Introduction
Afligir means “to afflict, to distress”, and it is one of the verbs you will use again and again in Spanish. Afligir means to afflict or to distress, and it describes grief, illness or trouble weighing on a person: la noticia aflige a la familia, la enfermedad aflige al pueblo. It is a -gir verb: g becomes j before o and a, so yo aflijo and the subjunctive aflija. Its reflexive partner afligirse means to grieve. This page shows afligir in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct present-tense form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Aflijo a la familia con la noticia.” — I afflict the family with the news.
Afligir in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how afligir is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.
In the present: everyday use
These sentences use afligir in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Aflijo a la familia con la noticia.” — I afflict the family with the news.
“¿Afliges al pueblo con la sequía?” — Do you afflict the village with the drought?
“Aflige mucho a su madre.” — He/she afflicts his mother a lot.
“Nosotros afligimos a los niños con el castigo.” — We afflict the children with the punishment.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show afligir in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo afligí a la familia con la noticia.” — Yesterday, I afflicted the family with the news. (preterite)
“Antes, él afligía al pueblo con la sequía.” — Before, he used to afflict the village with the drought. (imperfect)
Plans and things already done
These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of afligir stays the same.
“Mañana, nosotros afligiremos mucho a su madre.” — Tomorrow, we will afflict his mother a lot. (future)
“¿Tú has afligido a los niños con el castigo?” — Have you afflicted the children with the punishment? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Vosotros afligís a la familia con la noticia.” — You afflict the family with the news.
“Ellos afligen al pueblo con la sequía.” — They afflict the village with the drought.
“Yo aflijo mucho a su madre.” — I afflict his mother a lot.
“Mi padre aflige a los niños con el castigo.” — My father afflicts the children with the punishment.
Afligir in context
Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how afligir appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Marta: “¿Tú afliges al pueblo con la sequía?” — Do you afflict the village with the drought?
Pedro: “Sí, yo aflijo a la familia con la noticia.” — Yes, I afflict the family with the news.
Marta: “Nosotros afligimos a los niños con el castigo.” — We afflict the children with the punishment.
Pedro: “Y ellos afligen al pueblo con la sequía.” — And they afflict the village with the drought.
Marta: “Vosotros afligís mucho a su madre.” — You afflict his mother a lot.
Pedro: “Sí, y él aflige a la familia con la noticia.” — Yes, and he afflicts the family with the news.
A short paragraph
Aflige a la familia con la noticia, y nosotros afligimos a los niños con el castigo. Yo aflijo al pueblo con la sequía, y ellos afligen mucho a su madre. Afligir is part of everyday life, because afflict, to distress is something people do in work, at home and with friends, in the present, the past and the future.
Common mistakes with afligir
These are the errors learners actually make with afligir. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo aflige a la familia con la noticia.” Right: “Yo aflijo a la familia con la noticia.” Why: The person matters: aflige is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is aflijo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
Wrong: “Yo afligo al pueblo con la sequía.” Right: “Yo aflijo al pueblo con la sequía.” Why: Afligir is a -gir verb: g becomes j before o and a, so the present first person is aflijo and the present subjunctive is aflija. The form aflijo follows that pattern, not the plain stem plus -o.
Wrong: “Treating afligir and afligirse as identical in every context.” Right: “Afligir means to afflict, to distress, while afligirse means to grieve.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: afligir fits sentences such as Aflijo a la familia con la noticia, while afligirse belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy afligido al pueblo con la sequía.” Right: “Yo he afligido al pueblo con la sequía.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he afligido, has afligido, ha afligido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo afligí mucho a su madre todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo afligía mucho a su madre todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (afligía), not the preterite. The preterite (afligí) is for one finished action.
Quiz: afligir in use
Ten questions on afligir in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ a la familia con la noticia.” (You afflict the family with the news.)
- (a) afligís
- (b) aflijo
- (c) afliges
Answer: afligís — The vosotros/as form of afligir in the present tense is afligís.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ al pueblo con la sequía.” (They afflict the village with the drought.)
- (a) afliges
- (b) afligen
- (c) aflijo
Answer: afligen — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of afligir in the present tense is afligen.
3. Complete the sentence (preterite): “Ayer yo ______ a la familia con la noticia.” (Yesterday I afflicted the family with the news.)
- (a) afligiste
- (b) afligió
- (c) afligí
Answer: afligí — In the preterite, the yo form of afligir is afligí.
4. Complete the sentence (imperfect): “Antes, él ______ al pueblo con la sequía.” (Before, he used to afflict the village with the drought.)
- (a) afligía
- (b) aflijo
- (c) afligías
Answer: afligía — In the imperfect, the él/ella/Ud. form of afligir is afligía.
5. Complete the sentence (future): “Mañana, nosotros ______ mucho a su madre.” (Tomorrow we will afflict his mother a lot.)
- (a) afligirás
- (b) afligiremos
- (c) afligiré
Answer: afligiremos — In the future, the nosotros/as form of afligir is afligiremos.
6. What does afligir mean in English?
- (a) to afflict, to distress
- (b) to attend, to assist
- (c) to grieve
Answer: to afflict, to distress — Afligir means “to afflict, to distress”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo aflige a la familia con la noticia.
- (b) Ellos aflige al pueblo con la sequía.
- (c) Yo aflijo a la familia con la noticia.
Answer: Yo aflijo a la familia con la noticia. — “Yo aflijo a la familia con la noticia.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I afflict the family with the news.” in Spanish?
- (a) Mi padre aflige a los niños con el castigo.
- (b) Aflijo a la familia con la noticia.
- (c) Afligen a la familia con la noticia.
Answer: Aflijo a la familia con la noticia. — “Aflijo a la familia con la noticia.” is the correct translation.
9. What is the nosotros form of afligir in the present tense?
- (a) aflijo
- (b) afliges
- (c) afligimos
Answer: afligimos — The nosotros form is afligimos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Mañana, nosotros afligiremos mucho a su madre.
- (b) Aflijo a la familia con la noticia.
- (c) Ayer, yo afligí a la familia con la noticia.
Answer: Aflijo a la familia con la noticia. — “Aflijo a la familia con la noticia.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I afflict the family with the news' in Spanish?
Say 'Aflijo a la familia con la noticia'. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Aflijo a la familia con la noticia todos los días'.
How do you say 'He afflicts the village with the drought' in Spanish?
Say 'Él aflige al pueblo con la sequía'. The subject comes first, and the verb agrees with it: él takes aflige.
What is the difference between afligir and afligirse?
Afligir means to afflict, to distress, while afligirse means to grieve. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use afligir when you mean to afflict, to distress, as in 'Aflijo a la familia con la noticia', and use afligirse for to grieve.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of afligir — every tense of afligir in one place.
- Afligir in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on afligir and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of afligir until they are automatic.