Absolver Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

absolver means "to absolve" in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Absolver is a formal verb meaning to absolve or to acquit: the judge absuelve al acusado, the priest absuelve al pecador. Its past participle is irregular — absuelto. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by use, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of absolver; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the absolver present tense page.

absolver in everyday use: examples with translations

Everyday present uses

How the verb sounds in the present, the future and in hypotheticals — the forms you will use most often.

  1. Yo absuelvo al acusado de todos los cargos — "I absolve the accused of all charges"
  2. Mi amigo absuelve al estudiante del examen — "My friend absolves the student from the exam"
  3. Mañana, tú absolverás a su hijo de la culpa — "Tomorrow, you will absolve his son of the blame"
  4. Yo absolvería al pecador de sus pecados si pudiera — "I would absolve the sinner of his sins if I could"

Talking about the past

The same verb in the past: one finished action, a habit, something that has just happened, and something that had already happened.

  1. Ayer, yo absolví al acusado de todos los cargos — "Yesterday, I absolved the accused of all charges"
  2. Antes, nosotros absolvíamos al estudiante del examen — "Before, we used to absolve the student from the exam"
  3. Él ha absuelto a su hijo de la culpa — "He has absolved his son of the blame"
  4. Yo ya había absuelto al pecador de sus pecados antes de salir — "I already had absolved the sinner of his sins before leaving"

Wishes, conditions and commands

The verb after espero que, in si clauses, as a command — and in the conditional perfect, for what would have happened.

  1. Espero que él absuelva al acusado de todos los cargos — "I hope he absolves the accused of all charges"
  2. Si yo absolviera al estudiante del examen, todo cambiaría — "If I absolved the student from the exam, everything would change"
  3. Absuelve a su hijo de la culpa. — "Absolve his son of the blame."
  4. Yo habría absuelto al pecador de sus pecados con más tiempo — "I would have absolved the sinner of his sins with more time"

absolver in conversation

Two short dialogues that use absolver the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

Two friends talk about it.

  • Lucía: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Lucía: Yo absuelvo al acusado de todos los cargos — "I absolve the accused of all charges"
  • Marcos: Él absuelve al estudiante del examen — "He absolves the student from the exam"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo absolví a su hijo de la culpa — "Yesterday, I absolved his son of the blame"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú absolverás al pecador de sus pecados — "Tomorrow, you will absolve the sinner of his sins"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Absuelve al acusado en el juicio. — "Absolve the accused at the trial."
  • Lucía: Él ha absuelto al acusado de todos los cargos — "He has absolved the accused of all charges"
  • Marcos: Espero que él absuelva al estudiante del examen — "I hope he absolves the student from the exam"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo absolvía a su hijo de la culpa — "Before, I used to absolve his son of the blame"

Common mistakes with absolver

The errors learners actually make with absolver, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ *Yo absolvo al pecador de sus pecados.

✓ Correct: Yo absuelvo al pecador de sus pecados.

absolver is a stem-changing verb (o → ue): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is absuelvo, not absolvo.

✗ *Espero que él absuelve al pecador de sus pecados

✓ Correct: Espero que él absuelva al pecador de sus pecados

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él absuelva al pecador de sus pecados — not the indicative Espero que él absuelve al pecador de sus pecados.

✗ *Ayer, yo absuelvo al acusado en el juicio

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo absolví al acusado en el juicio

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo absolví al acusado en el juicio.

✗ *De niño, yo absolví al acusado de todos los cargos todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo absolvía al acusado de todos los cargos todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo absolvía al acusado de todos los cargos todos los días.

✗ *Yo absuelvo su hijo de la culpa.

✓ Correct: Yo absuelvo a su hijo de la culpa.

absolver takes a before this complement: Yo absuelvo a su hijo de la culpa. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.

Quiz: absolver in use

Ten questions on absolver — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ al acusado de todos los cargos — "I absolve the accused of all charges" (present) A. absuelve B. absolvemos C. absuelvo D. absuelves

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ al estudiante del examen — "Yesterday, I absolved the student from the exam" (preterite) A. absolvió B. absolvimos C. absolví D. absolviste

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ a su hijo de la culpa — "Before, we used to absolve his son of the blame" (imperfect) A. absolvía B. absolvías C. absolvíais D. absolvíamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ al pecador de sus pecados — "Tomorrow, you will absolve the sinner of his sins" (future) A. absolverá B. absolveremos C. absolverás D. absolveré

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ al acusado en el juicio — "I would absolve the accused at the trial" (conditional) A. absolveríais B. absolvería C. absolverías D. absolveríamos

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ al acusado de todos los cargos — "He has absolved the accused of all charges" (present perfect) A. ha absuelto B. he absuelto C. has absuelto D. hemos absuelto

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ al estudiante del examen — "I hope he absolves the student from the exam" (present subjunctive) A. absuelva B. absuelvas C. absolvamos D. absolváis

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ a su hijo de la culpa. — "Absolve his son of the blame." (affirmative imperative) A. absuelva B. absolvamos C. absolved D. absuelve

  9. Which is the gerund of absolver, used with estar for the progressive? A. absolviendo B. absuelto C. absuelvo D. absolví

  10. What does absolver mean in English? A. to enjoy B. to cross C. to absolve D. to forgive

Answer key

  1. absuelvo — The present form for yo is absuelvo.
  2. absolví — The preterite form for yo is absolví.
  3. absolvíamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is absolvíamos.
  4. absolverás — The future form for tú is absolverás.
  5. absolvería — The conditional form for yo is absolvería.
  6. ha absuelto — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha absuelto.
  7. absuelva — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is absuelva.
  8. absuelve — The affirmative imperative form is absuelve.
  9. absolviendo — The gerund of absolver is absolviendo: estoy absolviendo. The participle absuelto is used with haber instead.
  10. to absolve — absolver means to absolve.

Frequently asked questions

What does absolver mean in English?

absolver means to absolve. For example: Yo absuelvo al acusado de todos los cargos — "I absolve the accused of all charges". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with absolver?

absolver takes al before this kind of complement, as in the examples above. Keep the preposition with the verb — dropping it is one of the most common learner errors with absolver.

Is absolver regular?

No. absolver is a stem-changing -er verb (o → ue). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: absuelvo, absuelves, absuelve and absuelven — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: absolvemos, absolvéis.

How do I practise absolver?

Start with the present tense table on the full conjugation page, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure, and come back to the sentences above until you can say them without looking.

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