Absolver Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb absolver means to absolve, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know 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. Like every Spanish verb, absolver 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 Yo absuelvo al acusado de todos los cargos — "I absolve the accused of all charges". 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.

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. absolver has an irregular past participle: absuelto. All the perfect tenses use it: he absuelto, has absuelto, ha absuelto.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: absolver
  • English: to absolve
  • Verb type: stem-changing -er verb (o → ue)
  • Ending: -er
  • Gerund: absolviendo
  • Past participle: absuelto
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + absuelto)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for absolver, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for absolver. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem.

Present indicative

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | absuelvo | | tú | absuelves | | él/ella/Ud. | absuelve | | nosotros/as | absolvemos | | vosotros/as | absolvéis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | absuelven |

Preterite

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | absolví | | tú | absolviste | | él/ella/Ud. | absolvió | | nosotros/as | absolvimos | | vosotros/as | absolvisteis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | absolvieron |

Imperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | absolvía | | tú | absolvías | | él/ella/Ud. | absolvía | | nosotros/as | absolvíamos | | vosotros/as | absolvíais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | absolvían |

Future

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | absolveré | | tú | absolverás | | él/ella/Ud. | absolverá | | nosotros/as | absolveremos | | vosotros/as | absolveréis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | absolverán |

Conditional

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | absolvería | | tú | absolverías | | él/ella/Ud. | absolvería | | nosotros/as | absolveríamos | | vosotros/as | absolveríais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | absolverían |

Present perfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Future perfect

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

Conditional perfect

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

Present subjunctive

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | absuelva | | tú | absuelvas | | él/ella/Ud. | absuelva | | nosotros/as | absolvamos | | vosotros/as | absolváis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | absuelvan |

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | absolviera | | tú | absolvieras | | él/ella/Ud. | absolviera | | nosotros/as | absolviéramos | | vosotros/as | absolvierais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | absolvieran |

Imperative (affirmative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | absuelve | | él/ella/Ud. | absuelva | | nosotros/as | absolvamos | | vosotros/as | absolved | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | absuelvan |

Imperative (negative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | absuelvas | | él/ella/Ud. | absuelva | | nosotros/as | absolvamos | | vosotros/as | absolváis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | absuelvan |

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund absolviendo with estar for the progressive: está absolviendo
Past participle absuelto with haber for the perfect tenses: he absuelto

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 absolver, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo absuelvo al acusado de todos los cargos — "I absolve the accused of all charges".

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 absolver, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, yo absolví al estudiante del examen — "Yesterday, I absolved the student from the exam".

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 absolver, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, yo absolvía a su hijo de la culpa — "As a child, I used to absolve his son of the blame".

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 absolver, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, yo absolveré al pecador de sus pecados — "Tomorrow, I will absolve the sinner of his sins".

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 absolver, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo absolvería al acusado de todos los cargos si pudiera — "I would absolve the accused of all charges if I could".

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. absolver has an irregular past participle: absuelto. All the perfect tenses use it: he absuelto, has absuelto, ha absuelto. For absolver, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, yo he absuelto al estudiante del examen — "Today, I have absolved the student from the exam".

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. absolver has an irregular past participle: absuelto. All the perfect tenses use it: he absuelto, has absuelto, ha absuelto. For absolver, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo ya había absuelto a su hijo de la culpa antes de salir — "I already had absolved his son of the blame before leaving".

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. absolver has an irregular past participle: absuelto. All the perfect tenses use it: he absuelto, has absuelto, ha absuelto. For absolver, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, yo habré absuelto al pecador de sus pecados — "By tomorrow, I will have absolved the sinner of his sins".

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. absolver has an irregular past participle: absuelto. All the perfect tenses use it: he absuelto, has absuelto, ha absuelto. For absolver, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría absuelto al acusado de todos los cargos con más tiempo — "I would have absolved the accused of all charges with more time".

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 absolver, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él absuelva al estudiante del examen — "I hope he absolves the student from the exam".

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past. The -ra forms are 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 absolver, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo absolviera a su hijo de la culpa, todo cambiaría — "If I absolved his son of the blame, everything would change".

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 absolver, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Absuelve al pecador de sus pecados. — "Absolve the sinner of his sins.".

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 absolver, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No absuelvas al acusado de todos los cargos. — "Do not absolve the accused of all charges.".

Example sentences

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

  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. Ayer, yo absolví a su hijo de la culpa — "Yesterday, I absolved his son of the blame"
  4. Antes, nosotros absolvíamos al pecador de sus pecados — "Before, we used to absolve the sinner of his sins"
  5. Mañana, tú absolverás al acusado en el juicio — "Tomorrow, you will absolve the accused at the trial"
  6. Yo absolvería al acusado de todos los cargos si tuviera más tiempo — "I would absolve the accused of all charges if I had more time"
  7. Él ha absuelto al estudiante del examen — "He has absolved the student from the exam"
  8. Espero que él absuelva a su hijo de la culpa — "I hope he absolves his son of the blame"
  9. Yo ya había absuelto al pecador de sus pecados antes de salir — "I already had absolved the sinner of his sins before leaving"
  10. Ellos absolvían al acusado en el juicio cuando eran jóvenes — "They used to absolve the accused at the trial when they were young"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo absolvo al estudiante del examen. — Right: Yo absuelvo al estudiante del examen. — 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.
  2. Wrong: Espero que él absuelve al estudiante del examen — Right: Espero que él absuelva al estudiante del examen — After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él absuelva al estudiante del examen — not the indicative Espero que él absuelve al estudiante del examen.
  3. Wrong: Ayer, yo absuelvo a su hijo de la culpa — Right: Ayer, yo absolví a su hijo de la culpa — Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo absolví a su hijo de la culpa.
  4. Wrong: De niño, yo absolví al pecador de sus pecados todos los días — Right: De niño, yo absolvía al pecador de sus pecados todos los días — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo absolvía al pecador de sus pecados todos los días.
  5. Wrong: Yo absuelvo acusado de todos los cargos. — Right: Yo absuelvo al acusado de todos los cargos. — absolver takes al before this complement: Yo absuelvo al acusado de todos los cargos. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  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: Él ______ al estudiante del examen — "He absolved the student from the exam" (preterite) A. absolvió B. absolví C. absolviste D. absolvimos

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

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú ______ al pecador de sus pecados — "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: Espero que él ______ al acusado de todos los cargos — "I hope he absolves the accused of all charges" (present subjunctive) A. absolvamos B. absolváis C. absuelva D. absuelvas

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ______ al estudiante del examen, todo cambiaría — "If I absolved the student from the exam, everything would change" (imperfect subjunctive) A. absolviera B. absolvieras C. absolviéramos D. absolvierais

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ a su hijo de la culpa — "We have absolved his son of the blame" (present perfect) A. has absuelto B. ha absuelto C. hemos absuelto D. he absuelto

  9. Complete the sentence: No ______ al pecador de sus pecados. — "Do not absolve the sinner of his sins." (negative imperative) A. absolvamos B. absolváis C. absuelvas D. absuelva

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

Answer key

  1. absuelvo — The present form for yo is absuelvo.
  2. absolvió — The preterite form for él/ella/Ud. is absolvió.
  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. absuelva — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is absuelva.
  7. absolviera — The imperfect subjunctive form for yo is absolviera.
  8. hemos absuelto — The present perfect form for nosotros/as is hemos absuelto.
  9. absuelvas — The negative imperative form is absuelvas.
  10. absolviendo — The gerund of absolver is absolviendo: estoy absolviendo. The participle absuelto is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does absolver mean in English?

absolver means to absolve. It is used in everyday situations such as 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.

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. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem, which is the part learners most often get right by accident.

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. Note that the participle is irregular: it is absuelto, not the regular form.

How do I say "I absolve" in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Ayer, yo absolví al estudiante del examen — "Yesterday, I absolved the student from the exam". For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: De niño, yo absolvía a su hijo de la culpa — "As a child, I used to absolve his son of the blame". For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Hoy, yo he absuelto al estudiante del examen — "Today, I have absolved the student from the exam".

What is the difference between absolver and perdonar?

Perdonar is to forgive someone in everyday life. Absolver is formal and legal or religious — a court or a priest absuelve. 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.

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