Abusar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

abusar means “to abuse” 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. Abusar means to abuse, and it covers abusing a person's trust, abusing power, abusing alcohol and abusing a privilege. It almost always takes de for the thing abused, as in abusar de su confianza, and it is a strong moral judgement, not a neutral description. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by tense, 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 abusar; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the abusar present tense page.

abusar in everyday use: examples with translations

In the present

Four sentences with abusar in the present tense, for habits, facts and things happening right now.

  1. Yo abuso de su confianza. — I abuse his trust.
  2. Él/Ella abusa de su poder en la empresa. — He abuses his power in the company.
  3. Nosotros/as abusamos del alcohol los fines de semana. — We abuse alcohol at the weekends.
  4. Ellos/as abusan de mi paciencia. — They abuse my patience.

In the past

Four sentences with abusar in the past: the preterite for finished actions and the imperfect for habits and background.

  1. Ayer, Yo abusé del alcohol los fines de semana. — Yesterday, I abused alcohol at the weekends.
  2. Antes, Nosotros/as abusábamos de mi paciencia. — Before, We used to abuse my patience.
  3. Ayer, Él/Ella abusó de su confianza. — Yesterday, He abused his trust.
  4. De niños, Ellos/as abusaban de su poder en la empresa. — As children, They used to abuse his power in the company.

Plans, hopes and wishes

Four sentences with abusar in the future, the conditional, the subjunctive and the present perfect — for plans, hypotheticals and things that have just happened.

  1. Mañana, Tú abusarás de su confianza. — Tomorrow, You will abuse his trust.
  2. Yo abusaría de su poder en la empresa. — I would abuse his power in the company.
  3. Espero que él abuse del alcohol los fines de semana. — I hope he abuses alcohol at the weekends.
  4. Él/Ella ha abusado de mi paciencia. — He has abused my patience.

abusar in context: two short dialogues

Making plans

Ana: ¿Tú abusas de su confianza mañana? — Are you going to abuse his trust tomorrow? Luis: Sí, yo abuso de su confianza todos los días. — Yes, I abuse his trust every day. Ana: ¿Y mañana abusarás de su poder en la empresa? — And tomorrow, will you abuse his power in the company? Luis: Claro, mañana abusaré de su poder en la empresa sin falta. — Of course, tomorrow I will abuse his power in the company without fail. Ana: Perfecto. Yo abusaré del alcohol los fines de semana también. — Perfect. I will abuse alcohol at the weekends too. Luis: Entonces quedamos mañana. ¡Hasta luego! — Then see you tomorrow. Bye!

Yesterday

Ana: ¿Qué hiciste ayer? — What did you do yesterday? Luis: Ayer abusé del alcohol los fines de semana. — Yesterday, I abused alcohol at the weekends. Ana: ¿Y antes abusabas de mi paciencia? — And before, did you use to abuse my patience? Luis: Sí, antes abusaba de mi paciencia todos los días. — Yes, before, I used to abuse my patience every day. Ana: ¿Y tus hermanos abusaron de su confianza? — And did your brothers abused his trust? Luis: Sí, ellos abusaron de su confianza por la tarde. — Yes, they abused his trust in the afternoon.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo abusa de su confianza. — Right: Yo abuso de su confianza. — The person matters: abusa is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is abuso. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Treating abusar and aprovecharse as identical in every context. — Right: Abusar means to abuse, while aprovecharse means to take advantage of someone. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: abusar fits sentences such as Abuso de su confianza, while aprovecharse belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  3. Wrong: Yo soy abusado de su poder en la empresa. — Right: Yo he abusado de su poder en la empresa. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he abusado, has abusado, ha abusado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  4. Wrong: De niño, yo abusé del alcohol los fines de semana todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo abusaba del alcohol los fines de semana todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (abusaba), not the preterite. The preterite (abusé) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on abusar in use. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ de mi paciencia. (present tense) A. abusan B. abuso C. abusas D. abusa

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, Nosotros/as ___ de su confianza. (preterite tense) A. abusé B. abusaste C. abusó D. abusamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, Tú ___ de su poder en la empresa. (imperfect tense) A. abusábamos B. abusabais C. abusabas D. abusaba

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, Él/Ella ___ del alcohol los fines de semana. (future tense) A. abusaremos B. abusará C. abusaré D. abusarás

  5. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ de mi paciencia. (conditional tense) A. abusaríamos B. abusaría C. abusarías D. abusaríais

  6. Complete the sentence: Hoy, Yo ___ de su confianza. (present-perfect tense) A. has abusado B. ha abusado C. hemos abusado D. he abusado

  7. What does abusar mean in English? A. to disturb B. to address as tú C. to abuse D. to take advantage of someone

  8. Which of these sentences is WRONG? A. Ayer, Yo abusé del alcohol los fines de semana. B. Yo abusa de su confianza. C. Yo abuso de su confianza. D. Él/Ella abusa de su poder en la empresa.

  9. Which is the gerund of abusar, used with estar for the progressive? A. abusando B. abusado C. abuso D. abusé

  10. Which is the past participle of abusar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. abusando B. abuso C. abusé D. abusado

Answer key

  1. abusan — The correct form here is abusan.
  2. abusamos — The correct form here is abusamos.
  3. abusabas — The correct form here is abusabas.
  4. abusará — The correct form here is abusará.
  5. abusaríamos — The correct form here is abusaríamos.
  6. he abusado — The correct form here is he abusado.
  7. to abuse — Abusar means to abuse. Aprovecharse means to take advantage of someone, which is a different verb.
  8. Yo abusa de su confianza. — The first sentence is wrong: the correct form is Yo abuso de su confianza.. The person matters: abusa is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is abuso. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  9. abusando — The gerund of abusar is abusando: estoy abusando.
  10. abusado — The past participle of abusar is abusado: he abusado, has abusado, ha abusado.

Frequently asked questions

What does abusar mean?

Abusar means to abuse. Abusar means to abuse, and it covers abusing a person's trust, abusing power, abusing alcohol and abusing a privilege. It almost always takes de for the thing abused, as in abusar de su confianza, and it is a strong moral judgement, not a neutral description.

When do people use abusar most?

People use abusar most in everyday situations such as Yo abuso de su confianza. and Ayer, Yo abusé del alcohol los fines de semana.. Learn the present tense first, then the preterite and the imperfect, since those are the forms you will hear most often.

What is the difference between abusar and aprovecharse?

Abusar means to abuse, while aprovecharse means to take advantage of someone. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable — check the meaning you want before you choose.

How can I remember the forms of abusar?

Practise the present tense table first, then add the preterite and the imperfect. Use the full conjugation of abusar as your reference, the abusar present tense page for one tense in depth, and the Spanish Verb Quiz to test yourself.

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