Desalentar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

desalentar means "to discourage" in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Desalentar means to discourage someone: desalentar a su hijo con sus críticas. It is the opposite of alentar, and it takes a person as its object. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by use, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of desalentar; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the desalentar present tense page.

desalentar in everyday use: examples with translations

Everyday present uses

How the verb sounds in the present, the future and in hypotheticals — the forms you will use most often.

  1. Yo desaliento a su hijo con sus críticas — "I discourage his son with his criticism"
  2. Mi amigo desalienta a los alumnos con malas notas — "My friend discourages the pupils with bad marks"
  3. Mañana, tú desalentarás a su equipo con la derrota — "Tomorrow, you will discourage his team with the defeat"
  4. Yo desalentaría a los jóvenes con el paro si pudiera — "I would discourage young people with unemployment if I could"

Talking about the past

The same verb in the past: one finished action, a habit, something that has just happened, and something that had already happened.

  1. Ayer, yo desalenté a su hijo con sus críticas — "Yesterday, I discouraged his son with his criticism"
  2. Antes, nosotros desalentábamos a los alumnos con malas notas — "Before, we used to discourage the pupils with bad marks"
  3. Él ha desalentado a su equipo con la derrota — "He has discouraged his team with the defeat"
  4. Yo ya había desalentado a los jóvenes con el paro antes de salir — "I already had discouraged young people with unemployment before leaving"

Wishes, conditions and commands

The verb after espero que, in si clauses, as a command — and in the conditional perfect, for what would have happened.

  1. Espero que él desaliente a su hijo con sus críticas — "I hope he discourages his son with his criticism"
  2. Si yo desalentara a los alumnos con malas notas, todo cambiaría — "If I discouraged the pupils with bad marks, everything would change"
  3. Desalienta a su equipo con la derrota. — "Discourage his team with the defeat."
  4. Yo habría desalentado a los jóvenes con el paro con más tiempo — "I would have discouraged young people with unemployment with more time"

desalentar in conversation

Two short dialogues that use desalentar the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

Two friends talk about it.

  • Lucía: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Lucía: Yo desaliento a su hijo con sus críticas — "I discourage his son with his criticism"
  • Marcos: Él desalienta a los alumnos con malas notas — "He discourages the pupils with bad marks"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo desalenté a su equipo con la derrota — "Yesterday, I discouraged his team with the defeat"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú desalentarás a los jóvenes con el paro — "Tomorrow, you will discourage young people with unemployment"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Desalienta a su amiga con sus dudas. — "Discourage his friend with his doubts."
  • Lucía: Él ha desalentado a su hijo con sus críticas — "He has discouraged his son with his criticism"
  • Marcos: Espero que él desaliente a los alumnos con malas notas — "I hope he discourages the pupils with bad marks"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo desalentaba a su equipo con la derrota — "Before, I used to discourage his team with the defeat"

Common mistakes with desalentar

The errors learners actually make with desalentar, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ *Yo desalento a los jóvenes con el paro.

✓ Correct: Yo desaliento a los jóvenes con el paro.

desalentar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is desaliento, not desalento.

✗ *Espero que él desalienta a los jóvenes con el paro

✓ Correct: Espero que él desaliente a los jóvenes con el paro

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él desaliente a los jóvenes con el paro — not the indicative Espero que él desalienta a los jóvenes con el paro.

✗ *Ayer, yo desaliento a su amiga con sus dudas

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo desalenté a su amiga con sus dudas

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo desalenté a su amiga con sus dudas.

✗ *De niño, yo desalenté a su hijo con sus críticas todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo desalentaba a su hijo con sus críticas todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo desalentaba a su hijo con sus críticas todos los días.

✗ *Yo desaliento su equipo con la derrota.

✓ Correct: Yo desaliento a su equipo con la derrota.

desalentar takes a before this complement: Yo desaliento a su equipo con la derrota. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.

Quiz: desalentar in use

Ten questions on desalentar — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a su hijo con sus críticas — "I discourage his son with his criticism" (present) A. desalentamos B. desaliento C. desalientas D. desalienta

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ a los alumnos con malas notas — "Yesterday, I discouraged the pupils with bad marks" (preterite) A. desalentó B. desalentamos C. desalenté D. desalentaste

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ a su equipo con la derrota — "Before, we used to discourage his team with the defeat" (imperfect) A. desalentaba B. desalentabas C. desalentabais D. desalentábamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ a los jóvenes con el paro — "Tomorrow, you will discourage young people with unemployment" (future) A. desalentarás B. desalentaré C. desalentará D. desalentaremos

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a su amiga con sus dudas — "I would discourage his friend with his doubts" (conditional) A. desalentaríais B. desalentaría C. desalentarías D. desalentaríamos

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ a su hijo con sus críticas — "He has discouraged his son with his criticism" (present perfect) A. he desalentado B. has desalentado C. hemos desalentado D. ha desalentado

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ a los alumnos con malas notas — "I hope he discourages the pupils with bad marks" (present subjunctive) A. desaliente B. desalientes C. desalentemos D. desalentéis

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ a su equipo con la derrota. — "Discourage his team with the defeat." (affirmative imperative) A. desaliente B. desalentemos C. desalentad D. desalienta

  9. Which is the gerund of desalentar, used with estar for the progressive? A. desalentado B. desaliento C. desalenté D. desalentando

  10. What does desalentar mean in English? A. to draw B. to discourage C. to enjoy D. to cross

Answer key

  1. desaliento — The present form for yo is desaliento.
  2. desalenté — The preterite form for yo is desalenté.
  3. desalentábamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is desalentábamos.
  4. desalentarás — The future form for tú is desalentarás.
  5. desalentaría — The conditional form for yo is desalentaría.
  6. ha desalentado — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha desalentado.
  7. desaliente — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is desaliente.
  8. desalienta — The affirmative imperative form is desalienta.
  9. desalentando — The gerund of desalentar is desalentando: estoy desalentando. The participle desalentado is used with haber instead.
  10. to discourage — desalentar means to discourage.

Frequently asked questions

What does desalentar mean in English?

desalentar means to discourage. For example: Yo desaliento a su hijo con sus críticas — "I discourage his son with his criticism". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with desalentar?

desalentar takes a before this kind of complement, as in the examples above. Keep the preposition with the verb — dropping it is one of the most common learner errors with desalentar.

Is desalentar regular?

No. desalentar is a stem-changing -ar verb (e → ie). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: desaliento, desalientas, desalienta and desalientan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: desalentamos, desalentáis.

How do I practise desalentar?

Start with the present tense table on the full conjugation page, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure, and come back to the sentences above until you can say them without looking.

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