Alentar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

alentar means "to encourage" in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Alentar means to encourage someone: alentar a su equipo, alentar a su hija a estudiar. It takes a person as its object and often adds a + infinitive for the encouraged action. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by use, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of alentar; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the alentar present tense page.

alentar in everyday use: examples with translations

Everyday present uses

How the verb sounds in the present, the future and in hypotheticals — the forms you will use most often.

  1. Yo aliento a su equipo antes del partido — "I encourage his team before the match"
  2. Mi amigo alienta a su hija a estudiar — "My friend encourages his daughter to study"
  3. Mañana, tú alentarás a los alumnos con palabras — "Tomorrow, you will encourage the pupils with words"
  4. Yo alentaría a su amigo en los malos momentos si pudiera — "I would encourage his friend in hard times if I could"

Talking about the past

The same verb in the past: one finished action, a habit, something that has just happened, and something that had already happened.

  1. Ayer, yo alenté a su equipo antes del partido — "Yesterday, I encouraged his team before the match"
  2. Antes, nosotros alentábamos a su hija a estudiar — "Before, we used to encourage his daughter to study"
  3. Él ha alentado a los alumnos con palabras — "He has encouraged the pupils with words"
  4. Yo ya había alentado a su amigo en los malos momentos antes de salir — "I already had encouraged his friend in hard times before leaving"

Wishes, conditions and commands

The verb after espero que, in si clauses, as a command — and in the conditional perfect, for what would have happened.

  1. Espero que él aliente a su equipo antes del partido — "I hope he encourages his team before the match"
  2. Si yo alentara a su hija a estudiar, todo cambiaría — "If I encouraged his daughter to study, everything would change"
  3. Alienta a los alumnos con palabras. — "Encourage the pupils with words."
  4. Yo habría alentado a su amigo en los malos momentos con más tiempo — "I would have encouraged his friend in hard times with more time"

alentar in conversation

Two short dialogues that use alentar the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

Two friends talk about it.

  • Lucía: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Lucía: Yo aliento a su equipo antes del partido — "I encourage his team before the match"
  • Marcos: Él alienta a su hija a estudiar — "He encourages his daughter to study"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo alenté a los alumnos con palabras — "Yesterday, I encouraged the pupils with words"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú alentarás a su amigo en los malos momentos — "Tomorrow, you will encourage his friend in hard times"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Alienta al público a participar. — "Encourage the public to take part."
  • Lucía: Él ha alentado a su equipo antes del partido — "He has encouraged his team before the match"
  • Marcos: Espero que él aliente a su hija a estudiar — "I hope he encourages his daughter to study"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo alentaba a los alumnos con palabras — "Before, I used to encourage the pupils with words"

Common mistakes with alentar

The errors learners actually make with alentar, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ *Yo alento a su amigo en los malos momentos.

✓ Correct: Yo aliento a su amigo en los malos momentos.

alentar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is aliento, not alento.

✗ *Espero que él alienta a su amigo en los malos momentos

✓ Correct: Espero que él aliente a su amigo en los malos momentos

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él aliente a su amigo en los malos momentos — not the indicative Espero que él alienta a su amigo en los malos momentos.

✗ *Ayer, yo aliento al público a participar

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo alenté al público a participar

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo alenté al público a participar.

✗ *De niño, yo alenté a su equipo antes del partido todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo alentaba a su equipo antes del partido todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo alentaba a su equipo antes del partido todos los días.

✗ *Yo aliento los alumnos con palabras.

✓ Correct: Yo aliento a los alumnos con palabras.

alentar takes a before this complement: Yo aliento a los alumnos con palabras. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.

Quiz: alentar in use

Ten questions on alentar — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a su equipo antes del partido — "I encourage his team before the match" (present) A. alienta B. alentamos C. aliento D. alientas

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ a su hija a estudiar — "Yesterday, I encouraged his daughter to study" (preterite) A. alenté B. alentaste C. alentó D. alentamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ a los alumnos con palabras — "Before, we used to encourage the pupils with words" (imperfect) A. alentabas B. alentabais C. alentábamos D. alentaba

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ a su amigo en los malos momentos — "Tomorrow, you will encourage his friend in hard times" (future) A. alentarás B. alentaré C. alentará D. alentaremos

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ al público a participar — "I would encourage the public to take part" (conditional) A. alentaría B. alentarías C. alentaríamos D. alentaríais

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ a su equipo antes del partido — "He has encouraged his team before the match" (present perfect) A. ha alentado B. he alentado C. has alentado D. hemos alentado

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ a su hija a estudiar — "I hope he encourages his daughter to study" (present subjunctive) A. alentemos B. alentéis C. aliente D. alientes

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ a los alumnos con palabras. — "Encourage the pupils with words." (affirmative imperative) A. alentemos B. alentad C. alienta D. aliente

  9. Which is the gerund of alentar, used with estar for the progressive? A. alentado B. aliento C. alenté D. alentando

  10. What does alentar mean in English? A. to draw B. to encourage C. to enjoy D. to cross

Answer key

  1. aliento — The present form for yo is aliento.
  2. alenté — The preterite form for yo is alenté.
  3. alentábamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is alentábamos.
  4. alentarás — The future form for tú is alentarás.
  5. alentaría — The conditional form for yo is alentaría.
  6. ha alentado — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha alentado.
  7. aliente — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is aliente.
  8. alienta — The affirmative imperative form is alienta.
  9. alentando — The gerund of alentar is alentando: estoy alentando. The participle alentado is used with haber instead.
  10. to encourage — alentar means to encourage.

Frequently asked questions

What does alentar mean in English?

alentar means to encourage. For example: Yo aliento a su equipo antes del partido — "I encourage his team before the match". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with alentar?

alentar takes a before this kind of complement, as in the examples above. Keep the preposition with the verb — dropping it is one of the most common learner errors with alentar.

Is alentar regular?

No. alentar is a stem-changing -ar verb (e → ie). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: aliento, alientas, alienta and alientan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: alentamos, alentáis.

How do I practise alentar?

Start with the present tense table on the full conjugation page, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure, and come back to the sentences above until you can say them without looking.

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