The Present Tense of merecer is used to express what someone or something deserves or merits in the present moment. For example, Tú mereces un descanso después de trabajar tanto. (You deserve a break after working so hard.)

This verb belongs to the -cer to -zca spelling-changing conjugation type, where the ‘c’ changes to ‘zc’ before the vowel endings in some forms.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Merecer (to deserve) in the Present Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

Merecer generally means to deserve or to be worthy of something, but has several different meanings in the Present Tense, some of which might surprise you.

To deserve: for example, Ella merece un premio por su arduo trabajo. (She deserves a prize for her hard work.)

To be worthy of: for example, Ese hombre no merece tu confianza. (That man does not deserve your trust.)

To earn: for example, Merezco un aumento de sueldo por mi dedicación. (I deserve a raise for my dedication.)

To be worth: for example, La película merece la pena. (The movie is worth watching.)

Colloquial usage: for example, ¡Mereces una buena paliza por mentirme! (You deserve a good beating for lying to me!)

Examples

Examples of Merecer in the Present Tense

Todos los días merezco un descanso después de trabajar duro. (Every day I deserve a break after working hard.)

¿Crees que mereces un aumento de sueldo por tu buen desempeño? (Do you think you deserve a raise for your good performance?)

El equipo merece celebrar su victoria con una fiesta. (The team deserves to celebrate their victory with a party.)

Como padres, merecemos un fin de semana de descanso de vez en cuando. (As parents, we deserve a weekend off every now and then.)

Ustedes merecen disfrutar de sus vacaciones después de un año tan estresante. (You all deserve to enjoy your vacation after such a stressful year.)

Los voluntarios merecen un reconocimiento especial por su arduo trabajo. (The volunteers deserve special recognition for their hard work.)

Después de tantos años de lealtad, el empleado merece un bono. (After so many years of loyalty, the employee deserves a bonus.)

Con su actitud positiva, María merece el éxito que ha logrado. (With her positive attitude, Maria deserves the success she has achieved.)

Los atletas merecen descansar después de competir a un nivel tan alto. (The athletes deserve to rest after competing at such a high level.)

Aunque no lo creas, merezco un masaje después de tanto estrés. (Believe it or not, I deserve a massage after all that stress.)

¿No crees que merecemos un aplauso por nuestro arduo trabajo? (Don’t you think we deserve applause for our hard work?)

Después de tantos años de servicio, los veteranos merecen nuestro respeto y gratitud. (After so many years of service, veterans deserve our respect and gratitude.)

Con su dedicación, el estudiante merece una buena calificación. (With their dedication, the student deserves a good grade.)

Los maestros merecen un salario digno por su importante labor. (Teachers deserve a decent salary for their important work.)

Después de tanto esfuerzo, merecemos disfrutar de nuestro éxito. (After so much effort, we deserve to enjoy our success.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Merecer (to deserve) in the Present Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Present tense is also known as the Simple Present, Present Simple, Present Tense, or Present Indicative in English, and as Presente de Indicativo, Presente Simple, Tiempo Presente, or Indicativo Presente in Spanish.