Admitir Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

admitir means to admit, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Admitir means to admit, and it covers admitting a mistake, admitting the truth and admitting someone to a course or a place. It is a regular -ir verb, and it is the opposite of negar in confessions. This page puts admitir 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 admitir, and the full tables are on the admitir conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo admito su error ante la clase. — I admit his mistake before the class.
  2. Él admite a los alumnos en el curso. — He/she admits the students onto the course.
  3. Ayer, yo admití la verdad por fin. — Yesterday, I admitted the truth at last.
  4. Antes, nosotros admitíamos que no sabía nada. — Before, we used to admit that he knew nothing.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú admitirás su error ante la clase. — Tomorrow, you will admit his mistake before the class.
  2. Yo admitiría a los alumnos en el curso. — I would admit the students onto the course.
  3. Él ha admitido la verdad por fin. — He/she has admitted the truth at last.
  4. Espero que él admita que no sabía nada. — I hope he/she admits that he knew nothing.

With other people

  1. Nosotros admitimos su error ante la clase. — We admit his mistake before the class.
  2. Vosotros admitís a los alumnos en el curso. — You all admit the students onto the course.
  3. Antes, ellos admitían la verdad por fin. — Before, they used to admit the truth at last.
  4. Mañana, él admitirá que no sabía nada. — Tomorrow, he/she will admit that he knew nothing.

Admitir in context

Two short dialogues that use admitir 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 admito su error ante la clase." — "Today I admit his mistake before the class."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, admití la verdad por fin." — "Yesterday I admitted the truth at last."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú admitirás a los alumnos en el curso?" — "And tomorrow, will you will admit the students onto the course?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros admitimos que no sabía nada." — "Tomorrow we admit that he knew nothing."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo admitiría a los alumnos en el curso si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would admit the students onto the course if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él admita su error ante la clase." — "I hope he admits his mistake before the class."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha admitido la verdad por fin." — "Surely. He has already has admitted the truth at last."
  • 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 admite su error ante la clase. — Right: Yo admito su error ante la clase. — The person matters: admite is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is admito. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Vosotros admitis a los alumnos en el curso. — Right: Vosotros admitís a los alumnos en el curso. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: admitís, not admitis. The accent marks the stressed vowel.
  3. Wrong: Treating admitir and negar as identical in every context. — Right: Admitir means to admit, while negar means to deny, its opposite. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: admitir fits sentences such as Admito su error ante la clase, while negar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy admitido a los alumnos en el curso. — Right: Yo he admitido a los alumnos en el curso. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he admitido, has admitido, ha admitido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo admití la verdad por fin todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo admitía la verdad por fin todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (admitía), not the preterite. The preterite (admití) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on admitir: 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 ___ su error ante la clase. (present tense) A. admito B. admites C. admite D. admitimos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ a los alumnos en el curso. (preterite tense) A. admití B. admitiste C. admitimos D. admitió

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ la verdad por fin. (future tense) A. admitirá B. admitiremos C. admitirás D. admitiré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ que no sabía nada. (imperfect tense) A. admitíais B. admitíamos C. admitía D. admitías

  5. What does "Yo admito su error ante la clase." mean in English? A. I admit his mistake before the class. B. I admit the students onto the course. C. I admit the truth at last. D. I admit that he knew nothing.

  6. What does "Él admitió a los alumnos en el curso." mean in English? A. He/she admitted his mistake before the class. B. He/she admitted the truth at last. C. He/she admitted that he knew nothing. D. He/she admitted the students onto the course.

  7. What does "Nosotros admitiremos la verdad por fin." mean in English? A. We will admit the students onto the course. B. We will admit that he knew nothing. C. We will admit the truth at last. D. We will admit his mistake before the class.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo admiten a los alumnos en el curso. B. Yo admite a los alumnos en el curso. C. Yo admito a los alumnos en el curso.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él admití la verdad por fin. B. Él admitió la verdad por fin. C. Él admitieron la verdad por fin.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo admita que no sabía nada. B. Yo admitan que no sabía nada. C. Yo admita que no sabía nada.

Answer key

  1. admito — The yo present form of admitir is admito.
  2. admitió — The el preterite form of admitir is admitió.
  3. admitirás — The tu future form of admitir is admitirás.
  4. admitíamos — The nosotros imperfect form of admitir is admitíamos.
  5. I admit his mistake before the class. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form admito, so the English is "I admit his mistake before the class." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she admitted the students onto the course. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form admitió, so the English is "He/she admitted the students onto the course." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will admit the truth at last. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form admitiremos, so the English is "We will admit the truth at last." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo admito a los alumnos en el curso. — The correct sentence is "Yo admito a los alumnos en el curso." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él admitió la verdad por fin. — The correct sentence is "Él admitió la verdad por fin." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo admita que no sabía nada. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo admita que no sabía nada." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

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

Admitir means to admit. Admitir means to admit, and it covers admitting a mistake, admitting the truth and admitting someone to a course or a place. It is a regular -ir verb, and it is the opposite of negar in confessions. A good first sentence to remember is Yo admito su error ante la clase. — "I admit his mistake before the class."

What is the difference between admitir and negar?

Admitir means to admit, while negar means to deny, its opposite. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use admitir when you mean to admit, as in Yo admito a los alumnos en el curso., and use negar for to deny, its opposite.

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

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo admití a los alumnos en el curso.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo admitía la verdad por fin.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he admitido a los alumnos en el curso..

How do I practise admitir?

Start with the admitir conjugation page for the full tables, then the admitir in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Admitir is a regular -ir verb: admití, admitía, admitiré. Admitir un error is to admit a mistake; admitir a alguien is to let them in.

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