Humillar Examples, Sentences & Quiz

Introduction

humillar means to humiliate, and it is one of those verbs that shows up everywhere once you start listening for it. It is a regular -ar verb verb, and this page puts it to work: real example sentences in several tenses, grouped by use, two short passages that show the verb in context, the mistakes learners make with it, a ten-question quiz and answers to common questions. If you only learn one sentence, make it «Yo humillo todos los días» — I humiliate every day. The rest of this page builds out from there, tense by tense, so you can use humillar the way native speakers do — in the present for habits, in the past for finished events, and in the subjunctive after wishes and doubts.

Humillar in real example sentences

In the present: everyday use

The present is where humillar lives most of the time — routines, facts and what is happening now:

  1. Yo humillo todos los días. — I humiliate every day.
  2. Tú humillas en el trabajo. — You humiliate at work.
  3. Él humilla con mi familia. — He humiliates with my family.
  4. Nosotros humillamos por la mañana. — We humiliate in the morning.

Talking about the past

In the past, choose the preterite for a finished event and the imperfect for a habit or background:

  1. Ayer yo humillé por la tarde. — Yesterday I humiliated in the afternoon.
  2. Antes, yo humillaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to humiliate every day.
  3. La semana pasada él humilló dos veces. — Last week He humiliated twice.

Plans and things already done

The future, the conditional and the present perfect round out the picture — plans, hypotheticals and recent events:

  1. Mañana yo humillaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will humiliate without fail.
  2. Si tuviera más tiempo, yo humillaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would humiliate right now.
  3. Hoy yo he humillado dos veces. — Today I have humiliated twice.

More everyday uses

The subjunctive, the imperative and the progressive cover wishes, commands and actions in progress:

  1. Espero que tú humilles pronto. — I hope You humiliate soon.
  2. ¡humilla, por favor! — Humiliate, please!
  3. Ahora mismo yo estoy humillando. — Right now I am humiliating.

Humillar in context

A short dialogue

Ana: «Yo humillo en el trabajo.» — I humiliate at work. Luis: «¡Qué bien! Yo humillo con mi familia.» — I humiliate with my family. Ana: «Mañana yo humillaré sin falta.» — Tomorrow I will humiliate without fail. Luis: «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo humillaría ahora mismo.» — If I had more time, I would humiliate right now. Ana: «Hoy yo he humillado dos veces.» — Today I have humiliated twice.

A short paragraph

Ayer yo humillé por la tarde. Antes, yo humillaba todos los días. Hoy yo he humillado dos veces. Mañana yo humillaré sin falta.

Yesterday I humiliated in the afternoon. In the past, I used to humiliate every day. Today I have humiliated twice. Tomorrow I will humiliate without fail.

Common mistakes with humillar

1. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer yo humillaba.

Right: Ayer yo humillé.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, humillé. The imperfect humillaba describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.

2. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que tú humillas.

Right: Espero que tú humilles.

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: humilles, not the indicative humillas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.

3. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No humilla.

Right: No humilles.

Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no humilles. The affirmative humilla can never follow no.

4. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

Wrong: Yo humillar todos los días.

Right: Yo humillo todos los días.

The infinitive humillar names the action; it never works as the main verb of a sentence. Conjugate it for the person: yo humillo.

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He humillando.

Right: He humillado.

The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he humillado. The gerund humillando goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy humillando»), never with haber.

Quiz: humillar in use

Test yourself on humillar in use. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the tú form of humillar in the present indicative?

- (a) humilla
- (b) humillamos
- (c) humillo
- (d) humillas

2. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of humillar in the preterite?

- (a) humillamos
- (b) humillé
- (c) humilló
- (d) humillaste

3. What is the nosotros/as form of humillar in the future?

- (a) humillarás
- (b) humillará
- (c) humillaré
- (d) humillaremos

4. What is the vosotros/as form of humillar in the present perfect?

- (a) has humillado
- (b) ha humillado
- (c) he humillado
- (d) habéis humillado

5. What is the tú form of humillar in the imperfect?

- (a) humillaba
- (b) humillábamos
- (c) humillaba
- (d) humillabas

6. What is the gerund of humillar?

- (a) humillado
- (b) humillo
- (c) humillando
- (d) humillar

7. What is the past participle of humillar?

- (a) humillé
- (b) humillado
- (c) humillando
- (d) humillar

8. Which sentence uses humillar correctly?

- (a) *Yo humillar todos los días.*
- (b) *Yo humillas todos los días.*
- (c) *Yo humilla todos los días.*
- (d) *Yo humillo todos los días.* — I humiliate every day.

9. Which sentence uses humillar correctly?

- (a) *Ayer yo humillo por la tarde.*
- (b) *Ayer yo humillé por la tarde.* — Yesterday I humiliated in the afternoon.
- (c) *Ayer yo humillar por la tarde.*
- (d) *Ayer yo humillaba por la tarde.*

10. What does humillar mean?

- (a) to be (located)
- (b) to humiliate
- (c) to ignore
- (d) to inherit

Answer key

1. (d) — In the present indicative, the tú form of humillar is humillas. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (c) — In the preterite, the él/ella/Ud. form of humillar is humilló. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (d) — In the future, the nosotros/as form of humillar is humillaremos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (d) — In the present perfect, the vosotros/as form of humillar is habéis humillado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (d) — In the imperfect, the tú form of humillar is humillabas. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (c) — The gerund of humillar is humillando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy humillando». 7. (b) — The past participle of humillar is humillado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he humillado». 8. (d) — Only this sentence pairs the right person with the right form of humillar; the others mix a person with another person's form, or use the infinitive instead of a conjugated form. 9. (b) — Only this sentence pairs the right person with the right form of humillar; the others mix a person with another person's form, or use the infinitive instead of a conjugated form. 10. (b) — humillar means «to humiliate».

Frequently asked questions

How do you say 'I humiliate' in Spanish?

Say «Yo humillo todos los días». That is the present-tense yo form, and it is the sentence you will use most with this verb.

How do you say 'I humiliated' about yesterday?

Say «Ayer yo humillé por la tarde». The preterite is the tense for a finished event: yesterday, last week, last night.

Is humillar reflexive?

No — humillar is not reflexive. It conjugates without a pronoun: yo humillo, tú humillas, él humilla. If you see a -se form of a similar verb, that is a different verb with its own meaning.

Which tense do learners find hardest with humillar?

Most learners struggle with choosing between the preterite and the imperfect, not with the forms themselves. Use the preterite (humillé) for a single finished event and the imperfect (humillaba) for habits and background. After that, the subjunctive is the next step.

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