Desaparecer Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of desaparecer — "to disappear" in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for desaparecer with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Desaparecer means to disappear, and it covers a person vanishing, money disappearing from a box and a name dropping off a list. It is the opposite of aparecer, and it is a -cer spelling-change verb like aparecer. To see it in a real sentence: Él desaparece de repente sin dejar rastro. — "He/she disappears suddenly without a trace." Work through the table below, then the formation notes, the usage rules and the contrast with the preterite, and test yourself at the end.

Present tense conjugation table: desaparecer

Every person of desaparecer in the present tense. The gerund is desapareciendo and the past participle is desaparecido.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo desaparezco
tú desapareces
él/ella/Ud. desaparece
nosotros/as desaparecemos
vosotros/as desaparecéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. desaparecen

How the present indicative of desaparecer is formed

The present indicative of desaparecer is built from the stem desaparec- plus the present endings for -er verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -er ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.

Person Ending Form
yo -o desaparezco
tú -es desapareces
él/ella/Ud. -e desaparece
nosotros/as -emos desaparecemos
vosotros/as -éis desaparecéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -en desaparecen

desaparecer is a spelling-change verb: c becomes zc before o and a. That is why the written form changes in some persons — the sound stays the same, and only the spelling adapts. In this tense, watch the first-person form desaparezco in particular.

The gerund of desaparecer is desapareciendo and the past participle is desaparecido. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.

When to use the present tense of desaparecer

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and desaparecer appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.

Habits and routines

The present tense describes things you do regularly. If you do it every day, every week or every morning, the present is the tense to use. For desaparecer, this use looks like this: "Yo desaparezco de repente sin dejar rastro." — "I disappear suddenly without a trace." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

General facts

The present tense states facts that are generally true, not tied to one moment. It is the tense for definitions and permanent situations. For desaparecer, this use looks like this: "Él desaparece de la lista de invitados." — "He/she disappears from the guest list." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

What is happening now

The present tense also covers what is happening at this moment, especially with verbs that describe an action in progress. For desaparecer, this use looks like this: "Nosotros desaparecemos el dinero de la caja." — "We disappear the money from the box." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Timetables and schedules

The present tense is used for fixed plans and timetables, such as trains, classes and opening times, even when they refer to the future. For desaparecer, this use looks like this: "Ellos desaparecen en la niebla del bosque." — "They disappear in the forest mist." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Instructions and requests

The present tense appears in instructions and polite requests, where it sounds softer than a direct command. For desaparecer, this use looks like this: "Tú desapareces de repente sin dejar rastro." — "You disappear suddenly without a trace." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

The present tense vs the preterite

Learners often mix up the present and the preterite with desaparecer. The rule is simple: the present is for habits, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite is for one finished action in the past. The three pairs below show the same idea in both tenses, so you can feel the difference.

Pair 1: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Yo desaparezco de repente sin dejar rastro." — "I disappear suddenly without a trace."
  • Preterite: "Yo desaparecí de repente sin dejar rastro." — "I disappeared suddenly without a trace." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 2: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Él desaparece de la lista de invitados." — "He/she disappears from the guest list."
  • Preterite: "Él desapareció de la lista de invitados." — "He/she disappeared from the guest list." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 3: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Nosotros desaparecemos el dinero de la caja." — "We disappear the money from the box."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros desaparecimos el dinero de la caja." — "We disappeared the money from the box." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Example sentences in the present tense

Eight natural sentences with desaparecer in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo desaparezco de repente sin dejar rastro. — I disappear suddenly without a trace.
  2. Tú desapareces de la lista de invitados. — You disappear from the guest list.
  3. Él desaparece el dinero de la caja. — He/she disappears the money from the box.
  4. Nosotros desaparecemos en la niebla del bosque. — We disappear in the forest mist.
  5. Vosotros desaparecéis de repente sin dejar rastro. — You all disappear suddenly without a trace.
  6. Ellos desaparecen de la lista de invitados. — They disappear from the guest list.
  7. Yo desaparezco el dinero de la caja. — I disappear the money from the box.
  8. Él desaparece en la niebla del bosque. — He/she disappears in the forest mist.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo desapareco de la lista de invitados. — Right: Yo desaparezco de la lista de invitados. — In the present, the correct first-person form is desaparezco, not desapareco. desaparecer is a spelling-change verb: c becomes zc before o and a, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo desaparezco el dinero de la caja. — Right: Ayer, yo desaparecí el dinero de la caja. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (desaparecí), not the present (desaparezco). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo desaparece de repente sin dejar rastro. — Right: Yo desaparezco de repente sin dejar rastro. — The person matters: desaparece is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is desaparezco.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy desaparecido de la lista de invitados. — Right: Yo he desaparecido de la lista de invitados. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he desaparecido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

Eight questions on the present tense of desaparecer. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ de repente sin dejar rastro. (present tense) A. desaparezco B. desapareces C. desaparece D. desaparecemos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ de la lista de invitados. (present tense) A. desapareces B. desaparezco C. desaparece D. desaparecemos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el dinero de la caja. (present tense) A. desaparece B. desaparezco C. desapareces D. desaparecemos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ en la niebla del bosque. (present tense) A. desaparecemos B. desaparezco C. desapareces D. desaparece

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ de repente sin dejar rastro. (present tense) A. desaparecéis B. desaparezco C. desapareces D. desaparece

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ de la lista de invitados. (present tense) A. desaparecen B. desaparezco C. desapareces D. desaparece

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el dinero de la caja. (present tense) A. desaparezco B. desapareces C. desaparece D. desaparecemos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ en la niebla del bosque. (present tense) A. desaparece B. desaparezco C. desapareces D. desaparecemos

Answer key

  1. desaparezco — The yo present form of desaparecer is desaparezco. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. desapareces — The tu present form of desaparecer is desapareces. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. desaparece — The el present form of desaparecer is desaparece. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. desaparecemos — The nosotros present form of desaparecer is desaparecemos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. desaparecéis — The vosotros present form of desaparecer is desaparecéis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. desaparecen — The ellos present form of desaparecer is desaparecen. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. desaparezco — The yo present form of desaparecer is desaparezco. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. desaparece — The el present form of desaparecer is desaparece. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of desaparecer?

Use the present tense of desaparecer for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo desaparezco de repente sin dejar rastro. — "I disappear suddenly without a trace." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of desaparecer formed?

Take the stem desaparec- and add the present endings for -er verbs. The full table is at the top of this page. Remember the spelling change: c becomes zc before o and a.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of desaparecer?

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo desaparezco de la lista de invitados. with Yo desaparecí de la lista de invitados. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of desaparecer?

Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the desaparecer examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Desaparecer conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.

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