To describe Irregular Verb
Describir is the Spanish verb for "to describe". It is an irregular verb. Read on below to see how it is conjugated in the 18 major Spanish tenses!
Item | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Infinitive | describir | to describe |
Past participle | descrito | described |
Gerund | describiendo | describing |
The Indicative Present of describir 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, "describo", meaning "I describe".
In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | describo | I describe |
Tú | describes | you describe |
Ella / Él / Usted | describe | s/he describes, you (formal) describe |
Nosotras / Nosotros | describimos | we describe |
Vosotras / Vosotros | describís | you (plural) describe |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | describen | they describe, |
The Indicative Preterite of describir is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, "describí", meaning "I described".
In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | describí | I described |
Tú | describiste | you described |
Ella / Él / Usted | describió | s/he described, you (formal) described |
Nosotras / Nosotros | describimos | we described |
Vosotras / Vosotros | describisteis | you (plural) described |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | describieron | they described, |
The Indicative Imperfect of describir is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, "describía", meaning "I used to describe".
In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | describía | I used to describe |
Tú | describías | you used to describe |
Ella / Él / Usted | describía | s/he used to describe, you (formal) used to describe |
Nosotras / Nosotros | describíamos | we used to describe |
Vosotras / Vosotros | describíais | you (plural) used to describe |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | describían | they used to describe, |
The Indicative Present Continuous of describir is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, "estoy describiendo", meaning "I am describing".
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | estoy describiendo | I am describing |
Tú | estás describiendo | you are describing |
Ella / Él / Usted | está describiendo | s/he is describing, you (formal) are describing |
Nosotras / Nosotros | estamos describiendo | we are describing |
Vosotras / Vosotros | estáis describiendo | you (plural) are describing |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | están describiendo | they are describing, |
The Indicative Informal Future of describir is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, "voy a describir", meaning "I am going to describe".
In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | voy a describir | I am going to describe |
Tú | vas a describir | you are going to describe |
Ella / Él / Usted | va a describir | s/he is going to describe, you (formal) are going to describe |
Nosotras / Nosotros | vamos a describir | we are going to describe |
Vosotras / Vosotros | vais a describir | you (plural) are going to describe |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | van a describir | they are going to describe, |
The Indicative Future of describir is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, "describiré", meaning "I will describe".
In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | describiré | I will describe |
Tú | describirás | you will describe |
Ella / Él / Usted | describirá | s/he will describe, you (formal) will describe |
Nosotras / Nosotros | describiremos | we will describe |
Vosotras / Vosotros | describiréis | you (plural) will describe |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | describirán | they will describe, |
The Indicative Conditional of describir is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, "describiría", meaning "I would describe".
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | describiría | I would describe |
Tú | describirías | you would describe |
Ella / Él / Usted | describiría | s/he would describe, you (formal) would describe |
Nosotras / Nosotros | describiríamos | we would describe |
Vosotras / Vosotros | describiríais | you (plural) would describe |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | describirían | they would describe, |
The Indicative Present Perfect of describir 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 descrito", meaning "I have described".
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | he descrito | I have described |
Tú | has descrito | you have described |
Ella / Él / Usted | ha descrito | s/he has described, you (formal) have described |
Nosotras / Nosotros | hemos descrito | we have described |
Vosotras / Vosotros | habéis descrito | you (plural) have described |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | han descrito | they have described, |
The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.
The Indicative Past Perfect of describir is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, "había descrito", meaning "I had described".
In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | había descrito | I had described |
Tú | habías descrito | you had described |
Ella / Él / Usted | había descrito | s/he had described, you (formal) had described |
Nosotras / Nosotros | habíamos descrito | we had described |
Vosotras / Vosotros | habíais descrito | you (plural) had described |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habían descrito | they had described, |
The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.
The Indicative Future Perfect of describir is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, "habré descrito", meaning "I will have described".
In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | habré descrito | I will have described |
Tú | habrás descrito | you will have described |
Ella / Él / Usted | habrá descrito | s/he will have described, you (formal) will have described |
Nosotras / Nosotros | habremos descrito | we will have described |
Vosotras / Vosotros | habréis descrito | you (plural) will have described |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrán descrito | they will have described, |
The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of describir is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, "habría descrito", meaning "I would have described".
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | habría descrito | I would have described |
Tú | habrías descrito | you would have described |
Ella / Él / Usted | habría descrito | s/he would have described, you (formal) would have described |
Nosotras / Nosotros | habríamos descrito | we would have described |
Vosotras / Vosotros | habríais descrito | you (plural) would have described |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrían descrito | they would have described, |
The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.
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, "describa", meaning "I describe".
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | describa | I describe |
Tú | describas | you describe |
Ella / Él / Usted | describa | s/he describes, you (formal) describe |
Nosotras / Nosotros | describamos | we describe |
Vosotras / Vosotros | describáis | you (plural) describe |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | describan | they describe, |
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, "describiera", meaning "I described".
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | describiera | I described |
Tú | describieras | you described |
Ella / Él / Usted | describiera | s/he described, you (formal) described |
Nosotras / Nosotros | describiéramos | we described |
Vosotras / Vosotros | describierais | you (plural) described |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | describieran | they described, |
The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, "describiere", meaning "I will describe".
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | describiere | I will describe |
Tú | describieres | you will describe |
Ella / Él / Usted | describiere | s/he will describe, you (formal) will describe |
Nosotras / Nosotros | describiéremos | we will describe |
Vosotras / Vosotros | describiereis | you (plural) will describe |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | describieren | they will describe, |
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 descrito", meaning "I have described".
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | haya descrito | I have described |
Tú | hayas descrito | you have described |
Ella / Él / Usted | haya descrito | s/he has described, you (formal) have described |
Nosotras / Nosotros | hayamos descrito | we have described |
Vosotras / Vosotros | hayáis descrito | you (plural) have described |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hayan descrito | they have described, |
The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.
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 descrito", meaning "I had described".
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | hubiera descrito | I had described |
Tú | hubieras descrito | you had described |
Ella / Él / Usted | hubiera descrito | s/he had described, you (formal) had described |
Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéramos descrito | we had described |
Vosotras / Vosotros | hubierais descrito | you (plural) had described |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieran descrito | they had described, |
The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.
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 descrito", meaning "I will have described".
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | hubiere descrito | I will have described |
Tú | hubieres descrito | you will have described |
Ella / Él / Usted | hubiere descrito | s/he will have described, you (formal) will have described |
Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéremos descrito | we will have described |
Vosotras / Vosotros | hubiereis descrito | you (plural) will have described |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieren descrito | they will have described, |
The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, "describa", meaning "(to you formal) describe!".
In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | - | - |
Tú | describe | (to you) describe! |
Ella / Él / Usted | describa | (to you formal) describe! |
Nosotras / Nosotros | describamos | let's describe! |
Vosotras / Vosotros | describid | (to you plural) describe! |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | describan | (to you plural formal) describe! |
The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, "no describa", meaning "(to you formal) don't describe!".
In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".
Pronoun | Spanish | English |
---|---|---|
Yo | - | - |
Tú | no describas | (to you) don't describe! |
Ella / Él / Usted | no describa | (to you formal) don't describe! |
Nosotras / Nosotros | no describamos | let's not describe! |
Vosotras / Vosotros | no describáis | (to you plural) don't describe! |
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no describan | (to you plural formal) don't describe! |
Download and print a cheat sheet of Describir Spanish conjugation tables in image or PDF format:
Get full conjugation tables for Describir and 2,300+ other verbs on-the-go with Ella Verbs for iOS, Android, and web.
We also guide you through learning all Spanish tenses and test your knowledge with conjugation quizzes. Download it for free!
👋 Hola! We built Ella Verbs to help people (and ourselves!) master one of the hardest parts of Spanish – verb conjugation. It guides you through learning all tenses in an easy-to-follow way, giving you levels of bite-sized lessons and fun quizzes. Here is a 6 minute overview of all of the app's features:
It has changed a lot over the 6+ years we have been working on it, but the goal remains the same – to help you master Spanish conjugation! You can download and try it for free, and, if you do, please send any and all feedback our way!
- Jane & Brian
Why not check out Descubrir – to discover or see the complete list of verbs here.
Describir: to describe
Remove the mystery behind Spanish conjugation with Ella Verbs
Join 100,000+ others and master your Spanish conjugation with the top-rated verb app, Ella Verbs
Great program that has and is helping me immensely. Four years [studying Spanish] and after just a couple of days with this app I finally am 'getting' the verb thing into my head. After the first couple of lessons I finally feel comfortable conversing with the natives here in Panama. I still have a long way to go but this application was the key for me. Thank you!
Google Play Store