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SPANISH VERB

describir

to describe

  • #386 most used
  • Irregular -ir verb
  • Gerund: describiendo
  • Past participle: descrito

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use describir

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

  1. Present

    Describo mi casa a los alumnos en español.

    I describe my house to the students in Spanish.

  2. Past

    El testigo describió al ladrón con mucho detalle.

    The witness described the thief in great detail.

  3. Imperfect

    Mi abuela describía su pueblo como el más bonito del mundo.

    My grandma described her village as the prettiest in the world.

  4. Future

    ¿Describirás el problema al técnico por teléfono?

    Will you describe the problem to the technician on the phone?

  5. Conditional

    Yo describiría el sabor como dulce y un poco picante.

    I'd describe the taste as sweet and a little spicy.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Quiero que describas el dolor con tus palabras.

    I want you to describe the pain in your own words.

  7. Past subjunctive

    La policía pidió que describiéramos el coche.

    The police asked us to describe the car.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Describe tu día perfecto en tres frases!

    Describe your perfect day in three sentences!

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -ir verb.