Aconsejar Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

aconsejar means to advise, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Aconsejar means to advise, and it is used for advising a son about his studies, advising students before an exam and advising a friend to rest. It is a fully regular -ar verb, and it is the standard verb for giving advice to one person. This page puts aconsejar to work: twelve example sentences in different tenses and persons, grouped by use, then two short dialogues where the verb appears naturally, then the common mistakes to avoid, and finally a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every Spanish form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for aconsejar, and the full tables are on the aconsejar conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo aconsejo a su hijo sobre los estudios. — I advise her son about his studies.
  2. Él aconseja a los alumnos antes del examen. — He/she advises the students before the exam.
  3. Ayer, yo aconsejé paciencia a su amigo. — Yesterday, I advised patience to her friend.
  4. Antes, nosotros aconsejábamos a María que descanse. — Before, we used to advise María to rest.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú aconsejarás a su hijo sobre los estudios. — Tomorrow, you will advise her son about his studies.
  2. Yo aconsejaría a los alumnos antes del examen. — I would advise the students before the exam.
  3. Él ha aconsejado paciencia a su amigo. — He/she has advised patience to her friend.
  4. Espero que él aconseje a María que descanse. — I hope he/she advises María to rest.

With other people

  1. Nosotros aconsejamos a su hijo sobre los estudios. — We advise her son about his studies.
  2. Vosotros aconsejáis a los alumnos antes del examen. — You all advise the students before the exam.
  3. Antes, ellos aconsejaban paciencia a su amigo. — Before, they used to advise patience to her friend.
  4. Mañana, él aconsejará a María que descanse. — Tomorrow, he/she will advise María to rest.

Aconsejar in context

Two short dialogues that use aconsejar the way people really use it. Read them aloud — the verb forms will stick much faster in a conversation than in a table.

Dialogue 1: today and yesterday

  • Ana: "Hola, ¿qué tal?" — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Luis: "Hoy aconsejo a su hijo sobre los estudios." — "Today I advise her son about his studies."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, aconsejé paciencia a su amigo." — "Yesterday I advised patience to her friend."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú aconsejarás a los alumnos antes del examen?" — "And tomorrow, will you will advise the students before the exam?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros aconsejamos a María que descanse." — "Tomorrow we advise María to rest."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo aconsejaría a los alumnos antes del examen si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would advise the students before the exam if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él aconseje a su hijo sobre los estudios." — "I hope he advises her son about his studies."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha aconsejado paciencia a su amigo." — "Surely. He has already has advised patience to her friend."
  • Marta: "Vale, nos vemos mañana." — "OK, see you tomorrow."

Notice how the same verb changes with the tense: the present for the plan, the conditional for the wish, the subjunctive after espero que, and the present perfect for what has already happened. That is the whole point of learning a verb across its tenses, not just in one form.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo aconseja a su hijo sobre los estudios. — Right: Yo aconsejo a su hijo sobre los estudios. — The person matters: aconseja is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is aconsejo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Vosotros aconsejais a los alumnos antes del examen. — Right: Vosotros aconsejáis a los alumnos antes del examen. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: aconsejáis, not aconsejais. The accent marks the stressed vowel.
  3. Wrong: Treating aconsejar and recomendar as identical in every context. — Right: Aconsejar means to advise, while recomendar means to recommend, the close synonym. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: aconsejar fits sentences such as Aconsejo a su hijo sobre los estudios, while recomendar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy aconsejado a los alumnos antes del examen. — Right: Yo he aconsejado a los alumnos antes del examen. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he aconsejado, has aconsejado, ha aconsejado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo aconsejé paciencia a su amigo todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo aconsejaba paciencia a su amigo todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (aconsejaba), not the preterite. The preterite (aconsejé) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on aconsejar: four on the forms, three on the meaning, and three on spotting the correct sentence. Check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a su hijo sobre los estudios. (present tense) A. aconsejo B. aconsejas C. aconseja D. aconsejamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ a los alumnos antes del examen. (preterite tense) A. aconsejé B. aconsejaste C. aconsejamos D. aconsejó

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ paciencia a su amigo. (future tense) A. aconsejará B. aconsejaremos C. aconsejarás D. aconsejaré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ a María que descanse. (imperfect tense) A. aconsejabais B. aconsejábamos C. aconsejaba D. aconsejabas

  5. What does "Yo aconsejo a su hijo sobre los estudios." mean in English? A. I advise her son about his studies. B. I advise the students before the exam. C. I advise patience to her friend. D. I advise María to rest.

  6. What does "Él aconsejó a los alumnos antes del examen." mean in English? A. He/she advised her son about his studies. B. He/she advised patience to her friend. C. He/she advised María to rest. D. He/she advised the students before the exam.

  7. What does "Nosotros aconsejaremos paciencia a su amigo." mean in English? A. We will advise the students before the exam. B. We will advise María to rest. C. We will advise patience to her friend. D. We will advise her son about his studies.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo aconsejan a los alumnos antes del examen. B. Yo aconseja a los alumnos antes del examen. C. Yo aconsejo a los alumnos antes del examen.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él aconsejé paciencia a su amigo. B. Él aconsejó paciencia a su amigo. C. Él aconsejaron paciencia a su amigo.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo aconseje a María que descanse. B. Yo aconsejen a María que descanse. C. Yo aconseje a María que descanse.

Answer key

  1. aconsejo — The yo present form of aconsejar is aconsejo.
  2. aconsejó — The el preterite form of aconsejar is aconsejó.
  3. aconsejarás — The tu future form of aconsejar is aconsejarás.
  4. aconsejábamos — The nosotros imperfect form of aconsejar is aconsejábamos.
  5. I advise her son about his studies. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form aconsejo, so the English is "I advise her son about his studies." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she advised the students before the exam. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form aconsejó, so the English is "He/she advised the students before the exam." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will advise patience to her friend. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form aconsejaremos, so the English is "We will advise patience to her friend." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo aconsejo a los alumnos antes del examen. — The correct sentence is "Yo aconsejo a los alumnos antes del examen." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él aconsejó paciencia a su amigo. — The correct sentence is "Él aconsejó paciencia a su amigo." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo aconseje a María que descanse. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo aconseje a María que descanse." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

What does aconsejar mean, and when do I use it?

Aconsejar means to advise. Aconsejar means to advise, and it is used for advising a son about his studies, advising students before an exam and advising a friend to rest. It is a fully regular -ar verb, and it is the standard verb for giving advice to one person. A good first sentence to remember is Yo aconsejo a su hijo sobre los estudios. — "I advise her son about his studies."

What is the difference between aconsejar and recomendar?

Aconsejar means to advise, while recomendar means to recommend, the close synonym. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use aconsejar when you mean to advise, as in Yo aconsejo a los alumnos antes del examen., and use recomendar for to recommend, the close synonym.

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

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo aconsejé a los alumnos antes del examen.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo aconsejaba paciencia a su amigo.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he aconsejado a los alumnos antes del examen..

How do I practise aconsejar?

Start with the aconsejar conjugation page for the full tables, then the aconsejar in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Aconsejar is fully regular: aconsejé, aconsejaba, aconsejaré. Aconsejar que + subjunctive is the usual pattern for advice.

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