Ella Verbsdescomponer to break down (into parts), to take apart, to break (a device) Irregular Verb
At a glance: Descomponer (to break down (into parts), to take apart, to break (a device)) is a irregular verb in Spanish. In the present tense: descompongo, descompones, descompone, descomponemos, descomponéis, descomponen. It is conjugated like poner. Yo adds a g (descompongo); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the preterite (descompuse), future (descompondré), conditional (descompondría), subjunctive and past participle (descompuesto).

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The Indicative Present of descomponer is used to talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths. For example, “descompongo”, meaning “I break down”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | descompongo | I break down |
| Tú | descompones | you break down |
| Ella / Él / Usted | descompone | s/he breaks down |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | descomponemos | we break down |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | descomponéis | you (plural) break down |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | descomponen | they break down |
How it’s built: Yo adds a g (descompongo); the other forms are regular.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Preterite of descomponer is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “descompuse”, meaning “I broke down”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | descompuse | I broke down |
| Tú | descompusiste | you broke down |
| Ella / Él / Usted | descompuso | s/he broke down |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | descompusimos | we broke down |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | descompusisteis | you (plural) broke down |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | descompusieron | they broke down |
How it’s built: Irregular stem descompus- plus the endings -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Imperfect of descomponer is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “descomponía”, meaning “I used to break down”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | descomponía | I used to break down |
| Tú | descomponías | you used to break down |
| Ella / Él / Usted | descomponía | s/he used to break down |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | descomponíamos | we used to break down |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | descomponíais | you (plural) used to break down |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | descomponían | they used to break down |
How it’s built: Regular: stem descompon- plus the -er endings.
The Indicative Present Continuous of descomponer is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy descomponiendo”, meaning “I am breaking down”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estoy descomponiendo | I am breaking down |
| Tú | estás descomponiendo | you are breaking down |
| Ella / Él / Usted | está descomponiendo | s/he is breaking down |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estamos descomponiendo | we are breaking down |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estáis descomponiendo | you (plural) are breaking down |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | están descomponiendo | they are breaking down |
How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund descomponiendo.
The Indicative Informal Future of descomponer is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a descomponer”, meaning “I am going to break down”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | voy a descomponer | I am going to break down |
| Tú | vas a descomponer | you are going to break down |
| Ella / Él / Usted | va a descomponer | s/he is going to break down |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | vamos a descomponer | we are going to break down |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | vais a descomponer | you (plural) are going to break down |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | van a descomponer | they are going to break down |
How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive descomponer.
The Indicative Future of descomponer is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “descompondré”, meaning “I will break down”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | descompondré | I will break down |
| Tú | descompondrás | you will break down |
| Ella / Él / Usted | descompondrá | s/he will break down |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | descompondremos | we will break down |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | descompondréis | you (plural) will break down |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | descompondrán | they will break down |
How it’s built: Irregular stem descompondr- instead of descomponer, plus the future endings.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Conditional of descomponer is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “descompondría”, meaning “I would break down”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | descompondría | I would break down |
| Tú | descompondrías | you would break down |
| Ella / Él / Usted | descompondría | s/he would break down |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | descompondríamos | we would break down |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | descompondríais | you (plural) would break down |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | descompondrían | they would break down |
How it’s built: Irregular stem descompondr- instead of descomponer, plus the conditional endings.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Present Perfect of descomponer is used to describe actions that started recently (in the past) and are still happening now or things that have been done recently. For example, “he descompuesto”, meaning “I have broken down”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | he descompuesto | I have broken down |
| Tú | has descompuesto | you have broken down |
| Ella / Él / Usted | ha descompuesto | s/he has broken down |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hemos descompuesto | we have broken down |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habéis descompuesto | you (plural) have broken down |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | han descompuesto | they have broken down |
How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the irregular past participle descompuesto.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Past Perfect of descomponer is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había descompuesto”, meaning “I had broken down”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | había descompuesto | I had broken down |
| Tú | habías descompuesto | you had broken down |
| Ella / Él / Usted | había descompuesto | s/he had broken down |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habíamos descompuesto | we had broken down |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habíais descompuesto | you (plural) had broken down |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habían descompuesto | they had broken down |
How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the irregular past participle descompuesto.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Future Perfect of descomponer is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré descompuesto”, meaning “I will have broken down”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habré descompuesto | I will have broken down |
| Tú | habrás descompuesto | you will have broken down |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habrá descompuesto | s/he will have broken down |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habremos descompuesto | we will have broken down |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habréis descompuesto | you (plural) will have broken down |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrán descompuesto | they will have broken down |
How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the irregular past participle descompuesto.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of descomponer is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría descompuesto”, meaning “I would have broken down”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habría descompuesto | I would have broken down |
| Tú | habrías descompuesto | you would have broken down |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habría descompuesto | s/he would have broken down |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habríamos descompuesto | we would have broken down |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habríais descompuesto | you (plural) would have broken down |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrían descompuesto | they would have broken down |
How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the irregular past participle descompuesto.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
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Descomponer follows the same pattern as poner. The app teaches that pattern step by step, then quizzes you until both come out automatically.
The Subjunctive Present is used to talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about. For example, “descomponga”, meaning “I break down”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | descomponga | I break down |
| Tú | descompongas | you break down |
| Ella / Él / Usted | descomponga | s/he breaks down |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | descompongamos | we break down |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | descompongáis | you (plural) break down |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | descompongan | they break down |
How it’s built: Every form follows the yo present, descompongo (descomponga, descompongas, descomponga, descompongamos, descompongáis, descompongan).
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Subjunctive Imperfect is used to speak about unlikely or uncertain events in the past or to cast an opinion (emotional) about something that happened in the past. For example, “descompusiera”, meaning “I broke down”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | descompusiera | I broke down |
| Tú | descompusieras | you broke down |
| Ella / Él / Usted | descompusiera | s/he broke down |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | descompusiéramos | we broke down |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | descompusierais | you (plural) broke down |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | descompusieran | they broke down |
How it’s built: Built on the irregular ellas/ellos preterite, descompusieron: drop -ron and add the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (descompusiéramos).
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, “descompusiere”, meaning “I will break down”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | descompusiere | I will break down |
| Tú | descompusieres | you will break down |
| Ella / Él / Usted | descompusiere | s/he will break down |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | descompusiéremos | we will break down |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | descompusiereis | you (plural) will break down |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | descompusieren | they will break down |
How it’s built: Built on the irregular ellas/ellos preterite, descompusieron: drop -ron and add the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (descompusiéremos).
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Subjunctive Present Perfect is used to describe past actions or events that are still connected to the present day and to speak about an action that will have happened by a certain time in the future. For example, “haya descompuesto”, meaning “I have broken down”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | haya descompuesto | I have broken down |
| Tú | hayas descompuesto | you have broken down |
| Ella / Él / Usted | haya descompuesto | s/he has broken down |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hayamos descompuesto | we have broken down |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hayáis descompuesto | you (plural) have broken down |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hayan descompuesto | they have broken down |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the irregular past participle descompuesto.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Subjunctive Past Perfect is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that occurred before other actions/events in the past. For example, “hubiera descompuesto”, meaning “I had broken down”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera descompuesto | I had broken down |
| Tú | hubieras descompuesto | you had broken down |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiera descompuesto | s/he had broken down |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéramos descompuesto | we had broken down |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubierais descompuesto | you (plural) had broken down |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieran descompuesto | they had broken down |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the irregular past participle descompuesto.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Subjunctive Future Perfect is used to speak about something that will have happened if a hypothetical situations occurs in the future. For example, “hubiere descompuesto”, meaning “I will have broken down”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiere descompuesto | I will have broken down |
| Tú | hubieres descompuesto | you will have broken down |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiere descompuesto | s/he will have broken down |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéremos descompuesto | we will have broken down |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubiereis descompuesto | you (plural) will have broken down |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieren descompuesto | they will have broken down |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the irregular past participle descompuesto.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “descomponga”, meaning “(to you formal) break down!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | descompón | (to you) break down! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | descomponga | (to you formal) break down! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | descompongamos | let's break down! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | descomponed | (to you plural) break down! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | descompongan | (to you plural formal) break down! |
How it’s built: Tú is irregular (descompón); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (descomponga, descompongamos, descompongan); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (descomponed).
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, “no descomponga”, meaning “(to you formal) don't break down!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no descompongas | (to you) don't break down! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no descomponga | (to you formal) don't break down! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no descompongamos | let's not break down! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no descompongáis | (to you plural) don't break down! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no descompongan | (to you plural formal) don't break down! |
How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no descompongas, no descomponga, no descompongamos, no descompongáis, no descompongan.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
Descomponer is an irregular Spanish verb. It is conjugated like poner. In the present tense: yo adds a g (descompongo); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the preterite (descompuse), future (descompondré), conditional (descompondría), subjunctive and past participle (descompuesto).
In the present tense (presente), descomponer is conjugated as: yo descompongo, tú descompones, él/ella/usted descompone, nosotros descomponemos, vosotros descomponéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes descomponen. The present tense is used To talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths.
In the preterite (pretérito indefinido), descomponer is conjugated as: yo descompuse, tú descompusiste, él/ella/usted descompuso, nosotros descompusimos, vosotros descompusisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes descompusieron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.
In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), descomponer is conjugated as: yo descomponía, tú descomponías, él/ella/usted descomponía, nosotros descomponíamos, vosotros descomponíais, ellos/ellas/ustedes descomponían. The imperfect is used To describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do.
In the future tense (futuro simple), descomponer is conjugated as: yo descompondré, tú descompondrás, él/ella/usted descompondrá, nosotros descompondremos, vosotros descompondréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes descompondrán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.
In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), descomponer is conjugated as: yo descomponga, tú descompongas, él/ella/usted descomponga, nosotros descompongamos, vosotros descompongáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes descompongan. The present subjunctive is used To talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about.
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