Introduction

descontar means “to discount”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to discount” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows descontar 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 descuento diez euros del precio por la mañana.” — “I discount ten euros from the price.”

descontar in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how descontar 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 descuento diez euros del precio cada día.” — “I discount ten euros from the price.”
  2. “Tú descuentas diez euros del precio cada día.” — “you discount ten euros from the price.”
  3. “Él descuenta diez euros del precio siempre.” — “He discounts ten euros from the price.”
  4. “Nosotros descontamos diez euros del precio todos los días.” — “We discount ten euros from the price.”

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 desconté diez euros del precio ayer.” — “I discounted ten euros from the price.” (preterite) 6. “Él descontó diez euros del precio ayer.” — “He discounted ten euros from the price.” (preterite) 7. “Yo descontaba diez euros del precio cuando era joven.” — “I used to discount ten euros from the price.” (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 descontaremos diez euros del precio mañana.” — “We will discount ten euros from the price.” (future) 9. “Tú has descontado diez euros del precio hoy.” — “you have discounted ten euros from the price.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo descuente diez euros del precio.” — “I hope that I discount ten euros from the price.” (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 descontáis diez euros del precio cada semana.” — “You discount ten euros from the price.” 12. “Ellos descuentan diez euros del precio normalmente.” — “They discount ten euros from the price.”

descontar 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 descontar appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.

Dialogue on the phone

Lucía: “¿Tú descuentas diez euros del precio?” — Do you discount ten euros from the price?

Pedro: “Sí, yo descuento diez euros del precio cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I discount ten euros from the price every day. It is part of my routine.

Lucía: “¿Y ayer? ¿También descuentas diez euros del precio?” — And yesterday? Did you discount ten euros from the price too?

Pedro: “Sí, ayer yo desconté diez euros del precio. Mañana nosotros descontaremos diez euros del precio otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I discounted ten euros from the price. Tomorrow we will discount ten euros from the price again.

A short paragraph

Él descuenta diez euros del precio cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how descontar 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 descuento diez euros del precio — 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 descontar yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

Common mistakes

Using the unchanged stem

Learners often write desconto for the yo form, keeping the infinitive stem unchanged. The correct form is descuento. Because descontar changes its stem vowel, the change appears in the stressed syllables of the present: say the correct form out loud a few times — yo descuento diez euros del precio — until the changed stem feels natural.

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is desconté, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — desconte — 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 descontar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For descontar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: descontamos. 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 descontado diez euros del precio. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy descontado is not the present perfect of descontar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing descontar with descubrir

descontar 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 descontar — discount — the sentence needs descontar; if it needs the meaning of descubrir, use that verb instead.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the best answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the yo form of descontar in the present?

  • A. descuentas
  • B. descuenta
  • C. descontamos
  • D. descuento

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

  • A. descontamos
  • B. descontaste
  • C. desconté
  • D. descontó

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

  • A. descontabas
  • B. descontábamos
  • C. descontabais
  • D. descontaba

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

  • A. descontará
  • B. descontaremos
  • C. descontaré
  • D. descontarás

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

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

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

  • A. descuente
  • B. descuenten
  • C. descuente
  • D. descuentes

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

  • A. descontaste
  • B. descontó
  • C. descontamos
  • D. desconté

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

  • A. descontábamos
  • B. descontabas
  • C. descontaba
  • D. descontaba

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

  • A. descontaré
  • B. descontarás
  • C. descontaremos
  • D. descontará

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

  • A. descontaría
  • B. descontaríamos
  • C. descontaría
  • D. descontarías

Answer key

  1. descuento — The present table gives yo = descuento.
  2. descontaste — The preterite table gives tu = descontaste.
  3. descontaba — The imperfect table gives el = descontaba.
  4. descontaremos — The future table gives nosotros = descontaremos.
  5. habéis descontado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis descontado.
  6. descuenten — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = descuenten.
  7. desconté — The preterite table gives yo = desconté.
  8. descontabas — The imperfect table gives tu = descontabas.
  9. descontará — The future table gives el = descontará.
  10. descontaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = descontaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use descontar in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo descuento diez euros del precio.” — “I discount ten euros from the price.” Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

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

Learn the present yo form descuento first, then the preterite yo form desconté and the participle descontado. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund descontando next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is descontar reflexive?

No — descontar is not reflexive. It takes a direct object, not a reflexive pronoun: yo descuento diez euros del precio. 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 descontar?

On the main conjugation page for descontar, 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