Abandonar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of abandonar — “to abandon” in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for abandonar with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Abandonar means to abandon, and it covers leaving a place, leaving a person, giving up a plan and deserting a duty. You abandon a house, a car, a project or a friend, and the verb always carries a sense of leaving something behind for good. It is also used for abandoning oneself to a feeling, as in abandonarse a la tristeza. Abandonar is a regular -ar verb, so the notes below explain exactly where it follows the rules and where it breaks them. To see it in a real sentence: Abandono la casa de mi abuela.

Present tense conjugation table: abandonar

Every person of abandonar in the present tense. The gerund is abandonando and the past participle is abandonado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo abandono
tú abandonas
él/ella/Ud. abandona
nosotros/as abandonamos
vosotros/as abandonáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. abandonan

How the present of abandonar is formed

The present of abandonar is built from the stem abandon- plus the present endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.

Person Ending Form
yo -o abandono
tú -as abandonas
él/ella/Ud. -a abandona
nosotros/as -amos abandonamos
vosotros/as -áis abandonáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an abandonan

For abandonar there are no surprises in the present: every form is the stem abandon- plus the regular ending, so once you know the endings you know the whole tense.

When to use the present tense with abandonar

Habits and routines

Use the present for things you do regularly.

Yo abandono la casa de mi abuela. — I abandon my grandmother's house.

General facts

Use the present for facts and general truths that do not change.

Él/Ella abandona el proyecto a mitad de camino. — He abandons the project halfway through.

What is happening right now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment.

Ahora, Nosotros/as abandonamos a su familia en el pueblo. — Right now, We abandon his family in the village.

Near-future plans

Use the present for fixed plans in the near future, especially with mañana or la semana que viene.

Mañana, Tú abandonas el coche en la carretera. — Tomorrow, You abandon the car on the road.

Instructions and timeless statements

Use the present for instructions, rules and statements that are always true.

Él/Ella abandona la casa de mi abuela. — He abandons my grandmother's house.

The present vs the preterite

The present and the preterite answer different questions: the present says what happens regularly or right now, while the preterite says what happened once and finished. Compare the same idea in both tenses with abandonar.

  1. Yo abandono la casa de mi abuela. — I abandon my grandmother's house. / Ayer, Yo abandoné la casa de mi abuela. — Yesterday, I abandoned my grandmother's house.
  2. Yo abandono el proyecto a mitad de camino. — I abandon the project halfway through. / Ayer, Yo abandoné el proyecto a mitad de camino. — Yesterday, I abandoned the project halfway through.
  3. Yo abandono a su familia en el pueblo. — I abandon his family in the village. / Ayer, Yo abandoné a su familia en el pueblo. — Yesterday, I abandoned his family in the village.

Example sentences in the present tense

Seven sentences with abandonar in the present tense only, covering all six persons.

  1. Yo abandono la casa de mi abuela. — I abandon my grandmother's house.
  2. Tú abandonas el proyecto a mitad de camino. — You abandon the project halfway through.
  3. Él/Ella abandona a su familia en el pueblo. — He abandons his family in the village.
  4. Nosotros/as abandonamos el coche en la carretera. — We abandon the car on the road.
  5. Vosotros/as abandonáis la casa de mi abuela. — You abandon my grandmother's house.
  6. Ellos/as abandonan el proyecto a mitad de camino. — They abandon the project halfway through.
  7. Yo abandono a su familia en el pueblo. — I abandon his family in the village.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo abandona la casa de mi abuela. — Right: Yo abandono la casa de mi abuela. — The person matters: abandona is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is abandono.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo abandono el proyecto a mitad de camino. — Right: Ayer, yo abandoné el proyecto a mitad de camino. — With ayer, use the preterite (abandoné), not the present. The present is for habits and for right now.
  3. Wrong: Using abandonar where dejar belongs. — Right: Abandonar means to abandon, while dejar means to leave something or someone. — Check the meaning before you choose: abandonar fits Abandono la casa de mi abuela.
  4. Wrong: Espero que él abandona el proyecto a mitad de camino. — Right: Espero que él abandone el proyecto a mitad de camino. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: abandone, not the present indicative abandona.

Quiz: the present tense of abandonar

Eight questions on the present tense of abandonar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la casa de mi abuela. (present tense, yo) A. abandono B. abandonas C. abandona D. abandonamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el proyecto a mitad de camino. (present tense, tú) A. abandono B. abandona C. abandonamos D. abandonas

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ a su familia en el pueblo. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. abandonas B. abandonamos C. abandona D. abandono

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ el coche en la carretera. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. abandona B. abandonamos C. abandono D. abandonas

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ la casa de mi abuela. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. abandonáis B. abandono C. abandonas D. abandona

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ el proyecto a mitad de camino. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. abandono B. abandonas C. abandona D. abandonan

  7. Which is the gerund of abandonar? A. abandono B. abandoné C. abandonando D. abandonado

  8. Which is the past participle of abandonar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. abandoné B. abandonado C. abandonando D. abandono

Answer key

  1. abandono — The yo present form of abandonar is abandono.
  2. abandonas — The tú present form of abandonar is abandonas.
  3. abandona — The él/ella/Ud. present form of abandonar is abandona.
  4. abandonamos — The nosotros/as present form of abandonar is abandonamos.
  5. abandonáis — The vosotros/as present form of abandonar is abandonáis.
  6. abandonan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of abandonar is abandonan.
  7. abandonando — The gerund of abandonar is abandonando: estoy abandonando.
  8. abandonado — The past participle of abandonar is abandonado: he abandonado, has abandonado, ha abandonado.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present tense of abandonar formed?

Take the infinitive abandonar, drop the -ar ending to get the stem abandon-, then add the present endings: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an. The full table is above, with every person. No, the present of abandonar is fully regular: the stem abandon- plus the standard -ar endings gives every form.

When do I use the present tense of abandonar?

Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Abandono la casa de mi abuela.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of abandonar?

The present (abandono) and the preterite (abandoné) answer different questions: the present is for habits and for right now, while the preterite is for one finished action. Compare them in the contrast section above.

How do I practise the present of abandonar?

Drill the six forms in the table until you can say them without looking, then use the full conjugation of abandonar to see how the present fits with the other tenses, and the abandonar examples and quiz page for more sentences. The Spanish Verb Quiz tests the forms under pressure.

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