Introduction

relevar means “to relieve, to take over from”. It belongs to the group of Spanish verbs that express “to relieve, to take over from”, and once you can conjugate it you can say a surprising amount with a single verb. This page is the complete reference for relevar: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, with notes on usage, real example sentences, common mistakes, a quiz and frequently asked questions. relevar is a regular -ar verb. If it is irregular in a tense, the note under that table says so plainly, and the forms in the table are the correct ones — copy them, do not guess them from the infinitive. A first example to fix the verb in your mind: “Yo relevo a mi compañero todos los días.” — “I relieve my colleague.”

Quick facts
Infinitive relevar
English to relieve, to take over from
Verb type Regular -ar verb
Gerund relevando
Past participle relevado
Auxiliary verb haber

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: relevando · Past participle: relevado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo relevo
tú relevas
él/ella/Ud. releva
nosotros/as relevamos
vosotros/as releváis
ellos/ellas/Uds. relevan

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For relevar, the yo form is relevo, as in “Yo relevo a mi compañero.” — “I relieve my colleague.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo relevé
tú relevaste
él/ella/Ud. relevó
nosotros/as relevamos
vosotros/as relevasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. relevaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For relevar, the yo form is relevé, as in “Yo relevé a mi compañero.” — “I relieved my colleague.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo relevaba
tú relevabas
él/ella/Ud. relevaba
nosotros/as relevábamos
vosotros/as relevabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. relevaban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For relevar, the yo form is relevaba, as in “Yo relevaba a mi compañero.” — “I used to relieve my colleague.”

Future

Person Form
yo relevaré
tú relevarás
él/ella/Ud. relevará
nosotros/as relevaremos
vosotros/as relevaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. relevarán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For relevar, the yo form is relevaré, as in “Yo relevaré a mi compañero.” — “I will relieve my colleague.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo relevaría
tú relevarías
él/ella/Ud. relevaría
nosotros/as relevaríamos
vosotros/as relevaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. relevarían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For relevar, the yo form is relevaría, as in “Yo relevaría a mi compañero.” — “I would relieve my colleague.”

Present Perfect

Person Form
yo he relevado
tú has relevado
él/ella/Ud. ha relevado
nosotros/as hemos relevado
vosotros/as habéis relevado
ellos/ellas/Uds. han relevado

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For relevar, the yo form is he relevado, as in “Yo he relevado a mi compañero.” — “I have relieved my colleague.”

Pluperfect

Person Form
yo había relevado
tú habías relevado
él/ella/Ud. había relevado
nosotros/as habíamos relevado
vosotros/as habíais relevado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habían relevado

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For relevar, the yo form is había relevado, as in “Yo había relevado a mi compañero.” — “I had relieved my colleague.”

Future Perfect

Person Form
yo habré relevado
tú habrás relevado
él/ella/Ud. habrá relevado
nosotros/as habremos relevado
vosotros/as habréis relevado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán relevado

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For relevar, the yo form is habré relevado, as in “Yo habré relevado a mi compañero.” — “I will have relieved my colleague.”

Conditional Perfect

Person Form
yo habría relevado
tú habrías relevado
él/ella/Ud. habría relevado
nosotros/as habríamos relevado
vosotros/as habríais relevado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrían relevado

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For relevar, the yo form is habría relevado, as in “Yo habría relevado a mi compañero.” — “I would have relieved my colleague.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo releve
tú releves
él/ella/Ud. releve
nosotros/as relevemos
vosotros/as relevéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. releven

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For relevar, the yo form is releve, as in “Espero que yo releve a mi compañero.” — “I hope that I relieve my colleague.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo relevara
tú relevaras
él/ella/Ud. relevara
nosotros/as releváramos
vosotros/as relevarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. relevaran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For relevar, the yo form is relevara, as in “Si yo relevara a mi compañero, ...” — “If I relieved my colleague, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: relevara becomes relevase, and the same change applies to every person. Both variants mean the same thing; -ra is more common in everyday speech.

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú releva
Ud. releve
nosotros/as relevemos
vosotros/as relevad
Uds. releven

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú releves
Ud. releve
nosotros/as relevemos
vosotros/as relevéis
Uds. releven

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is releva, as in “¡Releva a mi compañero” — “Relieve my colleague” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no releves. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with relevar.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with relevar, covering different tenses and persons. Read each one out loud, then read the translation, and notice how the verb form changes while the meaning stays the same.

  1. “Yo relevo a mi compañero cada día.” — “I relieve my colleague.”
  2. “Él releva a mi compañero todos los días.” — “He relieves my colleague.”
  3. “Yo relevé a mi compañero ayer.” — “I relieved my colleague.”
  4. “Él relevó a mi compañero ayer.” — “He relieved my colleague.”
  5. “Yo relevaba a mi compañero cuando era joven.” — “I used to relieve my colleague.”
  6. “Nosotros relevaremos a mi compañero mañana.” — “We will relieve my colleague.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo relevaría a mi compañero.” — “If I could, i would relieve my colleague.”
  8. “Yo he relevado a mi compañero hoy.” — “I have relieved my colleague.”
  9. “Espero que yo releve a mi compañero.” — “I hope that I relieve my colleague.”
  10. “estoy relevando a mi compañero ahora mismo.” — “I am relieving my colleague.”

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is relevé, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — releve — is a spelling error, and in speech the stress lands in the wrong place. Preterite yo forms that end in a vowel carry that accent, so check it every time you write the preterite of relevar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For relevar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: relevamos. Only the context tells you which tense is meant, so pay attention to the time words around it — cada día points to the present, ayer points to the preterite. Do not invent a different form for one of the tenses.

Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses

Spanish perfect tenses always use haber, never ser: yo he relevado a mi compañero. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy relevado is not the present perfect of relevar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing relevar with relacionar

relevar and relacionar look similar, and learners mix them up. They are different verbs with different meanings, so check which one the sentence needs before you conjugate. If you can substitute the English meaning of relevar — relieve — the sentence needs relevar; if it needs the meaning of relacionar, use that verb instead.

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo releve a mi compañero. Using the indicative — Espero que yo relevo — is one of the most frequent learner errors with relevar. Whenever the main clause expresses a wish, doubt or emotion, switch to the subjunctive.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the best answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the yo form of relevar in the present?

  • A. relevas
  • B. releva
  • C. relevamos
  • D. relevo

2. What is the tu form of relevar in the preterite?

  • A. relevamos
  • B. relevaste
  • C. relevé
  • D. relevó

3. What is the el form of relevar in the imperfect?

  • A. relevabas
  • B. relevábamos
  • C. relevabais
  • D. relevaba

4. What is the nosotros form of relevar in the future?

  • A. relevará
  • B. relevaremos
  • C. relevaré
  • D. relevarás

5. What is the vosotros form of relevar in the present perfect?

  • A. he relevado
  • B. has relevado
  • C. ha relevado
  • D. habéis relevado

6. What is the ellos form of relevar in the present subjunctive?

  • A. releve
  • B. releven
  • C. releve
  • D. releves

7. What is the yo form of relevar in the preterite?

  • A. relevaste
  • B. relevó
  • C. relevamos
  • D. relevé

8. What is the tu form of relevar in the imperfect?

  • A. relevábamos
  • B. relevabas
  • C. relevaba
  • D. relevaba

9. What is the el form of relevar in the future?

  • A. relevaré
  • B. relevarás
  • C. relevaremos
  • D. relevará

10. What is the nosotros form of relevar in the conditional?

  • A. relevaría
  • B. relevaríamos
  • C. relevaría
  • D. relevarías

Answer key

  1. relevo — The present table gives yo = relevo.
  2. relevaste — The preterite table gives tu = relevaste.
  3. relevaba — The imperfect table gives el = relevaba.
  4. relevaremos — The future table gives nosotros = relevaremos.
  5. habéis relevado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis relevado.
  6. releven — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = releven.
  7. relevé — The preterite table gives yo = relevé.
  8. relevabas — The imperfect table gives tu = relevabas.
  9. relevará — The future table gives el = relevará.
  10. relevaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = relevaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

Is relevar regular or irregular?

relevar is a regular -ar verb. It follows the regular patterns for its ending in every tense. The tables on this page show the correct form for every person, so use them rather than guessing.

What is the past participle of relevar?

The past participle of relevar is relevado. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he relevado, había relevado, habré relevado — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund relevando and you have the two non-finite forms covered.

What is the gerund of relevar?

The gerund of relevar is relevando. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy relevando, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle relevado, which belongs with haber, not with estar.

What is the yo form of relevar in the present?

The yo form is relevo — “Yo relevo a mi compañero.” means “I relieve my colleague.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú relevas, él releva, nosotros relevamos, ellos relevan.

What is the difference between relevar and relacionar?

relevar means “to relieve, to take over from”, while relacionar means “to relate”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to relieve, to take over from”, use relevar; if it is about the meaning of relacionar, use relacionar instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.

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