Descansar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

descansar means "to rest" in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Descansar means "to rest", and it is the verb for everything from a five-minute break to a two-week holiday: descansas un rato, you rest a while; descansa en paz, rest in peace. It is used for sleep, for breaks at work, for holidays, and for letting your body or your mind recover. It is a fully regular -ar verb, and it is also the polite verb for telling someone to take it easy — descansa, que mañana es otro día. Because rest is a daily topic, the present tense of descansar is genuinely useful from the first week of learning Spanish. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by meaning, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of descansar; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the descansar present tense page.

descansar in everyday use: examples with translations

Resting during the day

  1. Yo descanso un rato después de comer. — "I rest a while after eating."
  2. Yo descanso las piernas después de correr. — "I rest my legs after running."
  3. Ayer yo descansé toda la tarde. — "Yesterday I rested all afternoon."
  4. De joven, yo descansaba mucho los domingos. — "When I was young, I used to rest a lot on Sundays."

Resting at the weekend and on holiday

  1. Nosotros descansamos los fines de semana. — "We rest at the weekends."
  2. Mi padre descansa en la playa en agosto. — "My father rests on the beach in August."
  3. Nosotros descansaremos en la montaña este verano. — "We will rest in the mountains this summer."
  4. Yo he descansado poco esta semana. — "I have rested little this week."

Resting too little

  1. Tú descansas poco, debes dormir más. — "You rest little, you should sleep more."
  2. Vosotros descansáis poco entre semana. — "You rest little during the week."
  3. Yo descansaría más si tuviera tiempo. — "I would rest more if I had time."
  4. Los niños descansan después de comer. — "The children rest after eating."

descansar in conversation

Two short dialogues that use descansar the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

After lunch, a father tells the children to rest.

  • Padre: Los niños descansan después de comer. — "The children rest after eating."
  • Hijo: Yo descanso diez minutos cada hora. — "I rest ten minutes every hour."
  • Padre: Tú descansas poco, debes dormir más. — "You rest little, you should sleep more."
  • Hijo: Nosotros descansaremos en la montaña este verano. — "We will rest in the mountains this summer."

Two colleagues talk about the weekend.

  • Ana: Nosotros descansamos los fines de semana. — "We rest at the weekends."
  • Luis: Mi padre descansa en la playa en agosto. — "My father rests on the beach in August."
  • Ana: Yo descanso un rato después de comer. — "I rest a while after eating."
  • Luis: El abuelo descansa en su sillón favorito. — "Grandfather rests in his favourite armchair."

Common mistakes with descansar

The errors learners actually make with descansar, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ *Yo descanso a las piernas después de correr (adding a before a body part).

✓ Correct: Yo descanso las piernas después de correr.

Body parts take no personal a: descansar las piernas, not descansar a las piernas.

✗ *Vosotros descansáis poco (written without the accent: descansais).

✓ Correct: Vosotros descansáis poco entre semana.

Descansáis needs the written accent on the á — it is part of the spelling.

✗ *Nosotros descansamos en la playa el año pasado.

✓ Correct: El año pasado nosotros descansamos en la playa.

Descansamos is both present and preterite for nosotros. With el año pasado, the preterite reading is meant — add the time expression to make it clear.

✗ *Tú descansa en el sofá (using the él form for tú).

✓ Correct: Tú descansas en el sofá por la tarde.

Tú takes descansas, with the -s ending. Descansa is the él/ella form.

Quiz: descansar in use

Ten questions on descansar — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ un rato después de comer. — "I rest a while after eating."

  • a) descansas
  • b) descanso
  • c) descansé
  • d) descansa

2. Complete the sentence: Ayer yo ______ toda la tarde. — "Yesterday I rested all afternoon."

  • a) descansó
  • b) descansaste
  • c) descansé
  • d) descanso

3. Complete the sentence: Mi padre ______ en la playa en agosto. — "My father rests on the beach in August."

  • a) descanso
  • b) descansó
  • c) descansa
  • d) descansas

4. Complete the sentence: Tú ______ poco, debes dormir más. — "You rest little, you should sleep more."

  • a) descansas
  • b) descanso
  • c) descansa
  • d) descansaste

5. Which is the correct present tense form of descansar for yo?

  • a) descansas
  • b) descansamos
  • c) descansa
  • d) descanso

6. Which is the correct present tense form of descansar for tú?

  • a) descanso
  • b) descansa
  • c) descansas
  • d) descansamos

7. Which is the correct present tense form of descansar for ellos/ellas/Uds.?

  • a) descanso
  • b) descansan
  • c) descansas
  • d) descansa

8. Which sentence uses descansar correctly?

  • a) Nosotros descansamos en el campo los fines de semana.
  • b) Nosotros descansábamos en el campo los fines de semana.
  • c) Nosotros descansa en el campo los fines de semana.

9. What is the past participle of descansar?

  • a) descansando
  • b) descanso
  • c) descansado
  • d) descansó

10. What does descansar mean in English?

  • a) to have
  • b) to sleep
  • c) to rest
  • d) to go

Answer key

  1. b) descanso — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: descanso.

  2. c) descansé — The sentence needs the yo form in the preterite: descansé.

  3. c) descansa — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: descansa.

  4. a) descansas — The sentence needs the tú form in the present: descansas.

  5. d) descanso — The present tense form for yo is descanso.

  6. c) descansas — The present tense form for tú is descansas.

  7. b) descansan — The present tense form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is descansan.

  8. a) Nosotros descansamos en el campo los fines de semana. — Nosotros descansamos en el campo los fines de semana. is correct. The other sentences use the wrong person, the wrong tense, or the wrong pattern for this verb.

  9. c) descansado — The past participle is descansado. You need it for every perfect tense with haber: he descansado, has descansado, ha descansado.

  10. c) to rest — descansar means "to rest".

Frequently asked questions

How do I use descansar in everyday conversation?

Start with the phrases in the examples above — especially the common combinations such as descansar un rato and descansar en paz. Use the present tense for habits and general facts, and the preterite for things that happened once. Say the sentences aloud until the forms feel automatic, then swap in your own details: your own town, your own family, your own routine.

What is the difference between descansar and dormir?

descansar means "to rest", while dormir means "to sleep". They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use descansar when you mean "to rest" and dormir when you mean "to sleep".

Which tense do I need most with descansar?

The present tense, for habits, routines and general facts — that is where you will use descansar most. The preterite comes next, for things that happened once and ended. The examples on this page use both, plus the imperfect, the future and the present perfect, so you can see the verb across the tenses you actually need.

Is descansar formal or informal?

descansar is neutral — it is used in both formal and informal Spanish, at home, at work and at school. There is no special formal version of it; the same forms work in a conversation with a friend and in a letter to a company. What changes is the situation, not the verb.

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