Descender Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of descender — "to descend" in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for descender with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. 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. To see it in a real sentence: Yo desciendo la escalera con cuidado — "I descend the stairs carefully".
Present tense conjugation table: descender
Every person of descender in the present tense. The gerund is descendiendo and the past participle is descendido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | desciendo |
| tú | desciendes |
| él/ella/Ud. | desciende |
| nosotros/as | descendemos |
| vosotros/as | descendéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | descienden |
How the present of descender is formed
The present of descender is built from the stem descend- plus the present endings for -er verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -er ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.
| Person | Ending | Form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | desciendo |
| tú | -es | desciendes |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | desciende |
| nosotros/as | -emos | descendemos |
| vosotros/as | -éis | descendéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | descienden |
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.
The gerund of descender is descendiendo and the past participle is descendido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of descender
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and descender appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.
Habits and routines
The present describes things that happen regularly, as a habit or routine.
"Cada día, yo desciendo la escalera con cuidado" — "Every day, I descend the stairs carefully"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo desciende de la montaña al valle" — "My friend descends from the mountain to the valley"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo desciendo en ascensor al sótano" — "Right now, I descend by lift to the basement"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros descendemos el río hasta el mar" — "Tomorrow, we descend the river down to the sea"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos descienden de categoría en la liga" — "They descend a division in the league"
The present tense vs the closest tenses
Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion
The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.
- Present — habit or general fact: {'pre_es': 'Cada día, ', 'pre_en': 'Every day, '}yo desciendo la escalera con cuidado — "I descend the stairs carefully"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo descendí la escalera con cuidado — "I descended the stairs carefully"
Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add "used to" in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.
- Present — now: {}tú desciendes de la montaña al valle — "You descend from the mountain to the valley"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú descendías de la montaña al valle — "You used to descend from the mountain to the valley"
Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen
The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.
- Present — now or a fixed plan: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él desciende en ascensor al sótano — "He descends by lift to the basement"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él descenderá en ascensor al sótano — "He will descend by lift to the basement"
Examples: descender in the present tense
Seven sentences that show descender in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo desciendo la escalera con cuidado — "I descend the stairs carefully"
- Tú desciendes de la montaña al valle — "You descend from the mountain to the valley"
- Él desciende en ascensor al sótano — "He descends by lift to the basement"
- Nosotros descendemos el río hasta el mar — "We descend the river down to the sea"
- Vosotros descendéis de categoría en la liga — "You descend a division in the league"
- Ellos descienden la escalera con cuidado — "They descend the stairs carefully"
- Yo desciendo de la montaña al valle — "I descend from the mountain to the valley"
Common mistakes with descender in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with descender in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo descendo la escalera con cuidado.
✓ Correct: Yo desciendo la escalera con cuidado.
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.
✗ *Tú desciende de la montaña al valle.
✓ Correct: Tú desciendes de la montaña al valle.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes desciendes, él takes desciende.
✗ *Cada día, yo descendí en ascensor al sótano
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo desciendo en ascensor al sótano
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros descendeis el río hasta el mar.
✓ Correct: Vosotros descendéis el río hasta el mar.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: descendéis, not descendeis.
Quiz: descender in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of descender. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of descender for tú? A. desciendo B. desciende C. descendemos D. desciendes
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ la escalera con cuidado — "I descend the stairs carefully" (present) A. desciendo B. desciendes C. desciende D. descendemos
Complete the sentence: Él ______ de la montaña al valle — "He descends from the mountain to the valley" (present) A. desciendo B. desciendes C. descendemos D. desciende
Which is the correct present form of descender for nosotros? A. desciende B. descienden C. descendemos D. desciendes
Which sentence uses descender correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo desciende en ascensor al sótano B. Mi amigo desciendes en ascensor al sótano C. Mi amigo descendía en ascensor al sótano D. Mi amigo descendemos en ascensor al sótano
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ el río hasta el mar — "You descend the river down to the sea" (present) A. desciendes B. desciende C. descendéis D. desciendo
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ de categoría en la liga — "They descend a division in the league" (present) A. desciendes B. desciende C. descienden D. desciendo
What is the gerund of descender? A. descendí B. descendiendo C. descendido D. desciendo
Answer key
- desciendes — The tú form in the present is desciendes.
- desciendo — The present form for yo is desciendo.
- desciende — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is desciende.
- descendemos — The nosotros form in the present is descendemos.
- Mi amigo desciende en ascensor al sótano — Mi amigo desciende en ascensor al sótano is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- descendéis — The present form for vosotros/as is descendéis.
- descienden — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is descienden.
- descendiendo — The gerund is descendiendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle descendido.
Frequently asked questions
Is descender regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: 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. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of descender?
The gerund is descendiendo and the past participle is descendido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I descend" in the present tense?
Say desciendo. For example: Yo desciendo la escalera con cuidado — "I descend the stairs carefully".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of descender?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo desciendo la escalera con cuidado — "I descend the stairs carefully". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo descendí la escalera con cuidado — "Yesterday, I descended the stairs carefully". Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once.
Related links
- Full conjugation of descender — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- descender examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Present tense guide — how the present tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.