

Quiz: morder in use

Ten questions on morder — 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 ______ una manzana verde — "I bite a green apple" (present) A. muerde B. mordemos C. muerdo D. muerdes

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ el bocadillo con hambre — "Yesterday, I bit the sandwich hungrily" (preterite) A. mordí B. mordiste C. mordió D. mordimos

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ la cuerda con los dientes — "Before, we used to bite the rope with his teeth" (imperfect) A. mordíamos B. mordía C. mordías D. mordíais

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ a su hermano en el brazo — "Tomorrow, you will bite his brother on the arm" (future) A. morderemos B. morderás C. morderé D. morderá

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el lápiz mientras piensa — "I would bite the pencil while thinking" (conditional) A. morderías B. morderíamos C. morderíais D. mordería

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ una manzana verde — "He has bitten a green apple" (present perfect) A. has mordido B. hemos mordido C. ha mordido D. he mordido

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ el bocadillo con hambre — "I hope he bites the sandwich hungrily" (present subjunctive) A. mordáis B. muerda C. muerdas D. mordamos

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ la cuerda con los dientes. — "Bite the rope with his teeth." (affirmative imperative) A. muerde B. muerda C. mordamos D. morded

  9. Which is the gerund of morder, used with estar for the progressive? A. mordí B. mordiendo C. mordido D. muerdo

  10. What does morder mean in English? A. to bite oneself B. to enjoy C. to cross D. to bite

Answer key

  1. muerdo — The present form for yo is muerdo.
  2. mordí — The preterite form for yo is mordí.
  3. mordíamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is mordíamos.
  4. morderás — The future form for tú is morderás.
  5. mordería — The conditional form for yo is mordería.
  6. ha mordido — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha mordido.
  7. muerda — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is muerda.
  8. muerde — The affirmative imperative form is muerde.
  9. mordiendo — The gerund of morder is mordiendo: estoy mordiendo. The participle mordido is used with haber instead.
  10. to bite — morder means to bite.

Frequently asked questions

What does morder mean in English?

morder means to bite. For example: Yo muerdo una manzana verde — "I bite a green apple". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with morder?

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

Is morder regular?

No. morder is a stem-changing -er verb (o → ue). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: muerdo, muerdes, muerde and muerden — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: mordemos, mordéis.

How do I practise morder?

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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