Abandonar Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb abandonar means to abandon, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. 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. Like every Spanish verb, abandonar changes its ending for each person and tense, and this page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say abandono la casa de mi abuela, and in the preterite you say abandoné a su familia en el pueblo. Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: abandonar
  • English: to abandon
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: abandonando
  • Past participle: abandonado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + abandonado)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for abandonar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Abandonar is stronger than dejar: dejar can mean leaving for a moment, while abandonar means leaving for good.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for abandonar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.

Present indicative

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

Preterite

Person Form
yo abandoné
tú abandonaste
él/ella/Ud. abandonó
nosotros/as abandonamos
vosotros/as abandonasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. abandonaron

Imperfect

Person Form
yo abandonaba
tú abandonabas
él/ella/Ud. abandonaba
nosotros/as abandonábamos
vosotros/as abandonabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. abandonaban

Future

Person Form
yo abandonaré
tú abandonarás
él/ella/Ud. abandonará
nosotros/as abandonaremos
vosotros/as abandonaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. abandonarán

Conditional

Person Form
yo abandonaría
tú abandonarías
él/ella/Ud. abandonaría
nosotros/as abandonaríamos
vosotros/as abandonaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. abandonarían

Present perfect

Person Form
yo he abandonado
tú has abandonado
él/ella/Ud. ha abandonado
nosotros/as hemos abandonado
vosotros/as habéis abandonado
ellos/ellas/Uds. han abandonado

Pluperfect

Person Form
yo había abandonado
tú habías abandonado
él/ella/Ud. había abandonado
nosotros/as habíamos abandonado
vosotros/as habíais abandonado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habían abandonado

Future perfect

Person Form
yo habré abandonado
tú habrás abandonado
él/ella/Ud. habrá abandonado
nosotros/as habremos abandonado
vosotros/as habréis abandonado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán abandonado

Conditional perfect

Person Form
yo habría abandonado
tú habrías abandonado
él/ella/Ud. habría abandonado
nosotros/as habríamos abandonado
vosotros/as habríais abandonado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrían abandonado

Present subjunctive

Person Form
yo abandone
tú abandones
él/ella/Ud. abandone
nosotros/as abandonemos
vosotros/as abandonéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. abandonen

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo abandonara
tú abandonaras
él/ella/Ud. abandonara
nosotros/as abandonáramos
vosotros/as abandonarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. abandonaran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú abandona
él/ella/Ud. abandone
nosotros/as abandonemos
vosotros/as abandonad
ellos/ellas/Uds. abandonen

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú abandones
él/ella/Ud. abandone
nosotros/as abandonemos
vosotros/as abandonéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. abandonen

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund abandonando with estar for the progressive: estoy abandonando
Past participle abandonado with haber for the perfect tenses: he abandonado

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For abandonar, the present looks like this in a real sentence: Abandono la casa de mi abuela. Learn the present forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For abandonar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, abandoné el proyecto a mitad de camino. Learn the preterite forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For abandonar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, abandonaba a su familia en el pueblo. Learn the imperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For abandonar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, abandonaré el coche en la carretera. Learn the future forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For abandonar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Abandonaría la casa de mi abuela si pudiera. Learn the conditional forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For abandonar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, he abandonado el proyecto a mitad de camino. Learn the present perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For abandonar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Había abandonado a su familia en el pueblo antes de salir. Learn the pluperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For abandonar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, habré abandonado el coche en la carretera. Learn the future perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For abandonar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Habría abandonado la casa de mi abuela con más tiempo. Learn the conditional perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For abandonar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él abandone el proyecto a mitad de camino. Learn the present subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past, and note the -ra forms shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For abandonar, the imperfect subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Si él abandonara a su familia en el pueblo, todo cambiaría. Learn the imperfect subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For abandonar, the affirmative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: ¡abandona el coche en la carretera! Learn the affirmative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For abandonar, the negative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: No abandones la casa de mi abuela. Learn the negative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with abandonar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Abandono la casa de mi abuela. — I abandon my grandmother's house.
  2. Abandona el proyecto a mitad de camino. — He/she abandons the project halfway through.
  3. Ayer, abandoné a su familia en el pueblo. — Yesterday, I abandoned his family in the village.
  4. Antes, nosotros abandonábamos el coche en la carretera. — Before, we used to abandon the car on the road.
  5. Mañana, tú abandonarás la casa de mi abuela. — Tomorrow, you will abandon my grandmother's house.
  6. Yo abandonaría el proyecto a mitad de camino si tuviera más tiempo. — I would abandon the project halfway through if I had more time.
  7. Él ha abandonado a su familia en el pueblo. — He has abandoned his family in the village.
  8. Espero que él abandone el coche en la carretera. — I hope he abandons the car on the road.
  9. Yo ya había abandonado la casa de mi abuela antes de salir. — I had already abandoned my grandmother's house before leaving.
  10. Ellos abandonaban el proyecto a mitad de camino cuando eran jóvenes. — They used to abandon the project halfway through when they were young.

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. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Treating abandonar and dejar as identical in every context. — Right: Abandonar means to abandon, while dejar means to leave something or someone. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: abandonar fits sentences such as Abandono la casa de mi abuela, while dejar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  3. Wrong: Yo soy abandonado el proyecto a mitad de camino. — Right: Yo he abandonado el proyecto a mitad de camino. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he abandonado, has abandonado, ha abandonado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  4. Wrong: De niño, yo abandoné a su familia en el pueblo todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo abandonaba a su familia en el pueblo todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (abandonaba), not the preterite. The preterite (abandoné) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on abandonar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

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

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, él ___ el proyecto a mitad de camino. (preterite) A. abandoné B. abandonaste C. abandonaron D. abandonó

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ___ a su familia en el pueblo. (imperfect) A. abandonabas B. abandonaban C. abandonábamos D. abandonaba

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ___ el coche en la carretera. (future) A. abandonaremos B. abandonarás C. abandonaré D. abandonará

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la casa de mi abuela si pudiera. (conditional) A. abandonaría B. abandonarías C. abandonarían D. abandono

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ el proyecto a mitad de camino. (present subjunctive) A. abandones B. abandonemos C. abandono D. abandone

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ a su familia en el pueblo, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. abandonáramos B. abandono C. abandonara D. abandonaras

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ el coche en la carretera. (present perfect) A. han abandonado B. hemos abandonado C. he abandonado D. has abandonado

  9. Complete the command: ¡___ la casa de mi abuela! (affirmative imperative, tú) A. abandona B. abandone C. abandonemos D. abandonad

  10. Which is the gerund of abandonar, used with estar for the progressive? A. abandonado B. abandono C. abandoné D. abandonando

Answer key

  1. abandono — The first-person present of abandonar is abandono. The other options are the tú, él/ella and nosotros forms.
  2. abandonó — The third-person preterite of abandonar is abandonó, the form for a single finished action in the past.
  3. abandonábamos — The nosotros imperfect of abandonar is abandonábamos, used here for a repeated past habit.
  4. abandonarás — The second-person future of abandonar is abandonarás.
  5. abandonaría — The first-person conditional of abandonar is abandonaría, the form for what would happen.
  6. abandone — After espero que, the subjunctive is required: the third-person present subjunctive of abandonar is abandone.
  7. abandonara — The first-person imperfect subjunctive (-ra) of abandonar is abandonara.
  8. hemos abandonado — The nosotros present perfect of abandonar is hemos abandonado: hemos + abandonado.
  9. abandona — The affirmative tú imperative of abandonar is abandona.
  10. abandonando — The gerund of abandonar is abandonando: estoy abandonando. The participle abandonado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does abandonar mean in English?

Abandonar means to abandon. It is used in everyday situations such as Abandono la casa de mi abuela. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is abandonar regular or irregular?

Abandonar is a fully regular -ar verb, so every tense follows the standard endings for its class. Once you know the regular pattern, you can produce every form on this page, including abandono in the present and abandoné in the preterite.

What is the difference between abandonar and dejar?

Abandonar means to abandon, while dejar means to leave something or someone. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use abandonar when you mean to abandon, as in Abandono la casa de mi abuela, and use dejar for to leave something or someone. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.

How do I say “I abandon” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: yo abandoné el proyecto a mitad de camino. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: yo abandonaba a su familia en el pueblo. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: yo he abandonado el proyecto a mitad de camino.

How do I practise abandonar?

Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the abandonar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.

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