Introduction

desconfiar means “to distrust”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to distrust” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows desconfiar in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo desconfío de los extraños por la mañana.” — “I distrust strangers.”

desconfiar in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how desconfiar is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.

In the present: everyday use

These sentences use {verb} in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.

  1. “Yo desconfío de los extraños cada día.” — “I distrust strangers.”
  2. “Tú desconfías de los extraños cada día.” — “you distrust strangers.”
  3. “Él desconfía de los extraños siempre.” — “He distrusts strangers.”
  4. “Nosotros desconfiamos de los extraños todos los días.” — “We distrust strangers.”

Talking about the past

The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show {verb} in the past, so you can talk about what already happened. 5. “Yo desconfié de los extraños ayer.” — “I distrusted strangers.” (preterite) 6. “Él desconfió de los extraños ayer.” — “He distrusted strangers.” (preterite) 7. “Yo desconfiaba de los extraños cuando era joven.” — “I used to distrust strangers.” (imperfect)

Plans and things already done

These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of {verb} stays the same. 8. “Nosotros desconfiaremos de los extraños mañana.” — “We will distrust strangers.” (future) 9. “Tú has desconfiado de los extraños hoy.” — “you have distrusted strangers.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo desconfíe de los extraños.” — “I hope that I distrust strangers.” (present-subjunctive)

More everyday uses

Two more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action. 11. “Vosotros desconfiáis de los extraños cada semana.” — “You distrust strangers.” 12. “Ellos desconfían de los extraños normalmente.” — “They distrust strangers.”

desconfiar in context

Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how desconfiar appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.

Dialogue at home in the evening

Ana: “¿Tú desconfías de los extraños?” — Do you distrust strangers?

Luis: “Sí, yo desconfío de los extraños cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I distrust strangers every day. It is part of my routine.

Ana: “¿Y ayer? ¿También desconfías de los extraños?” — And yesterday? Did you distrust strangers too?

Luis: “Sí, ayer yo desconfié de los extraños. Mañana nosotros desconfiaremos de los extraños otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I distrusted strangers. Tomorrow we will distrust strangers again.

A short paragraph

Él desconfía de los extraños cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how desconfiar works in real Spanish: who does it, when, and with what. Around it you can build a whole paragraph: what happened yesterday, what is happening now, and what will happen tomorrow, all with the same verb. When you write your own paragraph, start with the present — yo desconfío de los extraños — then add one past sentence and one future sentence, and you have practised three tenses with one verb. That is the fastest way to make desconfiar yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is desconfié, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — desconfie — 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 desconfiar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For desconfiar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: desconfiamos. 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.

Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses

Spanish perfect tenses always use haber, never ser: yo he desconfiado de los extraños. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy desconfiado is not the present perfect of desconfiar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing desconfiar with descubrir

desconfiar 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 desconfiar — distrust — the sentence needs desconfiar; 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 desconfíe de los extraños. Using the indicative — Espero que yo desconfío — is one of the most frequent learner errors with desconfiar. 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 desconfiar in the present?

  • A. desconfías
  • B. desconfía
  • C. desconfiamos
  • D. desconfío

2. What is the tu form of desconfiar in the preterite?

  • A. desconfiamos
  • B. desconfiaste
  • C. desconfié
  • D. desconfió

3. What is the el form of desconfiar in the imperfect?

  • A. desconfiabas
  • B. desconfiábamos
  • C. desconfiabais
  • D. desconfiaba

4. What is the nosotros form of desconfiar in the future?

  • A. desconfiará
  • B. desconfiaremos
  • C. desconfiaré
  • D. desconfiarás

5. What is the vosotros form of desconfiar in the present perfect?

  • A. he desconfiado
  • B. has desconfiado
  • C. ha desconfiado
  • D. habéis desconfiado

6. What is the ellos form of desconfiar in the present subjunctive?

  • A. desconfíe
  • B. desconfíen
  • C. desconfíe
  • D. desconfíes

7. What is the yo form of desconfiar in the preterite?

  • A. desconfiaste
  • B. desconfió
  • C. desconfiamos
  • D. desconfié

8. What is the tu form of desconfiar in the imperfect?

  • A. desconfiábamos
  • B. desconfiabas
  • C. desconfiaba
  • D. desconfiaba

9. What is the el form of desconfiar in the future?

  • A. desconfiaré
  • B. desconfiarás
  • C. desconfiaremos
  • D. desconfiará

10. What is the nosotros form of desconfiar in the conditional?

  • A. desconfiaría
  • B. desconfiaríamos
  • C. desconfiaría
  • D. desconfiarías

Answer key

  1. desconfío — The present table gives yo = desconfío.
  2. desconfiaste — The preterite table gives tu = desconfiaste.
  3. desconfiaba — The imperfect table gives el = desconfiaba.
  4. desconfiaremos — The future table gives nosotros = desconfiaremos.
  5. habéis desconfiado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis desconfiado.
  6. desconfíen — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = desconfíen.
  7. desconfié — The preterite table gives yo = desconfié.
  8. desconfiabas — The imperfect table gives tu = desconfiabas.
  9. desconfiará — The future table gives el = desconfiará.
  10. desconfiaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = desconfiaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use desconfiar in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo desconfío de los extraños.” — “I distrust strangers.” Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

What is the most useful form of desconfiar to learn first?

Learn the present yo form desconfío first, then the preterite yo form desconfié and the participle desconfiado. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund desconfiando next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is desconfiar reflexive?

No — desconfiar is not reflexive. It takes a direct object, not a reflexive pronoun: yo desconfío de los extraños. Do not add me or se to it unless the sentence genuinely needs a pronoun for another reason.

Where can I see the full conjugation of desconfiar?

On the main conjugation page for desconfiar, which has every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, plus notes, examples and a quiz. The present-tense page covers one tense in depth if that is what you need right now.

Related links