Introduction

revolver means “to stir, to turn over”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to stir, to turn over” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows revolver in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo revuelvo la sopa por la mañana.” — “I stir the soup.”

revolver in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how revolver is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.

In the present: everyday use

These sentences use {verb} in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.

  1. “Yo revuelvo la sopa cada día.” — “I stir the soup.”
  2. “Tú revuelves la sopa cada día.” — “you stir the soup.”
  3. “Él revuelve la sopa siempre.” — “He stirs the soup.”
  4. “Nosotros revolvemos la sopa todos los días.” — “We stir the soup.”

Talking about the past

The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show {verb} in the past, so you can talk about what already happened. 5. “Yo revolví la sopa ayer.” — “I stirred the soup.” (preterite) 6. “Él revolvió la sopa ayer.” — “He stirred the soup.” (preterite) 7. “Yo revolvía la sopa cuando era joven.” — “I used to stir the soup.” (imperfect)

Plans and things already done

These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of {verb} stays the same. 8. “Nosotros revolveremos la sopa mañana.” — “We will stir the soup.” (future) 9. “Tú has revuelto la sopa hoy.” — “you have stirred the soup.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo revuelva la sopa.” — “I hope that I stir the soup.” (present-subjunctive)

More everyday uses

Two more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action. 11. “Vosotros revolvéis la sopa cada semana.” — “You stir the soup.” 12. “Ellos revuelven la sopa normalmente.” — “They stir the soup.”

revolver in context

Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how revolver appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.

Dialogue at work during a coffee break

Marta: “¿Tú revuelves la sopa?” — Do you stir the soup?

Carlos: “Sí, yo revuelvo la sopa cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I stir the soup every day. It is part of my routine.

Marta: “¿Y ayer? ¿También revuelves la sopa?” — And yesterday? Did you stir the soup too?

Carlos: “Sí, ayer yo revolví la sopa. Mañana nosotros revolveremos la sopa otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I stirred the soup. Tomorrow we will stir the soup again.

A short paragraph

Él revuelve la sopa cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how revolver works in real Spanish: who does it, when, and with what. Around it you can build a whole paragraph: what happened yesterday, what is happening now, and what will happen tomorrow, all with the same verb. When you write your own paragraph, start with the present — yo revuelvo la sopa — then add one past sentence and one future sentence, and you have practised three tenses with one verb. That is the fastest way to make revolver yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

Common mistakes

Using the unchanged stem

Learners often write revolvo for the yo form, keeping the infinitive stem unchanged. The correct form is revuelvo. Because revolver changes its stem vowel, the change appears in the stressed syllables of the present: say the correct form out loud a few times — yo revuelvo la sopa — until the changed stem feels natural.

Guessing the past participle

A common error is writing revolvido as the past participle of revolver. The correct participle is revuelto. That matters in every perfect tense: it is he revuelto, había revuelto, habré revuelto. Memorise the participle on its own and the perfect tenses take care of themselves.

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is revolví, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — revolvi — 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 revolver.

Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses

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

Confusing revolver with revisar

revolver and revisar 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 revolver — stir — the sentence needs revolver; if it needs the meaning of revisar, use that verb instead.

Quiz

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

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

  • A. revuelves
  • B. revuelve
  • C. revolvemos
  • D. revuelvo

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

  • A. revolvimos
  • B. revolviste
  • C. revolví
  • D. revolvió

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

  • A. revolvías
  • B. revolvíamos
  • C. revolvíais
  • D. revolvía

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

  • A. revolverá
  • B. revolveremos
  • C. revolveré
  • D. revolverás

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

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

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

  • A. revuelva
  • B. revuelvan
  • C. revuelva
  • D. revuelvas

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

  • A. revolviste
  • B. revolvió
  • C. revolvimos
  • D. revolví

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

  • A. revolvíamos
  • B. revolvías
  • C. revolvía
  • D. revolvía

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

  • A. revolveré
  • B. revolverás
  • C. revolveremos
  • D. revolverá

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

  • A. revolvería
  • B. revolveríamos
  • C. revolvería
  • D. revolverías

Answer key

  1. revuelvo — The present table gives yo = revuelvo.
  2. revolviste — The preterite table gives tu = revolviste.
  3. revolvía — The imperfect table gives el = revolvía.
  4. revolveremos — The future table gives nosotros = revolveremos.
  5. habéis revuelto — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis revuelto.
  6. revuelvan — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = revuelvan.
  7. revolví — The preterite table gives yo = revolví.
  8. revolvías — The imperfect table gives tu = revolvías.
  9. revolverá — The future table gives el = revolverá.
  10. revolveríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = revolveríamos.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use revolver in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo revuelvo la sopa.” — “I stir the soup.” Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

What is the most useful form of revolver to learn first?

Learn the present yo form revuelvo first, then the preterite yo form revolví and the participle revuelto. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund revolviendo next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is revolver reflexive?

No — revolver is not reflexive. It takes a direct object, not a reflexive pronoun: yo revuelvo la sopa. Do not add me or se to it unless the sentence genuinely needs a pronoun for another reason.

Where can I see the full conjugation of revolver?

On the main conjugation page for revolver, which has every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, plus notes, examples and a quiz. The present-tense page covers one tense in depth if that is what you need right now.

Related links