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SPANISH VERB

ablandar

to soften

  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: ablandando
  • Past participle: ablandado

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I soften
  2. tú you soften
  3. usted, él, ella he/she softens
  4. nosotros we soften
  5. vosotros Spain you all soften
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they soften

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I softened
  2. tú you softened
  3. usted, él, ella he/she softened
  4. nosotros we softened
  5. vosotros Spain you all softened
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they softened

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to soften
  2. tú you used to soften
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to soften
  4. nosotros we used to soften
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to soften
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to soften

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will soften
  2. tú you will soften
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will soften
  4. nosotros we will soften
  5. vosotros Spain you all will soften
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will soften

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would soften
  2. tú you would soften
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would soften
  4. nosotros we would soften
  5. vosotros Spain you all would soften
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would soften

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I soften
  2. tú (that) you soften
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she soften
  4. nosotros (that) we soften
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all soften
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they soften

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I softened
  2. tú (if) you softened
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she softened
  4. nosotros (if) we softened
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all softened
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they softened

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú soften!
  2. usted soften! (formal)
  3. nosotros soften! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain soften! (all of you)
  5. ustedes soften! (all of you)

How to use ablandar

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    El agua caliente ablanda la mantequilla en un minuto.

    Hot water softens the butter in a minute.

  2. Past

    Sus lágrimas ablandaron a su padre enseguida.

    Her tears softened her father right away.

  3. Imperfect

    Mi abuela ablandaba los garbanzos toda la noche en agua.

    My grandma used to soften the chickpeas in water all night.

  4. Future

    Un poco de leche ablandará el pan duro.

    A little milk will soften the stale bread.

  5. Conditional

    Un abrazo ablandaría a cualquiera, hasta a tu jefe.

    A hug would soften anyone, even your boss.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Deja la carne en vino para que se ablande.

    Leave the meat in wine so it softens.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Esperé a que se ablandara el hielo del congelador.

    I waited for the freezer ice to soften.

  8. Imperative

    Ablanda la plastilina con las manos primero, cariño.

    Soften the modelling clay with your hands first, love.

Where you hear ablandar

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Spanish · Advanced Level 3

  • El agua caliente ablanda el pan. Hot water softens the bread.
  • Sus palabras me ablandaron el corazón. His words softened my heart.
  • Un rato más en la olla ablandará las verduras. A little longer in the pot will soften the vegetables.
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Advanced Level 3 · ablanda · ablandando

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Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -ar verb.