ablandar

Spanish

Etymology

From a- +‎ blando +‎ -ar. Compare with Galician abrandar.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ablanˈdaɾ/ [a.β̞lãn̪ˈd̪aɾ]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: a‧blan‧dar

Verb

ablandar (first-person singular present ablando, first-person singular preterite ablandé, past participle ablandado)

1. (transitive, reflexive) to soften, to soothe
2. (intransitive) to become less severe

Conjugation

    Conjugation of ablandar (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			ablandar
gerund			ablandando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		ablandado		ablandada
		plural		ablandados		ablandadas
		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	ablando	ablandastú ablandásvos	ablanda	ablandamos	ablandáis	ablandan
	imperfect	ablandaba	ablandabas	ablandaba	ablandábamos	ablandabais	ablandaban
	preterite	ablandé	ablandaste	ablandó	ablandamos	ablandasteis	ablandaron
	future	ablandaré	ablandarás	ablandará	ablandaremos	ablandaréis	ablandarán
	conditional	ablandaría	ablandarías	ablandaría	ablandaríamos	ablandaríais	ablandarían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	ablande	ablandestú ablandésvos2	ablande	ablandemos	ablandéis	ablanden
	imperfect (ra)	ablandara	ablandaras	ablandara	ablandáramos	ablandarais	ablandaran
	imperfect (se)	ablandase	ablandases	ablandase	ablandásemos	ablandaseis	ablandasen
	future1	ablandare	ablandares	ablandare	ablandáremos	ablandareis	ablandaren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		ablandatú ablandávos	ablande	ablandemos	ablandad	ablanden
	negative		no ablandes	no ablande	no ablandemos	no ablandéis	no ablanden

¹Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.

    Selected combined forms of ablandar

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
with infinitive ablandar
	dative	ablandarme	ablandarte	ablandarle, ablandarse	ablandarnos	ablandaros	ablandarles, ablandarse
	accusative	ablandarme	ablandarte	ablandarlo, ablandarla, ablandarse	ablandarnos	ablandaros	ablandarlos, ablandarlas, ablandarse
with gerund ablandando
	dative	ablandándome	ablandándote	ablandándole, ablandándose	ablandándonos	ablandándoos	ablandándoles, ablandándose
	accusative	ablandándome	ablandándote	ablandándolo, ablandándola, ablandándose	ablandándonos	ablandándoos	ablandándolos, ablandándolas, ablandándose
with informal second-person singular tú imperative ablanda
	dative	ablándame	ablándate	ablándale	ablándanos	not used	ablándales
	accusative	ablándame	ablándate	ablándalo, ablándala	ablándanos	not used	ablándalos, ablándalas
with informal second-person singular vos imperative ablandá
	dative	ablandame	ablandate	ablandale	ablandanos	not used	ablandales
	accusative	ablandame	ablandate	ablandalo, ablandala	ablandanos	not used	ablandalos, ablandalas
with formal second-person singular imperative ablande
	dative	ablándeme	not used	ablándele, ablándese	ablándenos	not used	ablándeles
	accusative	ablándeme	not used	ablándelo, ablándela, ablándese	ablándenos	not used	ablándelos, ablándelas
with first-person plural imperative ablandemos
	dative	not used	ablandémoste	ablandémosle	ablandémonos	ablandémoos	ablandémosles
	accusative	not used	ablandémoste	ablandémoslo, ablandémosla	ablandémonos	ablandémoos	ablandémoslos, ablandémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative ablandad
	dative	ablandadme	not used	ablandadle	ablandadnos	ablandaos	ablandadles
	accusative	ablandadme	not used	ablandadlo, ablandadla	ablandadnos	ablandaos	ablandadlos, ablandadlas
with formal second-person plural imperative ablanden
	dative	ablándenme	not used	ablándenle	ablándennos	not used	ablándenles, ablándense
	accusative	ablándenme	not used	ablándenlo, ablándenla	ablándennos	not used	ablándenlos, ablándenlas, ablándense

Derived terms

• ablandador
• ablandamiento

 

Related terms

• ablandarse

 

Further reading

• “ablandar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014