Aliviar Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb aliviar means to relieve, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know 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. Like every Spanish verb, aliviar changes its ending for each person and tense, and this page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say alivio el dolor de cabeza, and in the preterite you say alivié la carga de trabajo. Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: aliviar
- English: to relieve
- Verb type: regular -ar verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: aliviando
- Past participle: aliviado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + aliviado)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for aliviar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Aliviar is fully regular: alivié, aliviaba, aliviaré. The noun is alivio, relief.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for aliviar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | alivio |
| tú | alivias |
| él/ella/Ud. | alivia |
| nosotros/as | aliviamos |
| vosotros/as | aliviáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | alivian |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | alivié |
| tú | aliviaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | alivió |
| nosotros/as | aliviamos |
| vosotros/as | aliviasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | aliviaron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | aliviaba |
| tú | aliviabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | aliviaba |
| nosotros/as | aliviábamos |
| vosotros/as | aliviabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | aliviaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | aliviaré |
| tú | aliviarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | aliviará |
| nosotros/as | aliviaremos |
| vosotros/as | aliviaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | aliviarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | aliviaría |
| tú | aliviarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | aliviaría |
| nosotros/as | aliviaríamos |
| vosotros/as | aliviaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | aliviarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he aliviado |
| tú | has aliviado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha aliviado |
| nosotros/as | hemos aliviado |
| vosotros/as | habéis aliviado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han aliviado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había aliviado |
| tú | habías aliviado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había aliviado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos aliviado |
| vosotros/as | habíais aliviado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían aliviado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré aliviado |
| tú | habrás aliviado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá aliviado |
| nosotros/as | habremos aliviado |
| vosotros/as | habréis aliviado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán aliviado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría aliviado |
| tú | habrías aliviado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría aliviado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos aliviado |
| vosotros/as | habríais aliviado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían aliviado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | alivie |
| tú | alivies |
| él/ella/Ud. | alivie |
| nosotros/as | aliviemos |
| vosotros/as | aliviéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | alivien |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | aliviara |
| tú | aliviaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | aliviara |
| nosotros/as | aliviáramos |
| vosotros/as | aliviarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | aliviaran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | alivia |
| él/ella/Ud. | alivie |
| nosotros/as | aliviemos |
| vosotros/as | aliviad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | alivien |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | alivies |
| él/ella/Ud. | alivie |
| nosotros/as | aliviemos |
| vosotros/as | aliviéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | alivien |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | aliviando | with estar for the progressive: estoy aliviando |
| Past participle | aliviado | with haber for the perfect tenses: he aliviado |
How to use each tense
Present indicative
Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For aliviar, the present looks like this in a real sentence: Alivio el dolor de cabeza. Learn the present forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Preterite
Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For aliviar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, alivié el estrés con unas vacaciones. Learn the preterite forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperfect
Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For aliviar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, aliviaba la carga de trabajo. Learn the imperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Future
Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For aliviar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, aliviaré los síntomas con la medicina. Learn the future forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Conditional
Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For aliviar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Aliviaría el dolor de cabeza si pudiera. Learn the conditional forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Present perfect
Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For aliviar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, he aliviado el estrés con unas vacaciones. Learn the present perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Pluperfect
Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For aliviar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Había aliviado la carga de trabajo antes de salir. Learn the pluperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Future perfect
Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For aliviar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, habré aliviado los síntomas con la medicina. Learn the future perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Conditional perfect
Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For aliviar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Habría aliviado el dolor de cabeza con más tiempo. Learn the conditional perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Present subjunctive
Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For aliviar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él alivie el estrés con unas vacaciones. Learn the present subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past, and note the -ra forms shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For aliviar, the imperfect subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Si él aliviara la carga de trabajo, todo cambiaría. Learn the imperfect subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperative (affirmative)
Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For aliviar, the affirmative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: ¡alivia los síntomas con la medicina! Learn the affirmative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperative (negative)
Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For aliviar, the negative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: No alivies el dolor de cabeza. Learn the negative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with aliviar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.
- Alivio el dolor de cabeza. — I relieve the headache.
- Alivia el estrés con unas vacaciones. — He/she relieves stress with a holiday.
- Ayer, alivié la carga de trabajo. — Yesterday, I relieved the workload.
- Antes, nosotros aliviábamos los síntomas con la medicina. — Before, we used to relieve the symptoms with the medicine.
- Mañana, tú aliviarás el dolor de cabeza. — Tomorrow, you will relieve the headache.
- Yo aliviaría el estrés con unas vacaciones si tuviera más tiempo. — I would relieve stress with a holiday if I had more time.
- Él ha aliviado la carga de trabajo. — He has relieved the workload.
- Espero que él alivie los síntomas con la medicina. — I hope he relieves the symptoms with the medicine.
- Yo ya había aliviado el dolor de cabeza antes de salir. — I had already relieved the headache before leaving.
- Ellos aliviaban el estrés con unas vacaciones cuando eran jóvenes. — They used to relieve stress with a holiday when they were young.
Common mistakes
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el dolor de cabeza. (present tense) A. alivio B. alivias C. alivia D. aliviamos
Complete the sentence: Ayer, él ___ el estrés con unas vacaciones. (preterite) A. alivié B. aliviaste C. aliviaron D. alivió
Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ___ la carga de trabajo. (imperfect) A. aliviabas B. aliviaban C. aliviábamos D. aliviaba
Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ___ los síntomas con la medicina. (future) A. aliviaremos B. aliviarás C. aliviaré D. aliviará
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el dolor de cabeza si pudiera. (conditional) A. aliviaría B. aliviarías C. aliviarían D. alivio
Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ el estrés con unas vacaciones. (present subjunctive) A. alivies B. aliviemos C. alivio D. alivie
Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ la carga de trabajo, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. aliviáramos B. alivio C. aliviara D. aliviaras
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ los síntomas con la medicina. (present perfect) A. han aliviado B. hemos aliviado C. he aliviado D. has aliviado
Complete the command: ¡___ el dolor de cabeza! (affirmative imperative, tú) A. alivia B. alivie C. aliviemos D. aliviad
Which is the gerund of aliviar, used with estar for the progressive? A. aliviado B. alivio C. alivié D. aliviando
Answer key
- alivio — The first-person present of aliviar is alivio. The other options are the tú, él/ella and nosotros forms.
- alivió — The third-person preterite of aliviar is alivió, the form for a single finished action in the past.
- aliviábamos — The nosotros imperfect of aliviar is aliviábamos, used here for a repeated past habit.
- aliviarás — The second-person future of aliviar is aliviarás.
- aliviaría — The first-person conditional of aliviar is aliviaría, the form for what would happen.
- alivie — After espero que, the subjunctive is required: the third-person present subjunctive of aliviar is alivie.
- aliviara — The first-person imperfect subjunctive (-ra) of aliviar is aliviara.
- hemos aliviado — The nosotros present perfect of aliviar is hemos aliviado: hemos + aliviado.
- alivia — The affirmative tú imperative of aliviar is alivia.
- aliviando — The gerund of aliviar is aliviando: estoy aliviando. The participle aliviado is used with haber instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does aliviar mean in English?
Aliviar means to relieve. It is used in everyday situations such as Alivio el dolor de cabeza. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.
Is aliviar regular or irregular?
Aliviar is a fully regular -ar verb, so every tense follows the standard endings for its class. Once you know the regular pattern, you can produce every form on this page, including alivio in the present and alivié in the preterite.
What is the difference between aliviar and calmar?
Aliviar means to relieve, while calmar means to calm pain or nerves. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use aliviar when you mean to relieve, as in Alivio el dolor de cabeza, and use calmar for to calm pain or nerves. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.
How do I say “I relieve” in the past?
It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: yo alivié el estrés con unas vacaciones. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: yo aliviaba la carga de trabajo. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: yo he aliviado el estrés con unas vacaciones.
How do I practise aliviar?
Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the aliviar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related links
- Aliviar in the present tense — the full present-tense table for aliviar.
- Aliviar examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for aliviar.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Alfabetizar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with aliviar.
- Almacenar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with aliviar.
- Alejar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with aliviar.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.