Descender Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

descender means "to descend" 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. Descender means to go down: descender la escalera, descender de la montaña. It also means to descend from someone — descender de una familia — and for a team to be relegated. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by use, 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 descender; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the descender present tense page.

descender in everyday use: examples with translations

Everyday present uses

How the verb sounds in the present, the future and in hypotheticals — the forms you will use most often.

  1. Yo desciendo la escalera con cuidado — "I descend the stairs carefully"
  2. Mi amigo desciende de la montaña al valle — "My friend descends from the mountain to the valley"
  3. Mañana, tú descenderás en ascensor al sótano — "Tomorrow, you will descend by lift to the basement"
  4. Yo descendería el río hasta el mar si pudiera — "I would descend the river down to the sea if I could"

Talking about the past

The same verb in the past: one finished action, a habit, something that has just happened, and something that had already happened.

  1. Ayer, yo descendí la escalera con cuidado — "Yesterday, I descended the stairs carefully"
  2. Antes, nosotros descendíamos de la montaña al valle — "Before, we used to descend from the mountain to the valley"
  3. Él ha descendido en ascensor al sótano — "He has descended by lift to the basement"
  4. Yo ya había descendido el río hasta el mar antes de salir — "I already had descended the river down to the sea before leaving"

Wishes, conditions and commands

The verb after espero que, in si clauses, as a command — and in the conditional perfect, for what would have happened.

  1. Espero que él descienda la escalera con cuidado — "I hope he descends the stairs carefully"
  2. Si yo descendiera de la montaña al valle, todo cambiaría — "If I descended from the mountain to the valley, everything would change"
  3. Desciende en ascensor al sótano. — "Descend by lift to the basement."
  4. Yo habría descendido el río hasta el mar con más tiempo — "I would have descended the river down to the sea with more time"

descender in conversation

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

Two friends talk about it.

  • Lucía: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Lucía: Yo desciendo la escalera con cuidado — "I descend the stairs carefully"
  • Marcos: Él desciende de la montaña al valle — "He descends from the mountain to the valley"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo descendí en ascensor al sótano — "Yesterday, I descended by lift to the basement"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú descenderás el río hasta el mar — "Tomorrow, you will descend the river down to the sea"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Desciende de categoría en la liga. — "Descend a division in the league."
  • Lucía: Él ha descendido la escalera con cuidado — "He has descended the stairs carefully"
  • Marcos: Espero que él descienda de la montaña al valle — "I hope he descends from the mountain to the valley"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo descendía en ascensor al sótano — "Before, I used to descend by lift to the basement"

Common mistakes with descender

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

✗ *Yo descendo el río hasta el mar.

✓ Correct: Yo desciendo el río hasta el mar.

descender is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is desciendo, not descendo.

✗ *Espero que él desciende el río hasta el mar

✓ Correct: Espero que él descienda el río hasta el mar

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él descienda el río hasta el mar — not the indicative Espero que él desciende el río hasta el mar.

✗ *Ayer, yo desciendo de categoría en la liga

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo descendí de categoría en la liga

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo descendí de categoría en la liga.

✗ *De niño, yo descendí la escalera con cuidado todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo descendía la escalera con cuidado todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo descendía la escalera con cuidado todos los días.

✗ *Yo desciendo ascensor al sótano.

✓ Correct: Yo desciendo en ascensor al sótano.

descender takes en before this complement: Yo desciendo en ascensor al sótano. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.

Quiz: descender in use

Ten questions on descender — 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 ______ la escalera con cuidado — "I descend the stairs carefully" (present) A. desciendo B. desciendes C. desciende D. descendemos

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ de la montaña al valle — "Yesterday, I descended from the mountain to the valley" (preterite) A. descendí B. descendiste C. descendió D. descendimos

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ en ascensor al sótano — "Before, we used to descend by lift to the basement" (imperfect) A. descendía B. descendías C. descendíais D. descendíamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ el río hasta el mar — "Tomorrow, you will descend the river down to the sea" (future) A. descenderemos B. descenderás C. descenderé D. descenderá

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ de categoría en la liga — "I would descend a division in the league" (conditional) A. descendería B. descenderías C. descenderíamos D. descenderíais

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ la escalera con cuidado — "He has descended the stairs carefully" (present perfect) A. hemos descendido B. ha descendido C. he descendido D. has descendido

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ de la montaña al valle — "I hope he descends from the mountain to the valley" (present subjunctive) A. desciendas B. descendamos C. descendáis D. descienda

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ en ascensor al sótano. — "Descend by lift to the basement." (affirmative imperative) A. descienda B. descendamos C. descended D. desciende

  9. Which is the gerund of descender, used with estar for the progressive? A. descendí B. descendiendo C. descendido D. desciendo

  10. What does descender mean in English? A. to go down B. to enjoy C. to cross D. to descend

Answer key

  1. desciendo — The present form for yo is desciendo.
  2. descendí — The preterite form for yo is descendí.
  3. descendíamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is descendíamos.
  4. descenderás — The future form for tú is descenderás.
  5. descendería — The conditional form for yo is descendería.
  6. ha descendido — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha descendido.
  7. descienda — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is descienda.
  8. desciende — The affirmative imperative form is desciende.
  9. descendiendo — The gerund of descender is descendiendo: estoy descendiendo. The participle descendido is used with haber instead.
  10. to descend — descender means to descend.

Frequently asked questions

What does descender mean in English?

descender means to descend. For example: Yo desciendo la escalera con cuidado — "I descend the stairs carefully". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with descender?

descender takes de before this kind of complement, as in the examples above. Keep the preposition with the verb — dropping it is one of the most common learner errors with descender.

Is descender regular?

No. descender is a stem-changing -er verb (e → ie). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: desciendo, desciendes, desciende and descienden — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: descendemos, descendéis.

How do I practise descender?

Start with the present tense table on the full conjugation page, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure, and come back to the sentences above until you can say them without looking.

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