Desanimar Present Tense in Spanish
Introduction
desanimar means "to discourage" in English, and the present tense is the form you use when you talk about what happens regularly, what is generally true, and what is happening now. This page gives you the full present-tense table for desanimar, explains how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it, contrasts it with the closest tense, and finishes with examples, the mistakes learners actually make, a quiz and answers to the most common questions. A natural example is: Cada día, me desanima la derrota del equipo. — "Every day, the team's defeat discourages me." Once you can say that sentence confidently, try changing the person and the complement using the table below.
The present tense of desanimar: full table
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| Yo | desanimo |
| Tú | desanimas |
| Él / Ella | desanima |
| Nosotros | desanimamos |
| Vosotros | desanimáis |
| Ellos | desaniman |
The gerund of desanimar is desanimando and the past participle is desanimado. The gerund is used for the progressive (estoy desanimando), and the participle is used with haber in all perfect tenses (he desanimado).
How the present tense of desanimar is formed
The present tense of desanimar is built from the stem desanim- plus the regular -ar endings: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an. Take the infinitive, remove the -ar ending, and add the ending that matches the person: yo desanimo, tú desanimas, él desanima, nosotros desanimamos, vosotros desanimáis and ellos desaniman. Once you know the pattern for one regular -ar verb, you can apply it to hundreds of others.
In everyday use, desanimar usually works like gustar: the thing that produces the feeling is the subject of the sentence, and you are the indirect object. So you say me desanima la derrota del equipo — literally, the thing is the subject and you are the person it affects — rather than starting with yo. The verb agrees with the thing, not with you: one thing takes the singular form desanima, and several things take the plural form desaniman. The full table above still matters, because the transitive use (for example, desanimar a alguien) uses the ordinary persons.
Two more forms belong with this tense. The gerund is desanimando, used for the progressive with estar: estoy desanimando. The past participle is desanimado, used with haber in all perfect tenses: he desanimado. Both forms appear constantly, so they are worth memorising on their own.
When to use the present tense with desanimar
1. Defeat in sport
Me desanima la derrota del equipo is the classic use in sport. The defeat is the subject, and you are the person it discourages, which is why Spanish says me desanima and not yo desanimo. For example: Me desanima la derrota del equipo. — "The team's defeat discourages me."
2. Bad news
Me desaniman las malas noticias shows the plural agreement. Las noticias is plural, so the verb is desaniman. It is how Spanish speakers talk about news that takes away their motivation. For example: Te desaniman las malas noticias. — "The bad news discourage you."
3. Losing heart yourself
Me desanimo cuando llueve todo el día shows the reflexive use. Here you are the subject, and the pronoun me is reflexive. It means I lose heart, not something discourages me. For example: Le desanima el mal tiempo. — "The bad weather discourages him."
4. Plans and the near future
The present tense is also used for plans that are already fixed, especially with a time expression. Spanish speakers often say the present where English would use a future: the plan is so certain that it feels like a fact. For example, to talk about tomorrow's plan you can use the future — Mañana, me desanimará la falta de apoyo. — "Tomorrow, the lack of support will discourage me." — but in conversation you will also hear the present used the same way.
5. General truths and routines
Finally, the present tense states general truths and routines: what usually happens, what is always true, what people normally do. It is the tense of habits and of facts that do not belong to one moment. For example: Normalmente, le desanima la derrota del equipo. — "Normally, the team's defeat discourages him."
Present vs preterite: desanimar
The closest tense to the present is the preterite, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the present describes habits, routines and general truths, while the preterite describes one action that started and finished in the past. The three pairs below show the difference with desanimar.
Pair 1
- Present (habit): Cada día, me desanima la derrota del equipo. — "Every day, the team's defeat discourages me."
- Preterite (one finished action): Ayer, me desanimó la derrota del equipo. — "Yesterday, the team's defeat discouraged me."
The first sentence describes something that happens regularly. The second describes something that happened once, yesterday, and is now finished. If you can add cada día, use the present; if you can add ayer, use the preterite.
Pair 2
- Present (habit): Cada día, me desaniman las malas noticias. — "Every day, the bad news discourage me."
- Preterite (one finished action): Ayer, me desanimaron las malas noticias. — "Yesterday, the bad news discouraged me."
The first sentence describes something that happens regularly. The second describes something that happened once, yesterday, and is now finished. If you can add cada día, use the present; if you can add ayer, use the preterite.
Pair 3
- Present (habit): Cada día, me desanima el mal tiempo. — "Every day, the bad weather discourages me."
- Preterite (one finished action): Ayer, me desanimó el mal tiempo. — "Yesterday, the bad weather discouraged me."
The first sentence describes something that happens regularly. The second describes something that happened once, yesterday, and is now finished. If you can add cada día, use the present; if you can add ayer, use the preterite.
Examples: desanimar in the present tense
These six sentences show desanimar in the present tense with a different person each time. Read them aloud, then try changing the person and the complement to make your own versions.
- Me desanima la derrota del equipo. — "The team's defeat discourages me."
- Te desaniman las malas noticias. — "The bad news discourage you."
- Le desanima el mal tiempo. — "The bad weather discourages him."
- Nos desanima la falta de apoyo. — "The lack of support discourages us."
- Os desanima la derrota del equipo. — "The team's defeat discourages you."
- Les desaniman las malas noticias. — "The bad news discourage them."
Common mistakes with desanimar in the present tense
Mistake 1
- Wrong: Yo desanimo la derrota.
- Right: Me desanima la derrota.
- Why: When something discourages you, desanimar works like gustar: me desanima la derrota. Yo desanimo would mean I discourage someone.
Mistake 2
- Wrong: Me desanima las noticias.
- Right: Me desaniman las noticias.
- Why: The verb agrees with the subject. Las noticias is plural, so the verb must be desaniman.
Mistake 3
- Wrong: Desanimar es lo mismo que aburrir.
- Right: Desanimar means to discourage; aburrir means to bore.
- Why: Desanimar takes away your motivation and hope. Aburrir takes away your interest. They are different feelings.
Mistake 4
- Wrong: Ayer, me desanima la derrota del equipo.
- Right: Ayer, me desanimó la derrota del equipo.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite. The present tense is for habits and routines, not for yesterday.
Mistake 5
- Wrong: Me desanimais la derrota del equipo.
- Right: Me desanimáis la derrota del equipo.
- Why: The form is desanimáis, with a written accent. The accent is part of the spelling, and without it the word is misspelled.
Quiz: the present tense of desanimar
Test yourself with eight questions on the present tense of desanimar. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the i form of desanimar in the present tense?
- (a) desanimo
- (b) desanimas
- (c) desanima
- (d) desanimamos
Answer: (a) desanimo. The i form is desanimo. The other options are the yo, tu, el forms, so check the person before you answer.
2. What is the you form of desanimar in the present tense?
- (a) desanimo
- (b) desanima
- (c) desanimamos
- (d) desanimas
Answer: (d) desanimas. The you form is desanimas. The other options are the yo, tu, el forms, so check the person before you answer.
3. What is the he / she form of desanimar in the present tense?
- (a) desanimas
- (b) desanimamos
- (c) desanima
- (d) desanimo
Answer: (c) desanima. The he / she form is desanima. The other options are the yo, tu, el forms, so check the person before you answer.
4. What is the we form of desanimar in the present tense?
- (a) desanima
- (b) desanimamos
- (c) desanimo
- (d) desanimas
Answer: (b) desanimamos. The we form is desanimamos. The other options are the yo, tu, el forms, so check the person before you answer.
5. What is the they form of desanimar in the present tense?
- (a) desaniman
- (b) desanimo
- (c) desanimas
- (d) desanima
Answer: (a) desaniman. The they form is desaniman. The other options are the yo, tu, el forms, so check the person before you answer.
6. Complete the sentence: Cada día, me ___ la derrota del equipo.
- (a) desanimó
- (b) desanimaba
- (c) desanima
- (d) desaniman
Answer: (c) desanima. The sentence needs the third-person form desanima (Every day, the team's defeat discourages me.)
7. What is the gerund of desanimar?
- (a) desanimado
- (b) desanimar
- (c) desanima
- (d) desanimando
Answer: (d) desanimando. The gerund is desanimando, used for the progressive: estoy desanimando.
8. Which sentence describes a habit, something you do regularly?
- (a) Cada día, me desaniman las malas noticias.
- (b) Antes, me desanimaban las malas noticias.
- (c) Ayer, me desanimaron las malas noticias.
- (d) Mañana, me desanimarán las malas noticias.
Answer: (a) Cada día, me desaniman las malas noticias.. Cada día, me desaniman las malas noticias. (Every day, the bad news discourage me.) describes a habit, so it uses the present tense. Ayer, me desanimaron las malas noticias. is a single completed action, and Mañana, me desanimarán las malas noticias. is in the future.
Frequently asked questions about the present tense of desanimar
What is the difference between me desanima and me desanimo?
Me desanima la derrota means the defeat discourages me; the defeat is the subject. Me desanimo means I lose heart; you are the subject.
Is desanimar the opposite of animar?
Yes. Animar encourages and cheers you up; desanimar discourages and takes your motivation away. The grammar of the two verbs is identical.
Is desanimar regular?
Yes. Desanimar is a regular -ar verb: desanimo, desanimaste, desanimaba, desanimaré. The challenge is the sentence structure, not the forms.
When do I use the present tense instead of the preterite with desanimar?
Use the present for habits and routines: Cada día, me desanima la derrota del equipo. — "Every day, the team's defeat discourages me." Use the preterite for one finished action: Ayer, me desanimó la derrota del equipo. — "Yesterday, the team's defeat discouraged me." If the action happens regularly, choose the present; if it happened once and is finished, choose the preterite.