Indultar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

indultar means “to pardon” 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. Indultar means to pardon, to grant an official pardon that frees a prisoner or cancels a punishment. It is a formal legal verb, used for governments and heads of state, and it is fully regular. 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 indultar; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the indultar present tense page.

indultar in everyday use: examples with translations

In the present tense

  1. Yo indulto al preso después de veinte años. — “I pardon the prisoner after twenty years.”
  2. Él indulta a los condenados en Navidad. — “He pardons those convicted at Christmas.”
  3. Nosotros indultamos al reo por buena conducta. — “We pardon the offender for good behaviour.”
  4. Ellos indultan a los prisioneros de guerra. — “They pardon the prisoners of war.”

In the past

  1. Ayer, yo indulté a los condenados en Navidad. — “Yesterday, I pardoned those convicted at Christmas.”
  2. Antes, nosotros indultábamos al reo por buena conducta. — “Before, we used to pardon the offender for good behaviour.”
  3. Él indultó a los prisioneros de guerra. — “He pardoned the prisoners of war.”
  4. Yo ya había indultado al preso después de veinte años antes de salir. — “I had already pardoned the prisoner after twenty years before leaving.”

Plans, hopes and possibilities

  1. Mañana, tú indultarás al preso después de veinte años. — “Tomorrow, you will pardon the prisoner after twenty years.”
  2. Yo indultaría a los condenados en Navidad si tuviera más tiempo. — “I would pardon those convicted at Christmas if I had more time.”
  3. Él ha indultado al reo por buena conducta. — “He has pardoned the offender for good behaviour.”
  4. Espero que él indulte a los prisioneros de guerra. — “I hope he pardons the prisoners of war.”

indultar in conversation

Two short dialogues that use indultar 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 their day.

  • Ana: Yo indulto al preso después de veinte años. — “I pardon the prisoner after twenty years.”
  • Bea: Él indulta a los condenados en Navidad. — “He pardons those convicted at Christmas.”
  • Ana: Ayer, yo indulté a los condenados en Navidad. — “Yesterday, I pardoned those convicted at Christmas.”
  • Bea: Mañana, tú indultarás al preso después de veinte años. — “Tomorrow, you will pardon the prisoner after twenty years.”

At home, talking about tomorrow.

  • Luis: Nosotros indultamos al reo por buena conducta. — “We pardon the offender for good behaviour.”
  • Marta: Antes, nosotros indultábamos al reo por buena conducta. — “Before, we used to pardon the offender for good behaviour.”
  • Luis: Yo indultaría a los condenados en Navidad si tuviera más tiempo. — “I would pardon those convicted at Christmas if I had more time.”
  • Marta: Espero que él indulte a los prisioneros de guerra. — “I hope he pardons the prisoners of war.”

A short scene with indultar

A short scene shows how indultar works across the day. In the morning: Indulto al preso después de veinte años. In the afternoon: Indulta a los condenados en Navidad. Yesterday it was different: Ayer, indulté al reo por buena conducta. And tomorrow: Mañana, indultaré a los prisioneros de guerra. Four small moments, four tenses, one verb — that is how indultar sounds in real life. Try changing the person in each sentence: say it about yourself, about a friend, and about your family, and the forms will start to feel automatic.

Common mistakes with indultar

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

✗ Yo indulta al preso después de veinte años.

✓ Correct: Yo indulto al preso después de veinte años.

The person matters: indulta is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is indulto. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.

✗ Ayer yo indulto a los condenados en Navidad.

✓ Correct: Ayer yo indulté a los condenados en Navidad.

The present and the preterite are different tenses: indulto is happening now, while indulté is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.

✗ Treating indultar and perdonar as identical in every context.

✓ Correct: Indultar means to pardon, while perdonar means to forgive, in everyday life.

They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: indultar fits sentences such as Indulto al preso después de veinte años, while perdonar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.

✗ Yo soy indultado a los condenados en Navidad.

✓ Correct: Yo he indultado a los condenados en Navidad.

Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he indultado, has indultado, ha indultado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

✗ De niño, yo indulté al reo por buena conducta todos los días.

✓ Correct: De niño, yo indultaba al reo por buena conducta todos los días.

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (indultaba), not the preterite. The preterite (indulté) is for one finished action.

Quiz: indultar in use

Ten questions on indultar — 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: Él ______ a los condenados en Navidad. — “He/she pardons those convicted at Christmas.”

  • a) indulta
  • b) indulto
  • c) indultas
  • d) indultamos

2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ al reo por buena conducta. — “Yesterday, I pardoned the offender for good behaviour.”

  • a) indultaste
  • b) indultó
  • c) indultaron
  • d) indulté

3. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ a los prisioneros de guerra cuando eran jóvenes. — “They used to pardon the prisoners of war when they were young.”

  • a) indultabas
  • b) indultábamos
  • c) indultaban
  • d) indultaba

4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, nosotros ______ al preso después de veinte años. — “Tomorrow, we will pardon the prisoner after twenty years.”

  • a) indultarán
  • b) indultaremos
  • c) indultaré
  • d) indultarás

5. Complete the sentence: Él ______ a los condenados en Navidad si pudiera. — “He would pardon those convicted at Christmas if he could.”

  • a) indultaría
  • b) indultarías
  • c) indultaríamos
  • d) indulto

6. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ al reo por buena conducta. — “I have pardoned the offender for good behaviour.”

  • a) has indultado
  • b) ha indultado
  • c) han indultado
  • d) he indultado

7. Complete the sentence: Espero que tú ______ a los prisioneros de guerra. — “I hope you pardon the prisoners of war.”

  • a) indultemos
  • b) indulto
  • c) indultes
  • d) indulte

8. Which is the past participle of indultar, used with haber in the perfect tenses?

  • a) indulté
  • b) indultado
  • c) indultando
  • d) indulto

9. What does indultar mean in English?

  • a) to pardon
  • b) to forgive, in everyday life
  • c) to declare
  • d) to draw, to tie (a match)

10. Which sentence is correct?

  • a) Él indulta a los condenados en Navidad.
  • b) Él indulto a los condenados en Navidad.
  • c) Nosotros indulta al reo por buena conducta.
  • d) Yo indulta al preso después de veinte años.

Answer key

  1. a) indulta — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: indulta.

  2. d) indulté — The sentence needs the yo form in the preterite: indulté, for one finished action yesterday.

  3. c) indultaban — The sentence needs the ellos/ellas form in the imperfect: indultaban, for a repeated past habit.

  4. b) indultaremos — The sentence needs the nosotros form in the future: indultaremos.

  5. a) indultaría — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the conditional: indultaría.

  6. d) he indultado — The sentence needs the yo form in the present perfect: he indultado, haber + indultado.

  7. c) indultes — After espero que, the subjunctive is required: the tú present subjunctive is indultes.

  8. b) indultado — The past participle is indultado: he indultado, has indultado, ha indultado. The gerund indultando is used with estar instead.

  9. a) to pardon — indultar means to pardon. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.

  10. a) Él indulta a los condenados en Navidad. — Él indulta a los condenados en Navidad. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences mix up the person and the form.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use indultar in everyday conversation?

Start with the phrases in the examples above — especially the common combinations such as Indulto al preso después de veinte años and Indulta a los condenados en Navidad. Use the present tense for habits and general facts, and the preterite for things that happened once. Say the sentences aloud until the forms feel automatic, then swap in your own details: your own town, your own family, your own routine.

What is the difference between indultar and perdonar?

Indultar means “to pardon”, while perdonar means “to forgive, in everyday life”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use indultar when you mean “to pardon” and perdonar when you mean “to forgive, in everyday life”.

Which tense do I need most with indultar?

The present tense, for habits, routines and general facts — that is where you will use indultar most. The preterite comes next, for things that happened once and ended. The examples on this page use both, plus the imperfect, the future and the present perfect, so you can see the verb across the tenses you actually need.

Is indultar formal or informal?

Indultar is neutral — it is used in both formal and informal Spanish, at home, at work and at school. There is no special formal version of it; the same forms work in a conversation with a friend and in a letter to a company. What changes is the situation, not the verb.

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