Introduction

describir means “to describe”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to describe” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows describir 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 describo la casa con detalle por la mañana.” — “I describe the house in detail.”

describir in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how describir 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 describo la casa con detalle cada día.” — “I describe the house in detail.”
  2. “Tú describes la casa con detalle cada día.” — “you describe the house in detail.”
  3. “Él describe la casa con detalle siempre.” — “He describes the house in detail.”
  4. “Nosotros describimos la casa con detalle todos los días.” — “We describe the house in detail.”

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 describí la casa con detalle ayer.” — “I described the house in detail.” (preterite) 6. “Él describió la casa con detalle ayer.” — “He described the house in detail.” (preterite) 7. “Yo describía la casa con detalle cuando era joven.” — “I used to describe the house in detail.” (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 describiremos la casa con detalle mañana.” — “We will describe the house in detail.” (future) 9. “Tú has descrito la casa con detalle hoy.” — “you have described the house in detail.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo describa la casa con detalle.” — “I hope that I describe the house in detail.” (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 describís la casa con detalle cada semana.” — “You describe the house in detail.” 12. “Ellos describen la casa con detalle normalmente.” — “They describe the house in detail.”

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

Dialogue on the phone

Lucía: “¿Tú describes la casa con detalle?” — Do you describe the house in detail?

Pedro: “Sí, yo describo la casa con detalle cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I describe the house in detail every day. It is part of my routine.

Lucía: “¿Y ayer? ¿También describes la casa con detalle?” — And yesterday? Did you describe the house in detail too?

Pedro: “Sí, ayer yo describí la casa con detalle. Mañana nosotros describiremos la casa con detalle otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I described the house in detail. Tomorrow we will describe the house in detail again.

A short paragraph

Él describe la casa con detalle cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how describir 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 describo la casa con detalle — 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 describir yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

Common mistakes

Guessing the past participle

A common error is writing describido as the past participle of describir. The correct participle is descrito. That matters in every perfect tense: it is he descrito, había descrito, habré descrito. Memorise the participle on its own and the perfect tenses take care of themselves.

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is describí, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — describi — 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 describir.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For describir, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: describimos. 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 descrito la casa con detalle. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy descrito is not the present perfect of describir — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing describir with descubrir

describir 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 describir — describe — the sentence needs describir; 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 describir in the present?

  • A. describes
  • B. describe
  • C. describimos
  • D. describo

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

  • A. describimos
  • B. describiste
  • C. describí
  • D. describió

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

  • A. describías
  • B. describíamos
  • C. describíais
  • D. describía

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

  • A. describirá
  • B. describiremos
  • C. describiré
  • D. describirás

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

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

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

  • A. describa
  • B. describan
  • C. describa
  • D. describas

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

  • A. describiste
  • B. describió
  • C. describimos
  • D. describí

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

  • A. describíamos
  • B. describías
  • C. describía
  • D. describía

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

  • A. describiré
  • B. describirás
  • C. describiremos
  • D. describirá

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

  • A. describiría
  • B. describiríamos
  • C. describiría
  • D. describirías

Answer key

  1. describo — The present table gives yo = describo.
  2. describiste — The preterite table gives tu = describiste.
  3. describía — The imperfect table gives el = describía.
  4. describiremos — The future table gives nosotros = describiremos.
  5. habéis descrito — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis descrito.
  6. describan — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = describan.
  7. describí — The preterite table gives yo = describí.
  8. describías — The imperfect table gives tu = describías.
  9. describirá — The future table gives el = describirá.
  10. describiríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = describiríamos.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use describir in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo describo la casa con detalle.” — “I describe the house in detail.” Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

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

Learn the present yo form describo first, then the preterite yo form describí and the participle descrito. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund describiendo next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is describir reflexive?

No — describir is not reflexive. It takes a direct object, not a reflexive pronoun: yo describo la casa con detalle. 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 describir?

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

Related links