Nutrirse Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish
nutrirse means "to nourish oneself" 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 nutrirse with fresh vegetables, fruit and cereals, home cooking and protein after sport — the situations where Spanish speakers really use it. A good first sentence to learn is: Cada día, yo me nutro de verduras frescas. — "Every day, I nourish oneself on fresh vegetables." Read the examples aloud, notice which tense each one uses, and then try the dialogues and the quiz.
nutrirse in everyday sentences
Twelve sentences with nutrirse, 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 me nutro de verduras frescas. — "Every day, I nourish oneself on fresh vegetables." The present tense fits a habit here.
- Ayer, yo me nutrí de frutas y cereales. — "Yesterday, I nourished oneself on fruit and cereals." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, yo me nutría de comida casera. — "In the past, I used to nourish oneself on home cooking." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, nosotros nos nutriremos de proteínas después del deporte. — "Tomorrow, we will nourish oneself on protein after sport." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Si pudieras, tú te nutrirías de verduras frescas. — "If you could, you would nourish oneself on fresh vegetables." The conditional fits something that would happen.
- Yo me he nutrido de frutas y cereales. — "I have nourished oneself on fruit and cereals." The present perfect fits an action with present relevance.
More situations
- Normalmente, él se nutre de comida casera. — "Normally, he/she nourishes oneself on home cooking." The present tense fits a general truth here.
- Ayer, él se nutrió de proteínas después del deporte. — "Yesterday, he/she nourished oneself on protein after sport." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, nosotros nos nutríamos de verduras frescas. — "In the past, we used to nourish oneself on fresh vegetables." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, yo me nutriré de frutas y cereales. — "Tomorrow, I will nourish oneself on fruit and cereals." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Espero que él se nutra de comida casera. — "I hope that he/she nourishes oneself on home cooking." The present subjunctive follows espero que.
- ¡No te nutras de proteínas después del deporte! — "Do not nourish oneself on protein after sport!" The imperative fits a direct order or request.
The verb in context
Two short dialogues using nutrirse naturally. Notice how the verb changes person and tense as the conversation moves, and how the complements stay the same kind of situation: fresh vegetables, fruit and cereals, home cooking and protein after sport.
Dialogue 1: talking about fresh vegetables
Lucía: ¿Tú te nutres de verduras frescas? — "Do you nourish oneself on fresh vegetables?" Pedro: Sí, yo me nutro de verduras frescas. — "I nourish oneself on fresh vegetables." Lucía: ¿Y ayer? — "And yesterday?" Pedro: Ayer, yo me nutrí de frutas y cereales. — "Yesterday, I nourished oneself on fruit and cereals." Lucía: Mañana, nosotros nos nutriremos de comida casera. — "Tomorrow, we will nourish oneself on home cooking." Pedro: Si pudiera, yo me nutriría de proteínas después del deporte. — "If I could, I would nourish oneself on protein after sport." Lucía: Antes, yo me nutría de frutas y cereales. — "In the past, I used to nourish oneself on fruit and cereals." Pedro: Yo me he nutrido de verduras frescas. — "I have nourished oneself on fresh vegetables." Lucía: ¡No te nutras de comida casera! — "Do not nourish oneself on home cooking!"
In this dialogue nutrirse 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 home cooking
Lucía: Él se nutre de comida casera. — "he/she nourishes oneself on home cooking." Pedro: ¿De verdad? ¿Él se nutre de comida casera todos los días? — "Really? Does he/she nourishes oneself on home cooking every day?" Lucía: Sí, y ellos se nutren de proteínas después del deporte. — "they nourish oneself on protein after sport." Pedro: Ayer, ellos se nutrieron de comida casera. — "Yesterday, they nourished oneself on home cooking." Lucía: Espero que él se nutra de proteínas después del deporte. — "I hope that he/she nourishes oneself on protein after sport." Pedro: Mañana, él se nutrirá de comida casera. — "Tomorrow, he/she will nourish oneself on home cooking." Lucía: Antes, nosotros nos nutríamos de proteínas después del deporte. — "In the past, we used to nourish oneself on protein after sport." Pedro: Nosotros nos nutrimos de verduras frescas también. — "we nourish oneself on fresh vegetables too."
This dialogue shows nutrirse 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 nutrirse
The errors learners actually make with nutrirse in everyday use, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why it is wrong.
Mistake 1: Forgetting the reflexive pronoun
- Wrong: Yo nutro de verduras frescas.
- Right: Yo me nutro de verduras frescas.
- Why: nutrirse is reflexive, so the pronoun is part of the verb: Yo me nutro de verduras frescas.. Without me the sentence is incomplete.
Mistake 2: Using the infinitive as a conjugated form
- Wrong: Yo nutrirse de verduras frescas.
- Right: Yo me nutro de verduras frescas.
- Why: The infinitive nutrirse 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 me nutro de frutas y cereales.
- Right: Ayer, yo me nutrí de frutas y cereales.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite: Ayer, yo me nutrí de frutas y cereales. — "Yesterday, I nourished oneself on fruit and cereals."
Mistake 4: Mixing up the gerund and the participle
- Wrong: Me estoy nutrido de comida casera.
- Right: Me estoy nutriendo de comida casera.
- Why: After estar you need the gerund nutriendo for the progressive. The participle nutrido goes with haber in the perfect tenses (me he nutrido), never after estar.
Mistake 5: Confusing nutrirse with nutrir
- Wrong: Yo nutro de verduras frescas.
- Right: Yo me nutro de verduras frescas.
- Why: nutrirse (to nourish oneself) and nutrir are partners, not the same verb. Use the reflexive pronoun when the action comes back to the subject.
Quiz: nutrirse in use
Test yourself with ten questions on nutrirse. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the yo form of nutrirse in the present tense?
- (a) nutrimos
- (b) nutro
- (c) nutres
- (d) nutre
Answer: (b) nutro. The yo form is nutro.
2. What is the tú form of nutrirse in the present tense?
- (a) nutres
- (b) nutro
- (c) nutre
- (d) nutrimos
Answer: (a) nutres. The tú form is nutres.
3. What is the él/ella form of nutrirse in the present tense?
- (a) nutro
- (b) nutres
- (c) nutrimos
- (d) nutre
Answer: (d) nutre. The él/ella form is nutre.
4. Complete the sentence: Cada día, yo ___ de verduras frescas.
- (a) nutre
- (b) nutrimos
- (c) nutro
- (d) nutres
Answer: (c) nutro. The sentence needs the yo form nutro.
5. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ___ de frutas y cereales.
- (a) nutrimos
- (b) nutrí
- (c) nutriste
- (d) nutrió
Answer: (b) nutrí. Ayer needs the preterite, and the yo form is nutrí.
6. Complete the sentence: Antes, yo ___ de comida casera.
- (a) nutría
- (b) nutrías
- (c) nutríamos
- (d) nutríais
Answer: (a) nutría. Antes needs the imperfect, and the yo form is nutría.
7. Complete the sentence: Mañana, yo ___ de proteínas después del deporte.
- (a) nutrirás
- (b) nutrirá
- (c) nutriremos
- (d) nutriré
Answer: (d) nutriré. Mañana needs the future, and the yo form is nutriré.
8. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ de verduras frescas.
- (a) te has nutrido
- (b) se ha nutrido
- (c) nos hemos nutrido
- (d) me he nutrido
Answer: (d) me he nutrido. The present perfect uses haber plus the participle: me he nutrido.
9. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ de comida casera.
- (a) nutráis
- (b) nutra
- (c) nutras
- (d) nutramos
Answer: (b) nutra. After espero que Spanish needs the subjunctive, and the él form is nutra.
10. What does nutrirse mean in English?
- (a) to moisten
- (b) to nourish oneself
- (c) to feel sorry for
- (d) to beautify
Answer: (b) to nourish oneself. nutrirse means "to nourish oneself" in English.
Frequently asked questions about nutrirse
What does nutrirse mean?
nutrirse means "to nourish oneself" in English. Use it when you talk about fresh vegetables, fruit and cereals, home cooking and protein after sport — for example: Cada día, yo me nutro de verduras frescas. — "Every day, I nourish oneself on fresh vegetables."
Is nutrirse reflexive?
Yes. nutrirse is reflexive, so it always travels with a pronoun: me, te, se, nos, os, se. Cada día, yo me nutro de verduras frescas. — "Every day, I nourish oneself on fresh vegetables." If you drop the pronoun, the sentence is incomplete.
What is the most common mistake with nutrirse?
Forgetting the reflexive pronoun. Learners write the bare form — for example, Yo nutro de verduras frescas — when the verb needs its pronoun: Cada día, yo me nutro de verduras frescas. — "Every day, I nourish oneself on fresh vegetables." Keep the pronoun with the verb and the mistake disappears.
How can I practise nutrirse?
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.