Introduction

desarrollarse means “to develop (oneself)”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to develop (oneself)” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows desarrollarse in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo me desarrollo en la empresa por la mañana.” — “I develop in the company.”

desarrollarse in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how desarrollarse is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.

In the present: everyday use

These sentences use {verb} in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.

  1. “Yo me desarrollo en la empresa cada día.” — “I develop in the company.”
  2. “Tú te desarrollas en la empresa cada día.” — “you develop in the company.”
  3. “Él se desarrolla en la empresa siempre.” — “He develops in the company.”
  4. “Nosotros nos desarrollamos en la empresa todos los días.” — “We develop in the company.”

Talking about the past

The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show {verb} in the past, so you can talk about what already happened. 5. “Yo me desarrollé en la empresa ayer.” — “I developed in the company.” (preterite) 6. “Él se desarrolló en la empresa ayer.” — “He developed in the company.” (preterite) 7. “Yo me desarrollaba en la empresa cuando era joven.” — “I used to develop in the company.” (imperfect)

Plans and things already done

These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of {verb} stays the same. 8. “Nosotros nos desarrollaremos en la empresa mañana.” — “We will develop in the company.” (future) 9. “Tú te has desarrollado en la empresa hoy.” — “you have developed in the company.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo me desarrolle en la empresa.” — “I hope that I develop in the company.” (present-subjunctive)

More everyday uses

Two more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action. 11. “Vosotros os desarrolláis en la empresa cada semana.” — “You develop in the company.” 12. “Ellos se desarrollan en la empresa normalmente.” — “They develop in the company.”

desarrollarse in context

Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how desarrollarse appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.

Dialogue in a café

Sofía: “¿Tú te desarrollas en la empresa?” — Do you develop in the company?

Diego: “Sí, yo me desarrollo en la empresa cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I develop in the company every day. It is part of my routine.

Sofía: “¿Y ayer? ¿También te desarrollas en la empresa?” — And yesterday? Did you develop in the company too?

Diego: “Sí, ayer yo me desarrollé en la empresa. Mañana nosotros desarrollaremos en la empresa otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I developed in the company. Tomorrow we will develop in the company again.

A short paragraph

Él se desarrolla en la empresa cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how desarrollarse works in real Spanish: who does it, when, and with what. Around it you can build a whole paragraph: what happened yesterday, what is happening now, and what will happen tomorrow, all with the same verb. When you write your own paragraph, start with the present — yo desarrollo en la empresa — then add one past sentence and one future sentence, and you have practised three tenses with one verb. That is the fastest way to make desarrollarse yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is desarrollé, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — desarrolle — is a spelling error, and in speech the stress lands in the wrong place. Preterite yo forms that end in a vowel carry that accent, so check it every time you write the preterite of desarrollarse.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For desarrollarse, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: desarrollamos. Only the context tells you which tense is meant, so pay attention to the time words around it — cada día points to the present, ayer points to the preterite. Do not invent a different form for one of the tenses.

Dropping the reflexive pronoun

Because desarrollarse is reflexive, it always needs its pronoun: yo me desarrollo en la empresa, not yo desarrollo en la empresa. Without me, the sentence either means something else or means nothing at all. The pronouns are me, te, se, nos, os, se — learn them with the verb, not as an afterthought.

Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses

Spanish perfect tenses always use haber, never ser: yo he desarrollado en la empresa. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy desarrollado is not the present perfect of desarrollarse — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing desarrollarse with descubrir

desarrollarse and descubrir look similar, and learners mix them up. They are different verbs with different meanings, so check which one the sentence needs before you conjugate. If you can substitute the English meaning of desarrollarse — develop — the sentence needs desarrollarse; if it needs the meaning of descubrir, use that verb instead.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the best answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the yo form of desarrollarse in the present?

  • A. desarrollas
  • B. desarrolla
  • C. desarrollamos
  • D. desarrollo

2. What is the tu form of desarrollarse in the preterite?

  • A. desarrollamos
  • B. desarrollaste
  • C. desarrollé
  • D. desarrolló

3. What is the el form of desarrollarse in the imperfect?

  • A. desarrollabas
  • B. desarrollábamos
  • C. desarrollabais
  • D. desarrollaba

4. What is the nosotros form of desarrollarse in the future?

  • A. desarrollará
  • B. desarrollaremos
  • C. desarrollaré
  • D. desarrollarás

5. What is the vosotros form of desarrollarse in the present perfect?

  • A. he desarrollado
  • B. has desarrollado
  • C. ha desarrollado
  • D. habéis desarrollado

6. What is the ellos form of desarrollarse in the present subjunctive?

  • A. desarrolle
  • B. desarrollen
  • C. desarrolle
  • D. desarrolles

7. What is the yo form of desarrollarse in the preterite?

  • A. desarrollaste
  • B. desarrolló
  • C. desarrollamos
  • D. desarrollé

8. What is the tu form of desarrollarse in the imperfect?

  • A. desarrollábamos
  • B. desarrollabas
  • C. desarrollaba
  • D. desarrollaba

9. What is the el form of desarrollarse in the future?

  • A. desarrollaré
  • B. desarrollarás
  • C. desarrollaremos
  • D. desarrollará

10. What is the nosotros form of desarrollarse in the conditional?

  • A. desarrollaría
  • B. desarrollaríamos
  • C. desarrollaría
  • D. desarrollarías

Answer key

  1. desarrollo — The present table gives yo = desarrollo.
  2. desarrollaste — The preterite table gives tu = desarrollaste.
  3. desarrollaba — The imperfect table gives el = desarrollaba.
  4. desarrollaremos — The future table gives nosotros = desarrollaremos.
  5. habéis desarrollado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis desarrollado.
  6. desarrollen — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = desarrollen.
  7. desarrollé — The preterite table gives yo = desarrollé.
  8. desarrollabas — The imperfect table gives tu = desarrollabas.
  9. desarrollará — The future table gives el = desarrollará.
  10. desarrollaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = desarrollaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use desarrollarse in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo me desarrollo en la empresa.” — “I develop in the company.” Do not forget the reflexive pronoun: it goes before the verb. Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

What is the most useful form of desarrollarse to learn first?

Learn the present yo form desarrollo first, then the preterite yo form desarrollé and the participle desarrollado. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund desarrollando next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is desarrollarse reflexive?

Yes — desarrollarse is reflexive, so it always takes me, te, se, nos, os or se. You say yo me desarrollo, never just yo desarrollo. The pronoun goes before the conjugated verb, or attached to the infinitive and gerund.

Where can I see the full conjugation of desarrollarse?

On the main conjugation page for desarrollarse, which has every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, plus notes, examples and a quiz. The present-tense page covers one tense in depth if that is what you need right now.

Related links