Absolver Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of absolver — "to absolve" 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 absolver 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. 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. To see it in a real sentence: Yo absuelvo al acusado de todos los cargos — "I absolve the accused of all charges".
Present tense conjugation table: absolver
Every person of absolver in the present tense. The gerund is absolviendo and the past participle is absuelto.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | absuelvo |
| tú | absuelves |
| él/ella/Ud. | absuelve |
| nosotros/as | absolvemos |
| vosotros/as | absolvéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | absuelven |
How the present of absolver is formed
The present of absolver is built from the stem absolv- plus the present endings for -er verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -er 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 | absuelvo |
| tú | -es | absuelves |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | absuelve |
| nosotros/as | -emos | absolvemos |
| vosotros/as | -éis | absolvéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | absuelven |
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.
The gerund of absolver is absolviendo and the past participle is absuelto. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of absolver
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and absolver appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.
Habits and routines
The present describes things that happen regularly, as a habit or routine.
"Cada día, yo absuelvo al acusado de todos los cargos" — "Every day, I absolve the accused of all charges"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo absuelve al estudiante del examen" — "My friend absolves the student from the exam"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo absuelvo a su hijo de la culpa" — "Right now, I absolve his son of the blame"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros absolvemos al pecador de sus pecados" — "Tomorrow, we absolve the sinner of his sins"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos absuelven al acusado en el juicio" — "They absolve the accused at the trial"
The present tense vs the closest tenses
Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion
The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.
- Present — habit or general fact: {'pre_es': 'Cada día, ', 'pre_en': 'Every day, '}yo absuelvo al acusado de todos los cargos — "I absolve the accused of all charges"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo absolví al acusado de todos los cargos — "I absolved the accused of all charges"
Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add "used to" in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.
- Present — now: {}tú absuelves al estudiante del examen — "You absolve the student from the exam"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú absolvías al estudiante del examen — "You used to absolve the student from the exam"
Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen
The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.
- Present — now or a fixed plan: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él absuelve a su hijo de la culpa — "He absolves his son of the blame"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él absolverá a su hijo de la culpa — "He will absolve his son of the blame"
Examples: absolver in the present tense
Seven sentences that show absolver in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo absuelvo al acusado de todos los cargos — "I absolve the accused of all charges"
- Tú absuelves al estudiante del examen — "You absolve the student from the exam"
- Él absuelve a su hijo de la culpa — "He absolves his son of the blame"
- Nosotros absolvemos al pecador de sus pecados — "We absolve the sinner of his sins"
- Vosotros absolvéis al acusado en el juicio — "You absolve the accused at the trial"
- Ellos absuelven al acusado de todos los cargos — "They absolve the accused of all charges"
- Yo absuelvo al estudiante del examen — "I absolve the student from the exam"
Common mistakes with absolver in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with absolver in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo absolvo al acusado de todos los cargos.
✓ Correct: Yo absuelvo al acusado de todos los cargos.
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.
✗ *Tú absuelve al estudiante del examen.
✓ Correct: Tú absuelves al estudiante del examen.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes absuelves, él takes absuelve.
✗ *Cada día, yo absolví a su hijo de la culpa
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo absuelvo a su hijo de la culpa
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros absolveis al pecador de sus pecados.
✓ Correct: Vosotros absolvéis al pecador de sus pecados.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: absolvéis, not absolveis.
Quiz: absolver in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of absolver. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of absolver for tú? A. absuelve B. absolvemos C. absuelves D. absuelvo
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
Complete the sentence: Él ______ al estudiante del examen — "He absolves the student from the exam" (present) A. absuelve B. absuelvo C. absuelves D. absolvemos
Which is the correct present form of absolver for nosotros? A. absuelven B. absolvemos C. absuelves D. absuelve
Which sentence uses absolver correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo absuelves a su hijo de la culpa B. Mi amigo absolvía a su hijo de la culpa C. Mi amigo absolvemos a su hijo de la culpa D. Mi amigo absuelve a su hijo de la culpa
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ al pecador de sus pecados — "You absolve the sinner of his sins" (present) A. absuelvo B. absuelves C. absuelve D. absolvéis
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ al acusado en el juicio — "They absolve the accused at the trial" (present) A. absuelvo B. absuelves C. absuelve D. absuelven
What is the gerund of absolver? A. absolviendo B. absuelto C. absuelvo D. absolví
Answer key
- absuelves — The tú form in the present is absuelves.
- absuelvo — The present form for yo is absuelvo.
- absuelve — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is absuelve.
- absolvemos — The nosotros form in the present is absolvemos.
- Mi amigo absuelve a su hijo de la culpa — Mi amigo absuelve a su hijo de la culpa is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- absolvéis — The present form for vosotros/as is absolvéis.
- absuelven — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is absuelven.
- absolviendo — The gerund is absolviendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle absuelto.
Frequently asked questions
Is absolver regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: 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. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of absolver?
The gerund is absolviendo and the past participle is absuelto. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I absolve" in the present tense?
Say absuelvo. For example: Yo absuelvo al acusado de todos los cargos — "I absolve the accused of all charges".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of absolver?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo absuelvo al acusado de todos los cargos — "I absolve the accused of all charges". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo absolví al acusado de todos los cargos — "Yesterday, I absolved the accused of all charges". Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once.
Related links
- Full conjugation of absolver — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- absolver examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Present tense guide — how the present tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.