merecer Present Conjugation
merecer — to deserve
Merecer is irregular in the first person (yo merezco), while the other forms follow regular -er patterns.
merecer Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present tense to talk about what someone currently deserves based on their actions, character, or status, or to state general moral truths.
Notes on merecer in the Present
This verb has a 'Z-C' change in the 'yo' form. Instead of 'mereco', we add a 'z' to keep the soft 'c' sound: yo merezco.
Example Sentences
Yo merezco un descanso después de tanto trabajo.
I deserve a break after so much work.
yo
Tú mereces ser feliz.
You deserve to be happy.
tú
Ellos no merecen este trato.
They don't deserve this treatment.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Saying 'yo mereco'.
Correct: Yo merezco.
Why: Verbs ending in -ecer follow the 'zco' pattern in the first person present indicative.
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: merecí
Merecer is regular in the preterite: merecí, mereciste, mereció, merecimos, merecisteis, merecieron.
Imperfect
yo: merecía
Merecer is regular in the imperfect: merecía, merecías, merecía, merecíamos, merecíais, merecían.
Future
yo: mereceré
The future of merecer is regular: mereceré, merecerás, merecerá, mereceremos, mereceréis, merecerán.
Conditional
yo: merecería
The conditional of merecer is regular: merecería, merecerías, merecería, mereceríamos, mereceríais, merecerían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: merezca
The present subjunctive uses the 'merezc-' stem for all persons.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: mereciera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the stem 'merecie-': mereciera, merecieras, mereciera, mereciéramos, merecierais, merecieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: merece
The imperative uses 'merece' for tú and 'merezca' for formal commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no merezcas
The negative imperative always uses the present subjunctive forms with 'no'.