Admirar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

The Spanish verb admirar means to admire. You can learn its forms from the full admirar conjugation, but forms on their own are not enough: you need to see the verb in real sentences, in conversation, and in the mistakes people actually make. That is what this page is for. Below you will find example sentences grouped by use, two short dialogues, the common mistakes, a ten-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions learners ask most. One sentence to start: Yo admiro su valentía. — "I admire her courage."

Admirar example sentences

Everyday use — the present tense

  1. Yo admiro su valentía. — "I admire her courage."
  2. Tú admiras a mi abuela. — "you admire my grandmother."
  3. Él admira el paisaje. — "he/she admires the landscape."
  4. Nosotros admiramos su trabajo. — "we admire her work."

Talking about the past

  1. Yo admiré el paisaje. — "I admired the landscape."
  2. Él admiraba su trabajo. — "he/she used to admire her work."
  3. Nosotros admiramos a los artistas. — "we admired artists."

Plans and wishes

  1. Yo admiraré a los artistas. — "I will admire artists."
  2. Tú admirarías su paciencia. — "you would admire her patience."

More examples with admirar

  1. Admiro su valentía. — "I admire her courage."
  2. Mi padre admira a mi abuela. — "My father admires my grandmother."
  3. Ayer admiré el paisaje desde la montaña. — "Yesterday I admired the landscape from the mountain."
  4. De niña, admiraba a los artistas. — "As a girl, I used to admire artists."
  5. Mañana admiraré su trabajo en la exposición. — "Tomorrow I will admire her work at the exhibition."
  6. Si pudiera, admiraría el paisaje todos los días. — "If I could, I would admire the landscape every day."

Admirar in conversation

Two short dialogues using admirar naturally. Read them out loud: hearing the verb in a question and an answer is the fastest way to make the forms stick.

Dialogue 1: making plans

María: ¿Tú admiras su valentía? Carlos: Sí, yo admiro su valentía. ¿Y tú? María: Yo también. ¿Admira a mi abuela? Carlos: Sí, él admira a mi abuela todos los días. María: ¿Y mañana? ¿Tú admirarás el paisaje? Carlos: Sí, mañana yo admiraré el paisaje.

In this dialogue María asks Carlos what he does, and then they talk about tomorrow. Notice how the verb changes with the person: admiras for tú, admiro for yo, admira for él. The future forms at the end (admirarás, admiraré) show the same verb talking about tomorrow.

Dialogue 2: talking about yesterday

Ana: ¿Tú admiras su trabajo? Luis: Sí, yo admiro su trabajo. ¿Y tú? Ana: Yo también. ¿Admira a los artistas? Luis: Sí, él admira a los artistas todos los días. Ana: ¿Y ayer? ¿Tú admiraste su trabajo? Luis: Sí, ayer yo admiré su trabajo.

Here Ana asks Luis about yesterday, so the answers use the preterite: admiré for yo, admiraste for tú. The preterite is the right choice because yesterday is finished; the present would describe a habit instead.

Common mistakes with admirar in the present

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why it is wrong.

1. Yo admira su valentía.

Wrong: Yo admira su valentía.

Right: Yo admiro su valentía.

The yo form ends in -o: admiro. Admira is the él/ella form.

2. Admiro mi abuela.

Wrong: Admiro mi abuela.

Right: Admiro a mi abuela.

Admiring a person needs the personal a: admiro a mi abuela. Without a, the sentence is wrong.

3. Confusing admirar with respetar

Admirar is admiring someone for what they do or are; respetar is respecting them. Admiras a un artista por su trabajo y lo respetas por su forma de ser.

4. Using the present for a finished past action

Wrong: Ayer yo admiro su valentía.

Right: Ayer yo admiré su valentía.

Ayer (yesterday) signals a finished action, so it needs the preterite: admiré. The present describes what you do now or usually.

Quiz: admirar in use

Ten questions across five tenses. Choose the right form for each sentence, then check the answers at the end of this section.

  1. Tú ___ su valentía (present)
    • a) admiras
    • b) admiro
    • c) admira
    • d) admiramos
  2. Nosotros ___ a mi abuela (preterite)
    • a) admiré
    • b) admiraste
    • c) admiró
    • d) admiramos
  3. Ellos ___ el paisaje (imperfect)
    • a) admirabas
    • b) admiraba
    • c) admiraban
    • d) admiraba
  4. Tú ___ su trabajo (future)
    • a) admiraremos
    • b) admirarás
    • c) admiraré
    • d) admirará
  5. Nosotros ___ a los artistas (conditional)
    • a) admiraríamos
    • b) admiraría
    • c) admirarías
    • d) admiraría
  6. Ellos ___ su paciencia (present)
    • a) admiro
    • b) admiras
    • c) admira
    • d) admiran
  7. Tú ___ su valentía (preterite)
    • a) admiró
    • b) admiramos
    • c) admiraste
    • d) admiré
  8. Nosotros ___ a mi abuela (imperfect)
    • a) admiraba
    • b) admirábamos
    • c) admiraba
    • d) admirabas
  9. Ellos ___ el paisaje (future)
    • a) admirarán
    • b) admiraré
    • c) admirarás
    • d) admirará
  10. Tú ___ su trabajo (conditional)
  • a) admiraría
  • b) admiraría
  • c) admiraríamos
  • d) admirarías

Answers

  1. a) admiras — the present form, for tú.
  2. d) admiramos — the preterite form, for nosotros/as.
  3. c) admiraban — the imperfect form, for ellos/ellas/Uds..
  4. b) admirarás — the future form, for tú.
  5. a) admiraríamos — the conditional form, for nosotros/as.
  6. d) admiran — the present form, for ellos/ellas/Uds..
  7. c) admiraste — the preterite form, for tú.
  8. b) admirábamos — the imperfect form, for nosotros/as.
  9. a) admirarán — the future form, for ellos/ellas/Uds..
  10. d) admirarías — the conditional form, for tú.

Frequently asked questions about admirar

Is admirar regular?

Yes, admirar is a regular -ar verb: admiro, admiras, admira, admiramos, admiráis, admiran.

Do I need the a before the person I admire?

Yes. When the object is a person, Spanish uses the personal a: admiro a mi abuela, admiro a los artistas. With a thing, there is no a: admiro su valentía.

What are the gerund and the past participle of admirar?

The gerund is admirando, used with estar for the progressive (estoy admirando), and the past participle is admirado, used with haber for the perfect tenses (he admirado).

Is admirar regular?

Yes, it is a regular -ar verb. The present is admiro, admiras, admira, admiramos, admiráis, admiran, and the full tables are on the admirar conjugation page.

How to remember admirar

Four small habits will fix admirar in your memory. First, say the present tense out loud, in order, three times: admiro, admiras, admira, admiramos, admiráis, admiran. Saying the forms is far more effective than reading them silently, because you hear the endings and the stem at the same time. Second, write three sentences about your own life: one about today with the present (admiro), one about yesterday with the preterite (admiré), and one about tomorrow with the future (admiraré). Personal sentences stick because they are about you, not about a textbook. Third, remember the difference from respetar: Admirar is admiring someone for what they do or are; respetar is respecting them. Admiras a un artista por su trabajo y lo respetas por su forma de ser. Finally, learn the two key forms by heart: the gerund admirando and the past participle admirado. With those two and the present tense, you can already build the progressive (estoy admirando) and the present perfect (he admirado), which covers most everyday conversation.

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