Aliviar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

aliviar means “to relieve” 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. Aliviar means to relieve, and it is used for relieving pain, stress, a burden and a symptom: a medicine relieves a headache, a holiday relieves stress, help relieves a workload. It is a common verb in health, work and everyday comfort. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by tense, 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 aliviar; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the aliviar present tense page.

aliviar in everyday use: examples with translations

In the present

Four sentences with aliviar in the present tense, for habits, facts and things happening right now.

  1. Yo alivio el dolor de cabeza. — I relieve the headache.
  2. Él/Ella alivia el estrés con unas vacaciones. — He relieves stress with a holiday.
  3. Nosotros/as aliviamos la carga de trabajo. — We relieve the workload.
  4. Ellos/as alivian los síntomas con la medicina. — They relieve the symptoms with the medicine.

In the past

Four sentences with aliviar in the past: the preterite for finished actions and the imperfect for habits and background.

  1. Ayer, Yo alivié la carga de trabajo. — Yesterday, I relieved the workload.
  2. Antes, Nosotros/as aliviábamos los síntomas con la medicina. — Before, We used to relieve the symptoms with the medicine.
  3. Ayer, Él/Ella alivió el dolor de cabeza. — Yesterday, He relieved the headache.
  4. De niños, Ellos/as aliviaban el estrés con unas vacaciones. — As children, They used to relieve stress with a holiday.

Plans, hopes and wishes

Four sentences with aliviar in the future, the conditional, the subjunctive and the present perfect — for plans, hypotheticals and things that have just happened.

  1. Mañana, Tú aliviarás el dolor de cabeza. — Tomorrow, You will relieve the headache.
  2. Yo aliviaría el estrés con unas vacaciones. — I would relieve stress with a holiday.
  3. Espero que él alivie la carga de trabajo. — I hope he relieves the workload.
  4. Él/Ella ha aliviado los síntomas con la medicina. — He has relieved the symptoms with the medicine.

aliviar in context: two short dialogues

Making plans

Ana: ¿Tú alivias el dolor de cabeza mañana? — Are you going to relieve the headache tomorrow? Luis: Sí, yo alivio el dolor de cabeza todos los días. — Yes, I relieve the headache every day. Ana: ¿Y mañana aliviarás el estrés con unas vacaciones? — And tomorrow, will you relieve stress with a holiday? Luis: Claro, mañana aliviaré el estrés con unas vacaciones sin falta. — Of course, tomorrow I will relieve stress with a holiday without fail. Ana: Perfecto. Yo aliviaré la carga de trabajo también. — Perfect. I will relieve the workload too. Luis: Entonces quedamos mañana. ¡Hasta luego! — Then see you tomorrow. Bye!

Yesterday

Ana: ¿Qué hiciste ayer? — What did you do yesterday? Luis: Ayer alivié la carga de trabajo. — Yesterday, I relieved the workload. Ana: ¿Y antes aliviabas los síntomas con la medicina? — And before, did you use to relieve the symptoms with the medicine? Luis: Sí, antes aliviaba los síntomas con la medicina todos los días. — Yes, before, I used to relieve the symptoms with the medicine every day. Ana: ¿Y tus hermanos aliviaron el dolor de cabeza? — And did your brothers relieved the headache? Luis: Sí, ellos aliviaron el dolor de cabeza por la tarde. — Yes, they relieved the headache in the afternoon.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo alivia el dolor de cabeza. — Right: Yo alivio el dolor de cabeza. — The person matters: alivia is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is alivio. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Treating aliviar and calmar as identical in every context. — Right: Aliviar means to relieve, while calmar means to calm pain or nerves. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: aliviar fits sentences such as Alivio el dolor de cabeza, while calmar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  3. Wrong: Yo soy aliviado el estrés con unas vacaciones. — Right: Yo he aliviado el estrés con unas vacaciones. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he aliviado, has aliviado, ha aliviado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  4. Wrong: De niño, yo alivié la carga de trabajo todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo aliviaba la carga de trabajo todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (aliviaba), not the preterite. The preterite (alivié) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on aliviar in use. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ los síntomas con la medicina. (present tense) A. alivian B. alivio C. alivias D. alivia

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, Nosotros/as ___ el dolor de cabeza. (preterite tense) A. alivié B. aliviaste C. alivió D. aliviamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, Tú ___ el estrés con unas vacaciones. (imperfect tense) A. aliviábamos B. aliviabais C. aliviabas D. aliviaba

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, Él/Ella ___ la carga de trabajo. (future tense) A. aliviaremos B. aliviará C. aliviaré D. aliviarás

  5. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ los síntomas con la medicina. (conditional tense) A. aliviaríamos B. aliviaría C. aliviarías D. aliviaríais

  6. Complete the sentence: Hoy, Yo ___ el dolor de cabeza. (present-perfect tense) A. has aliviado B. ha aliviado C. hemos aliviado D. he aliviado

  7. What does aliviar mean in English? A. to disturb B. to address as tú C. to relieve D. to calm pain or nerves

  8. Which of these sentences is WRONG? A. Ayer, Yo alivié la carga de trabajo. B. Yo alivia el dolor de cabeza. C. Yo alivio el dolor de cabeza. D. Él/Ella alivia el estrés con unas vacaciones.

  9. Which is the gerund of aliviar, used with estar for the progressive? A. aliviando B. aliviado C. alivio D. alivié

  10. Which is the past participle of aliviar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. aliviando B. alivio C. alivié D. aliviado

Answer key

  1. alivian — The correct form here is alivian.
  2. aliviamos — The correct form here is aliviamos.
  3. aliviabas — The correct form here is aliviabas.
  4. aliviará — The correct form here is aliviará.
  5. aliviaríamos — The correct form here is aliviaríamos.
  6. he aliviado — The correct form here is he aliviado.
  7. to relieve — Aliviar means to relieve. Calmar means to calm pain or nerves, which is a different verb.
  8. Yo alivia el dolor de cabeza. — The first sentence is wrong: the correct form is Yo alivio el dolor de cabeza.. The person matters: alivia is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is alivio. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  9. aliviando — The gerund of aliviar is aliviando: estoy aliviando.
  10. aliviado — The past participle of aliviar is aliviado: he aliviado, has aliviado, ha aliviado.

Frequently asked questions

What does aliviar mean?

Aliviar means to relieve. Aliviar means to relieve, and it is used for relieving pain, stress, a burden and a symptom: a medicine relieves a headache, a holiday relieves stress, help relieves a workload. It is a common verb in health, work and everyday comfort.

When do people use aliviar most?

People use aliviar most in everyday situations such as Yo alivio el dolor de cabeza. and Ayer, Yo alivié la carga de trabajo.. Learn the present tense first, then the preterite and the imperfect, since those are the forms you will hear most often.

What is the difference between aliviar and calmar?

Aliviar means to relieve, while calmar means to calm pain or nerves. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable — check the meaning you want before you choose.

How can I remember the forms of aliviar?

Practise the present tense table first, then add the preterite and the imperfect. Use the full conjugation of aliviar as your reference, the aliviar present tense page for one tense in depth, and the Spanish Verb Quiz to test yourself.

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