Descalzarse Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb descalzarse means to take off (shoes), and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Descalzarse means to take off your shoes, and it is used for taking your shoes off at home, at the beach or before entering a house. It is the opposite of calzarse, and it shares the same spelling change: the subjunctive is descalce. Like every Spanish verb, descalzarse changes its ending for each person and tense, and this page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say me descalzo al entrar en casa, and in the preterite you say me descalcé en la puerta sin hacer ruido. Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: descalzarse
  • English: to take off (shoes)
  • Verb type: irregular verb, reflexive
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: descalzando
  • Past participle: descalzado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + descalzado)
  • Reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nos, os, se — one before every conjugated form, matching the person.

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for descalzarse, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Descalzarse is reflexive, and the z becomes c before e: the subjunctive is descalce, never descalze.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for descalzarse. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.

Present indicative

Person Pronoun Form
yo me descalzo
tú te descalzas
él/ella/Ud. se descalza
nosotros/as nos descalzamos
vosotros/as os descalzáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se descalzan

Preterite

Person Pronoun Form
yo me descalcé
tú te descalzaste
él/ella/Ud. se descalzó
nosotros/as nos descalzamos
vosotros/as os descalzasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se descalzaron

Imperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me descalzaba
tú te descalzabas
él/ella/Ud. se descalzaba
nosotros/as nos descalzábamos
vosotros/as os descalzabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se descalzaban

Future

Person Pronoun Form
yo me descalzaré
tú te descalzarás
él/ella/Ud. se descalzará
nosotros/as nos descalzaremos
vosotros/as os descalzaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se descalzarán

Conditional

Person Pronoun Form
yo me descalzaría
tú te descalzarías
él/ella/Ud. se descalzaría
nosotros/as nos descalzaríamos
vosotros/as os descalzaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se descalzarían

Present perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me he descalzado
tú te has descalzado
él/ella/Ud. se ha descalzado
nosotros/as nos hemos descalzado
vosotros/as os habéis descalzado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se han descalzado

Pluperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me había descalzado
tú te habías descalzado
él/ella/Ud. se había descalzado
nosotros/as nos habíamos descalzado
vosotros/as os habíais descalzado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habían descalzado

Future perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habré descalzado
tú te habrás descalzado
él/ella/Ud. se habrá descalzado
nosotros/as nos habremos descalzado
vosotros/as os habréis descalzado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrán descalzado

Conditional perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habría descalzado
tú te habrías descalzado
él/ella/Ud. se habría descalzado
nosotros/as nos habríamos descalzado
vosotros/as os habríais descalzado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrían descalzado

Present subjunctive

Person Pronoun Form
yo me descalce
tú te descalces
él/ella/Ud. se descalce
nosotros/as nos descalcemos
vosotros/as os descalcéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se descalcen

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Pronoun Form
yo me descalzara
tú te descalzaras
él/ella/Ud. se descalzara
nosotros/as nos descalzáramos
vosotros/as os descalzarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se descalzaran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Pronoun Form
tú te descalza
él/ella/Ud. se descalce
nosotros/as nos descalcemos
vosotros/as os descalzad
ellos/ellas/Uds. se descalcen

Imperative (negative)

Person Pronoun Form
tú te descalces
él/ella/Ud. se descalce
nosotros/as nos descalcemos
vosotros/as os descalcéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se descalcen

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund descalzando with estar for the progressive: estoy descalzando (or me estoy descalzando for this reflexive verb)
Past participle descalzado with haber for the perfect tenses: he descalzado

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For descalzarse, the present looks like this in a real sentence: Me descalzo al entrar en casa. Learn the present forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For descalzarse, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, me descalcé en la playa antes de nadar. Learn the preterite forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For descalzarse, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, me descalzaba en la puerta sin hacer ruido. Learn the imperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For descalzarse, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, me descalzaré antes de acostarse. Learn the future forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For descalzarse, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Me descalzaría al entrar en casa si pudiera. Learn the conditional forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For descalzarse, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, me he descalzado en la playa antes de nadar. Learn the present perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For descalzarse, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Me había descalzado en la puerta sin hacer ruido antes de salir. Learn the pluperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For descalzarse, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, me habré descalzado antes de acostarse. Learn the future perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For descalzarse, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Me habría descalzado al entrar en casa con más tiempo. Learn the conditional perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. Note the spelling change here: the final consonant of the stem changes before e to keep the same sound, so learn these forms from the table rather than copying the infinitive stem. For descalzarse, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él se descalce en la playa antes de nadar. Learn the present subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past, and note the -ra forms shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For descalzarse, the imperfect subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Si él se descalzara en la puerta sin hacer ruido, todo cambiaría. Learn the imperfect subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. Note the spelling change here: the final consonant of the stem changes before e to keep the same sound, so learn these forms from the table rather than copying the infinitive stem. For descalzarse, the affirmative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: Que se descalce antes de acostarse. Learn the affirmative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. Note the spelling change here: the final consonant of the stem changes before e to keep the same sound, so learn these forms from the table rather than copying the infinitive stem. For descalzarse, the negative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: No te descalces al entrar en casa. Learn the negative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with descalzarse, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Me descalzo al entrar en casa. — I take off my shoes on coming into the house.
  2. Se descalza en la playa antes de nadar. — He/she takes off his shoes on the beach before swimming.
  3. Ayer, me descalcé en la puerta sin hacer ruido. — Yesterday, I took off my shoes in the doorway without making a noise.
  4. Antes, nosotros nos descalzábamos antes de acostarse. — Before, we used to take off our shoes before going to bed.
  5. Mañana, tú te descalzarás al entrar en casa. — Tomorrow, you will take off your shoes on coming into the house.
  6. Yo me descalzaría en la playa antes de nadar si tuviera más tiempo. — I would take off my shoes on the beach before swimming if I had more time.
  7. Él se ha descalzado en la puerta sin hacer ruido. — He has taken off his shoes in the doorway without making a noise.
  8. Espero que él se descalce antes de acostarse. — I hope he takes off his shoes before going to bed.
  9. Yo ya me había descalzado al entrar en casa antes de salir. — I had already taken off my shoes on coming into the house before leaving.
  10. Ellos se descalzaban en la playa antes de nadar cuando eran jóvenes. — They used to take off their shoes on the beach before swimming when they were young.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo descalzo al entrar en casa. — Right: Yo me descalzo al entrar en casa. — Descalzarse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required: without it the verb means something else, or nothing at all.
  2. Wrong: Ayer yo descalzé en la playa antes de nadar. — Right: Ayer yo descalcé en la playa antes de nadar. — Descalzarse has an irregular preterite: the correct first-person form is descalcé, not the regular descalzé. Learn the preterite forms in the table as a set.
  3. Wrong: Treating descalzarse and calzarse as identical in every context. — Right: Descalzarse means to take off (shoes), while calzarse means to put on your shoes. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: descalzarse fits sentences such as Me descalzo al entrar en casa, while calzarse belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy descalzado en la playa antes de nadar. — Right: Yo he descalzado en la playa antes de nadar. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he descalzado, has descalzado, ha descalzado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo descalcé en la puerta sin hacer ruido todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo descalzaba en la puerta sin hacer ruido todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (descalzaba), not the preterite. The preterite (descalcé) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on descalzarse. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ al entrar en casa. (present tense) A. me descalzo B. te descalzas C. se descalza D. nos descalzamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, él ___ en la playa antes de nadar. (preterite) A. me descalcé B. te descalzaste C. se descalzaron D. se descalzó

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ___ en la puerta sin hacer ruido. (imperfect) A. te descalzabas B. se descalzaban C. nos descalzábamos D. me descalzaba

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ___ antes de acostarse. (future) A. nos descalzaremos B. te descalzarás C. me descalzaré D. se descalzará

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ al entrar en casa si pudiera. (conditional) A. me descalzaría B. te descalzarías C. se descalzaría D. se descalzarían

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ en la playa antes de nadar. (present subjunctive) A. me descalce B. te descalces C. nos descalcemos D. se descalce

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ en la puerta sin hacer ruido, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. se descalzara B. nos descalzáramos C. me descalzara D. te descalzaras

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ antes de acostarse. (present perfect) A. se han descalzado B. nos hemos descalzado C. me he descalzado D. te has descalzado

  9. Complete the command: No ___ al entrar en casa. (negative imperative, tú) A. te descalces B. se descalce C. nos descalcemos D. os descalcéis

  10. Which is the gerund of descalzarse, used with estar for the progressive? A. descalzado B. descalzo C. descalcé D. descalzando

Answer key

  1. me descalzo — The first-person present of descalzarse is me descalzo. The other options are the tú, él/ella and nosotros forms.
  2. se descalzó — The third-person preterite of descalzarse is se descalzó, the form for a single finished action in the past.
  3. nos descalzábamos — The nosotros imperfect of descalzarse is nos descalzábamos, used here for a repeated past habit.
  4. te descalzarás — The second-person future of descalzarse is te descalzarás.
  5. me descalzaría — The first-person conditional of descalzarse is me descalzaría, the form for what would happen.
  6. se descalce — After espero que, the subjunctive is required: the third-person present subjunctive of descalzarse is se descalce.
  7. me descalzara — The first-person imperfect subjunctive (-ra) of descalzarse is me descalzara.
  8. nos hemos descalzado — The nosotros present perfect of descalzarse is nos hemos descalzado: hemos + descalzado.
  9. te descalces — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: te descalces.
  10. descalzando — The gerund of descalzarse is descalzando: estoy descalzando. The participle descalzado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does descalzarse mean in English?

Descalzarse means to take off (shoes). It is used in everyday situations such as Me descalzo al entrar en casa. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is descalzarse a reflexive verb?

Yes. Descalzarse is reflexive, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun that matches the person: me, te, se, nos, os or se. For example, Me descalzo al entrar en casa and él se descalza en la playa antes de nadar. If you leave the pronoun out, the verb changes meaning or stops making sense.

What is the difference between descalzarse and calzarse?

Descalzarse means to take off (shoes), while calzarse means to put on your shoes. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use descalzarse when you mean to take off (shoes), as in Me descalzo al entrar en casa, and use calzarse for to put on your shoes. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.

How do I say “I take off (shoes)” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: yo me descalcé en la playa antes de nadar. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: yo me descalzaba en la puerta sin hacer ruido. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: yo me he descalzado en la playa antes de nadar.

How do I practise descalzarse?

Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the descalzarse examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.

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