Nutrir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish
nutrir means "to nourish" in English, and this page shows it in everyday use: real example sentences in several tenses, two short dialogues, the mistakes learners actually make, and a quiz to test yourself. You will see nutrir with his family with healthy food, the body with vitamins, the children with milk and fruit and the mind with good books — the situations where Spanish speakers really use it. A good first sentence to learn is: Cada día, yo nutro a su familia con comida sana. — "Every day, I nourish his family with healthy food." Read the examples aloud, notice which tense each one uses, and then try the dialogues and the quiz.
nutrir in everyday sentences
Twelve sentences with nutrir, grouped by situation. Each one shows the verb in a different tense or person, with its English translation and a note on when to use that form.
Everyday use
- Cada día, yo nutro a su familia con comida sana. — "Every day, I nourish his family with healthy food." The present tense fits a habit here.
- Ayer, yo nutrí el cuerpo con vitaminas. — "Yesterday, I nourished the body with vitamins." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, yo nutría a los niños con leche y fruta. — "In the past, I used to nourish the children with milk and fruit." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, nosotros nutriremos la mente con buenos libros. — "Tomorrow, we will nourish the mind with good books." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Si pudieras, tú nutrirías a su familia con comida sana. — "If you could, you would nourish his family with healthy food." The conditional fits something that would happen.
- Yo he nutrido el cuerpo con vitaminas. — "I have nourished the body with vitamins." The present perfect fits an action with present relevance.
More situations
- Normalmente, él nutre a los niños con leche y fruta. — "Normally, he/she nourishes the children with milk and fruit." The present tense fits a general truth here.
- Ayer, él nutrió la mente con buenos libros. — "Yesterday, he/she nourished the mind with good books." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, nosotros nutríamos a su familia con comida sana. — "In the past, we used to nourish his family with healthy food." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, yo nutriré el cuerpo con vitaminas. — "Tomorrow, I will nourish the body with vitamins." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Espero que él nutra a los niños con leche y fruta. — "I hope that he/she nourishes the children with milk and fruit." The present subjunctive follows espero que.
- ¡Nutre la mente con buenos libros! — "Nourish the mind with good books!" The imperative fits a direct order or request.
The verb in context
Two short dialogues using nutrir naturally. Notice how the verb changes person and tense as the conversation moves, and how the complements stay the same kind of situation: his family with healthy food, the body with vitamins, the children with milk and fruit and the mind with good books.
Dialogue 1: talking about his family with healthy food
María: ¿Tú nutres a su familia con comida sana? — "Do you nourish his family with healthy food?" Carlos: Sí, yo nutro a su familia con comida sana. — "I nourish his family with healthy food." María: ¿Y ayer? — "And yesterday?" Carlos: Ayer, yo nutrí el cuerpo con vitaminas. — "Yesterday, I nourished the body with vitamins." María: Mañana, nosotros nutriremos a los niños con leche y fruta. — "Tomorrow, we will nourish the children with milk and fruit." Carlos: Si pudiera, yo nutriría la mente con buenos libros. — "If I could, I would nourish the mind with good books." María: Antes, yo nutría el cuerpo con vitaminas. — "In the past, I used to nourish the body with vitamins." Carlos: Yo he nutrido a su familia con comida sana. — "I have nourished his family with healthy food." María: ¡Nutre a los niños con leche y fruta! — "Nourish the children with milk and fruit!"
In this dialogue nutrir appears in the present, the preterite, the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present perfect. That is the point: one verb, many tenses, and the complement tells you which situation you are in. Try the same dialogue with your own complements.
Dialogue 2: talking about the children with milk and fruit
María: Él nutre a los niños con leche y fruta. — "he/she nourishes the children with milk and fruit." Carlos: ¿De verdad? ¿Él nutre a los niños con leche y fruta todos los días? — "Really? Does he/she nourishes the children with milk and fruit every day?" María: Sí, y ellos nutren la mente con buenos libros. — "they nourish the mind with good books." Carlos: Ayer, ellos nutrieron a los niños con leche y fruta. — "Yesterday, they nourished the children with milk and fruit." María: Espero que él nutra la mente con buenos libros. — "I hope that he/she nourishes the mind with good books." Carlos: Mañana, él nutrirá a los niños con leche y fruta. — "Tomorrow, he/she will nourish the children with milk and fruit." María: Antes, nosotros nutríamos la mente con buenos libros. — "In the past, we used to nourish the mind with good books." Carlos: Nosotros nutrimos a su familia con comida sana también. — "we nourish his family with healthy food too."
This dialogue shows nutrir in the third person and in the plural, which is where learners most often hesitate. Read it aloud with a partner, swapping the names and the complements for your own life, and the forms will start to feel automatic.
Common mistakes with nutrir
The errors learners actually make with nutrir in everyday use, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why it is wrong.
Mistake 1: Adding a reflexive pronoun that does not belong
- Wrong: Yo me nutro a su familia con comida sana.
- Right: Yo nutro a su familia con comida sana.
- Why: nutrir is not reflexive, so there is no pronoun to add: Yo nutro a su familia con comida sana. is the correct sentence.
Mistake 2: Using the infinitive as a conjugated form
- Wrong: Yo nutrir a su familia con comida sana.
- Right: Yo nutro a su familia con comida sana.
- Why: The infinitive nutrir is the dictionary form, not a conjugated form. In a sentence with yo you need the present-tense form nutro.
Mistake 3: Using the present tense for yesterday
- Wrong: Ayer, yo nutro el cuerpo con vitaminas.
- Right: Ayer, yo nutrí el cuerpo con vitaminas.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite: Ayer, yo nutrí el cuerpo con vitaminas. — "Yesterday, I nourished the body with vitamins."
Mistake 4: Mixing up the gerund and the participle
- Wrong: Estoy nutrido a los niños con leche y fruta.
- Right: Estoy nutriendo a los niños con leche y fruta.
- Why: After estar you need the gerund nutriendo for the progressive. The participle nutrido goes with haber in the perfect tenses (he nutrido), never after estar.
Mistake 5: Confusing nutrir with nutrirse
- Wrong: Yo me nutro a su familia con comida sana.
- Right: Yo nutro a su familia con comida sana.
- Why: nutrir (to nourish) and nutrirse are partners, not the same verb. The reflexive partner nutrirse is used when the action comes back to the subject.
Quiz: nutrir in use
Test yourself with ten questions on nutrir. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the yo form of nutrir in the present tense?
- (a) nutre
- (b) nutrimos
- (c) nutro
- (d) nutres
Answer: (c) nutro. The yo form is nutro.
2. What is the tú form of nutrir in the present tense?
- (a) nutrimos
- (b) nutres
- (c) nutro
- (d) nutre
Answer: (b) nutres. The tú form is nutres.
3. What is the él/ella form of nutrir in the present tense?
- (a) nutre
- (b) nutro
- (c) nutres
- (d) nutrimos
Answer: (a) nutre. The él/ella form is nutre.
4. Complete the sentence: Cada día, yo ___ a su familia con comida sana.
- (a) nutres
- (b) nutre
- (c) nutrimos
- (d) nutro
Answer: (d) nutro. The sentence needs the yo form nutro.
5. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ___ el cuerpo con vitaminas.
- (a) nutrió
- (b) nutrimos
- (c) nutrí
- (d) nutriste
Answer: (c) nutrí. Ayer needs the preterite, and the yo form is nutrí.
6. Complete the sentence: Antes, yo ___ a los niños con leche y fruta.
- (a) nutríais
- (b) nutría
- (c) nutrías
- (d) nutríamos
Answer: (b) nutría. Antes needs the imperfect, and the yo form is nutría.
7. Complete the sentence: Mañana, yo ___ la mente con buenos libros.
- (a) nutriré
- (b) nutrirás
- (c) nutrirá
- (d) nutriremos
Answer: (a) nutriré. Mañana needs the future, and the yo form is nutriré.
8. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a su familia con comida sana.
- (a) he nutrido
- (b) has nutrido
- (c) ha nutrido
- (d) hemos nutrido
Answer: (a) he nutrido. The present perfect uses haber plus the participle: he nutrido.
9. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ a los niños con leche y fruta.
- (a) nutramos
- (b) nutráis
- (c) nutra
- (d) nutras
Answer: (c) nutra. After espero que Spanish needs the subjunctive, and the él form is nutra.
10. What does nutrir mean in English?
- (a) to lack
- (b) to pity
- (c) to nourish
- (d) to make sleepy
Answer: (c) to nourish. nutrir means "to nourish" in English.
Frequently asked questions about nutrir
What does nutrir mean?
nutrir means "to nourish" in English. Use it when you talk about his family with healthy food, the body with vitamins, the children with milk and fruit and the mind with good books — for example: Cada día, yo nutro a su familia con comida sana. — "Every day, I nourish his family with healthy food."
What is the difference between nutrir and nutrirse?
nutrir means "to nourish", while nutrirse means "to nourish oneself". The reflexive form is used when the action comes back to the subject, and the plain form is used when the action is done to someone or something else.
What is the most common mistake with nutrir?
The tense, not the form. Learners use the present tense for yesterday, or the preterite for a habit. Remember: Cada día, yo nutro a su familia con comida sana. — "Every day, I nourish his family with healthy food." is a habit, while Ayer, yo nutrí a su familia con comida sana is one finished action.
How can I practise nutrir?
Take the quiz above, then make your own sentences: change the person in each example, change the complement to something from your own life, and say the sentence aloud. The verb quiz and the verb translator on this site give you more practice with the same forms.