Abusar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of abusar — “to abuse” 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 abusar 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. 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. Abusar is a regular -ar verb, so the notes below explain exactly where it follows the rules and where it breaks them. To see it in a real sentence: Abuso de su confianza.

Present tense conjugation table: abusar

Every person of abusar in the present tense. The gerund is abusando and the past participle is abusado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo abuso
tú abusas
él/ella/Ud. abusa
nosotros/as abusamos
vosotros/as abusáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. abusan

How the present of abusar is formed

The present of abusar is built from the stem abus- plus the present endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar 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 abuso
tú -as abusas
él/ella/Ud. -a abusa
nosotros/as -amos abusamos
vosotros/as -áis abusáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an abusan

For abusar there are no surprises in the present: every form is the stem abus- plus the regular ending, so once you know the endings you know the whole tense.

When to use the present tense with abusar

Habits and routines

Use the present for things you do regularly.

Yo abuso de su confianza. — I abuse his trust.

General facts

Use the present for facts and general truths that do not change.

Él/Ella abusa de su poder en la empresa. — He abuses his power in the company.

What is happening right now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment.

Ahora, Nosotros/as abusamos del alcohol los fines de semana. — Right now, We abuse alcohol at the weekends.

Near-future plans

Use the present for fixed plans in the near future, especially with mañana or la semana que viene.

Mañana, Tú abusas de mi paciencia. — Tomorrow, You abuse my patience.

Instructions and timeless statements

Use the present for instructions, rules and statements that are always true.

Él/Ella abusa de su confianza. — He abuses his trust.

The present vs the preterite

The present and the preterite answer different questions: the present says what happens regularly or right now, while the preterite says what happened once and finished. Compare the same idea in both tenses with abusar.

  1. Yo abuso de su confianza. — I abuse his trust. / Ayer, Yo abusé de su confianza. — Yesterday, I abused his trust.
  2. Yo abuso de su poder en la empresa. — I abuse his power in the company. / Ayer, Yo abusé de su poder en la empresa. — Yesterday, I abused his power in the company.
  3. Yo abuso del alcohol los fines de semana. — I abuse alcohol at the weekends. / Ayer, Yo abusé del alcohol los fines de semana. — Yesterday, I abused alcohol at the weekends.

Example sentences in the present tense

Seven sentences with abusar in the present tense only, covering all six persons.

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

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.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo abuso de su poder en la empresa. — Right: Ayer, yo abusé de su poder en la empresa. — With ayer, use the preterite (abusé), not the present. The present is for habits and for right now.
  3. Wrong: Using abusar where aprovecharse belongs. — Right: Abusar means to abuse, while aprovecharse means to take advantage of someone. — Check the meaning before you choose: abusar fits Abuso de su confianza.
  4. Wrong: Espero que él abusa de su poder en la empresa. — Right: Espero que él abuse de su poder en la empresa. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: abuse, not the present indicative abusa.

Quiz: the present tense of abusar

Eight questions on the present tense of abusar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ de su confianza. (present tense, yo) A. abuso B. abusas C. abusa D. abusamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ de su poder en la empresa. (present tense, tú) A. abuso B. abusa C. abusamos D. abusas

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ del alcohol los fines de semana. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. abusas B. abusamos C. abusa D. abuso

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ de mi paciencia. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. abusa B. abusamos C. abuso D. abusas

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ de su confianza. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. abusáis B. abuso C. abusas D. abusa

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ de su poder en la empresa. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. abuso B. abusas C. abusa D. abusan

  7. Which is the gerund of abusar? A. abuso B. abusé C. abusando D. abusado

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

Answer key

  1. abuso — The yo present form of abusar is abuso.
  2. abusas — The tú present form of abusar is abusas.
  3. abusa — The él/ella/Ud. present form of abusar is abusa.
  4. abusamos — The nosotros/as present form of abusar is abusamos.
  5. abusáis — The vosotros/as present form of abusar is abusáis.
  6. abusan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of abusar is abusan.
  7. abusando — The gerund of abusar is abusando: estoy abusando.
  8. abusado — The past participle of abusar is abusado: he abusado, has abusado, ha abusado.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present tense of abusar formed?

Take the infinitive abusar, drop the -ar ending to get the stem abus-, then add the present endings: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an. The full table is above, with every person. No, the present of abusar is fully regular: the stem abus- plus the standard -ar endings gives every form.

When do I use the present tense of abusar?

Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Abuso de su confianza.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of abusar?

The present (abuso) and the preterite (abusé) answer different questions: the present is for habits and for right now, while the preterite is for one finished action. Compare them in the contrast section above.

How do I practise the present of abusar?

Drill the six forms in the table until you can say them without looking, then use the full conjugation of abusar to see how the present fits with the other tenses, and the abusar examples and quiz page for more sentences. The Spanish Verb Quiz tests the forms under pressure.

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