Introduction

desarrollarse means “to develop (oneself)” in English, and it is a verb you will meet again and again once you start reading and speaking Spanish. It is used whenever you need to talk about in the company — at home, at work, and in everyday conversation — which makes it a practical verb to learn early and to use confidently. This page gives you the complete conjugation of desarrollarse in every tense and mood, with all six persons, plus the gerund and the past participle, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. Every form below comes from VerbFlow's verified conjugation tables, so you can trust the accents and the irregular forms. desarrollarse is a reflexive -ar verb, and the notes under each tense explain exactly where it follows the rules and where it breaks them. To hear it in a real sentence: “Yo me desarrollo en la empresa todos los días.” — “I develop in the company.” Work through the tables, read the notes, then test yourself with the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts
Infinitive desarrollarse
English to develop (oneself)
Verb type Reflexive -ar verb
Gerund desarrollando
Past participle desarrollado
Auxiliary verb haber
  • Reflexive: yes — always use it with the reflexive pronouns me, te, se, nos, os, se.

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: desarrollando · Past participle: desarrollado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo desarrollo
tú desarrollas
él/ella/Ud. desarrolla
nosotros/as desarrollamos
vosotros/as desarrolláis
ellos/ellas/Uds. desarrollan

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For desarrollarse, the yo form is desarrollo, as in “Yo me desarrollo en la empresa.” — “I develop in the company.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo desarrollé
tú desarrollaste
él/ella/Ud. desarrolló
nosotros/as desarrollamos
vosotros/as desarrollasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. desarrollaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For desarrollarse, the yo form is desarrollé, as in “Yo me desarrollé en la empresa.” — “I developed in the company.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo desarrollaba
tú desarrollabas
él/ella/Ud. desarrollaba
nosotros/as desarrollábamos
vosotros/as desarrollabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. desarrollaban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For desarrollarse, the yo form is desarrollaba, as in “Yo me desarrollaba en la empresa.” — “I used to develop in the company.”

Future

Person Form
yo desarrollaré
tú desarrollarás
él/ella/Ud. desarrollará
nosotros/as desarrollaremos
vosotros/as desarrollaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. desarrollarán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For desarrollarse, the yo form is desarrollaré, as in “Yo me desarrollaré en la empresa.” — “I will develop in the company.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo desarrollaría
tú desarrollarías
él/ella/Ud. desarrollaría
nosotros/as desarrollaríamos
vosotros/as desarrollaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. desarrollarían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For desarrollarse, the yo form is desarrollaría, as in “Yo me desarrollaría en la empresa.” — “I would develop in the company.”

Present Perfect

Person Form
yo he desarrollado
tú has desarrollado
él/ella/Ud. ha desarrollado
nosotros/as hemos desarrollado
vosotros/as habéis desarrollado
ellos/ellas/Uds. han desarrollado

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For desarrollarse, the yo form is he desarrollado, as in “Yo me he desarrollado en la empresa.” — “I have developed in the company.”

Pluperfect

Person Form
yo había desarrollado
tú habías desarrollado
él/ella/Ud. había desarrollado
nosotros/as habíamos desarrollado
vosotros/as habíais desarrollado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habían desarrollado

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For desarrollarse, the yo form is había desarrollado, as in “Yo me había desarrollado en la empresa.” — “I had developed in the company.”

Future Perfect

Person Form
yo habré desarrollado
tú habrás desarrollado
él/ella/Ud. habrá desarrollado
nosotros/as habremos desarrollado
vosotros/as habréis desarrollado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán desarrollado

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For desarrollarse, the yo form is habré desarrollado, as in “Yo me habré desarrollado en la empresa.” — “I will have developed in the company.”

Conditional Perfect

Person Form
yo habría desarrollado
tú habrías desarrollado
él/ella/Ud. habría desarrollado
nosotros/as habríamos desarrollado
vosotros/as habríais desarrollado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrían desarrollado

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For desarrollarse, the yo form is habría desarrollado, as in “Yo me habría desarrollado en la empresa.” — “I would have developed in the company.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo desarrolle
tú desarrolles
él/ella/Ud. desarrolle
nosotros/as desarrollemos
vosotros/as desarrolléis
ellos/ellas/Uds. desarrollen

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For desarrollarse, the yo form is desarrolle, as in “Espero que yo me desarrolle en la empresa.” — “I hope that I develop in the company.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo desarrollara
tú desarrollaras
él/ella/Ud. desarrollara
nosotros/as desarrolláramos
vosotros/as desarrollarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. desarrollaran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For desarrollarse, the yo form is desarrollara, as in “Si yo me desarrollara en la empresa, ...” — “If I developed in the company, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: desarrollara becomes desarrollase, and the same change applies to every person. Both variants mean the same thing; -ra is more common in everyday speech.

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú desarrolla
Ud. desarrolle
nosotros/as desarrollemos
vosotros/as desarrollad
Uds. desarrollen

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú desarrolles
Ud. desarrolle
nosotros/as desarrollemos
vosotros/as desarrolléis
Uds. desarrollen

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is desarrolla, as in “No te desarrolles en la empresa” — “Do not develop in the company” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no desarrolles. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with desarrollarse.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with desarrollarse, covering different tenses and persons. Read each one out loud, then read the translation, and notice how the verb form changes while the meaning stays the same.

  1. “Yo me desarrollo en la empresa cada día.” — “I develop in the company.”
  2. “Él se desarrolla en la empresa todos los días.” — “He develops in the company.”
  3. “Yo me desarrollé en la empresa ayer.” — “I developed in the company.”
  4. “Él se desarrolló en la empresa ayer.” — “He developed in the company.”
  5. “Yo me desarrollaba en la empresa cuando era joven.” — “I used to develop in the company.”
  6. “Nosotros nos desarrollaremos en la empresa mañana.” — “We will develop in the company.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo me desarrollaría en la empresa.” — “If I could, i would develop in the company.”
  8. “Yo me he desarrollado en la empresa hoy.” — “I have developed in the company.”
  9. “Espero que yo me desarrolle en la empresa.” — “I hope that I develop in the company.”
  10. “Me estoy desarrollando en la empresa ahora mismo.” — “I am developing in the company.”

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.

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo desarrolle en la empresa. Using the indicative — Espero que yo desarrollo — is one of the most frequent learner errors with desarrollarse. Whenever the main clause expresses a wish, doubt or emotion, switch to the subjunctive.

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

Is desarrollarse regular or irregular?

desarrollarse is a reflexive -ar verb. It follows the regular patterns for its ending in every tense. The tables on this page show the correct form for every person, so use them rather than guessing.

What is the past participle of desarrollarse?

The past participle of desarrollarse is desarrollado. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he desarrollado, había desarrollado, habré desarrollado — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund desarrollando and you have the two non-finite forms covered.

What is the gerund of desarrollarse?

The gerund of desarrollarse is desarrollando. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy desarrollando, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle desarrollado, which belongs with haber, not with estar.

What is the yo form of desarrollarse in the present?

The yo form is desarrollo — “Yo me desarrollo en la empresa.” means “I develop in the company.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú desarrollas, él desarrolla, nosotros desarrollamos, ellos desarrollan.

What is the difference between desarrollarse and descubrir?

desarrollarse means “to develop (oneself)”, while descubrir means “to discover”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to develop (oneself)”, use desarrollarse; if it is about the meaning of descubrir, use descubrir instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.

Do I always need the pronoun with desarrollarse?

Yes. desarrollarse is reflexive, so the pronoun is part of the verb: me, te, se, nos, os, se. You say yo me desarrollo, tú te desarrollas, él se desarrolla. Leaving the pronoun out changes the meaning or makes the sentence wrong, so learn the pronoun together with each form.

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