Introduction

describir means “to describe” in English, and it is a verb you will meet again and again once you start reading and speaking Spanish. It is used whenever you need to talk about the house in detail — at home, at work, and in everyday conversation — which makes it a practical verb to learn early and to use confidently. This page gives you the complete conjugation of describir in every tense and mood, with all six persons, plus the gerund and the past participle, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. Every form below comes from VerbFlow's verified conjugation tables, so you can trust the accents and the irregular forms. describir is a irregular -ir verb, and the notes under each tense explain exactly where it follows the rules and where it breaks them. To hear it in a real sentence: “Yo describo la casa con detalle todos los días.” — “I describe the house in detail.” Work through the tables, read the notes, then test yourself with the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts
Infinitive describir
English to describe
Verb type Irregular -ir verb
Gerund describiendo
Past participle descrito
Auxiliary verb haber

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: describiendo · Past participle: descrito

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo describo
tú describes
él/ella/Ud. describe
nosotros/as describimos
vosotros/as describís
ellos/ellas/Uds. describen

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For describir, the yo form is describo, as in “Yo describo la casa con detalle.” — “I describe the house in detail.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo describí
tú describiste
él/ella/Ud. describió
nosotros/as describimos
vosotros/as describisteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. describieron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For describir, the yo form is describí, as in “Yo describí la casa con detalle.” — “I described the house in detail.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo describía
tú describías
él/ella/Ud. describía
nosotros/as describíamos
vosotros/as describíais
ellos/ellas/Uds. describían

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For describir, the yo form is describía, as in “Yo describía la casa con detalle.” — “I used to describe the house in detail.”

Future

Person Form
yo describiré
tú describirás
él/ella/Ud. describirá
nosotros/as describiremos
vosotros/as describiréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. describirán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For describir, the yo form is describiré, as in “Yo describiré la casa con detalle.” — “I will describe the house in detail.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo describiría
tú describirías
él/ella/Ud. describiría
nosotros/as describiríamos
vosotros/as describiríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. describirían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For describir, the yo form is describiría, as in “Yo describiría la casa con detalle.” — “I would describe the house in detail.”

Present Perfect

Person Form
yo he descrito
tú has descrito
él/ella/Ud. ha descrito
nosotros/as hemos descrito
vosotros/as habéis descrito
ellos/ellas/Uds. han descrito

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For describir, the yo form is he descrito, as in “Yo he descrito la casa con detalle.” — “I have described the house in detail.” Watch out: the past participle of describir is irregular — descrito, not the regular form — and that irregular participle appears in every perfect tense.

Pluperfect

Person Form
yo había descrito
tú habías descrito
él/ella/Ud. había descrito
nosotros/as habíamos descrito
vosotros/as habíais descrito
ellos/ellas/Uds. habían descrito

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For describir, the yo form is había descrito, as in “Yo había descrito la casa con detalle.” — “I had described the house in detail.” Watch out: the past participle of describir is irregular — descrito, not the regular form — and that irregular participle appears in every perfect tense.

Future Perfect

Person Form
yo habré descrito
tú habrás descrito
él/ella/Ud. habrá descrito
nosotros/as habremos descrito
vosotros/as habréis descrito
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán descrito

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For describir, the yo form is habré descrito, as in “Yo habré descrito la casa con detalle.” — “I will have described the house in detail.” Watch out: the past participle of describir is irregular — descrito, not the regular form — and that irregular participle appears in every perfect tense.

Conditional Perfect

Person Form
yo habría descrito
tú habrías descrito
él/ella/Ud. habría descrito
nosotros/as habríamos descrito
vosotros/as habríais descrito
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrían descrito

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For describir, the yo form is habría descrito, as in “Yo habría descrito la casa con detalle.” — “I would have described the house in detail.” Watch out: the past participle of describir is irregular — descrito, not the regular form — and that irregular participle appears in every perfect tense.

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo describa
tú describas
él/ella/Ud. describa
nosotros/as describamos
vosotros/as describáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. describan

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For describir, the yo form is describa, as in “Espero que yo describa la casa con detalle.” — “I hope that I describe the house in detail.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo describiera
tú describieras
él/ella/Ud. describiera
nosotros/as describiéramos
vosotros/as describierais
ellos/ellas/Uds. describieran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For describir, the yo form is describiera, as in “Si yo describiera la casa con detalle, ...” — “If I described the house in detail, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: describiera becomes describiese, and the same change applies to every person. Both variants mean the same thing; -ra is more common in everyday speech.

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú describe
Ud. describa
nosotros/as describamos
vosotros/as describid
Uds. describan

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú describas
Ud. describa
nosotros/as describamos
vosotros/as describáis
Uds. describan

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is describe, as in “¡Describe la casa con detalle” — “Describe the house in detail” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no describas. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with describir.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with describir, covering different tenses and persons. Read each one out loud, then read the translation, and notice how the verb form changes while the meaning stays the same.

  1. “Yo describo la casa con detalle cada día.” — “I describe the house in detail.”
  2. “Él describe la casa con detalle todos los días.” — “He describes the house in detail.”
  3. “Yo describí la casa con detalle ayer.” — “I described the house in detail.”
  4. “Él describió la casa con detalle ayer.” — “He described the house in detail.”
  5. “Yo describía la casa con detalle cuando era joven.” — “I used to describe the house in detail.”
  6. “Nosotros describiremos la casa con detalle mañana.” — “We will describe the house in detail.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo describiría la casa con detalle.” — “If I could, i would describe the house in detail.”
  8. “Yo he descrito la casa con detalle hoy.” — “I have described the house in detail.”
  9. “Espero que yo describa la casa con detalle.” — “I hope that I describe the house in detail.”
  10. “estoy describiendo la casa con detalle ahora mismo.” — “I am describing the house in detail.”

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.

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo describa la casa con detalle. Using the indicative — Espero que yo describo — is one of the most frequent learner errors with describir. 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 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

Is describir regular or irregular?

describir is a irregular -ir verb. It is irregular in these tenses: past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect, future-perfect, conditional-perfect. The tables on this page show the correct form for every person, so use them rather than guessing.

What is the past participle of describir?

The past participle of describir is descrito. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he descrito, había descrito, habré descrito — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. Note that it is irregular: do not write the regular form. Learn it together with the gerund describiendo and you have the two non-finite forms covered.

What is the gerund of describir?

The gerund of describir is describiendo. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy describiendo, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle descrito, which belongs with haber, not with estar.

What is the yo form of describir in the present?

The yo form is describo — “Yo describo la casa con detalle.” means “I describe the house in detail.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú describes, él describe, nosotros describimos, ellos describen.

What is the difference between describir and descubrir?

describir means “to describe”, while descubrir means “to discover”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to describe”, use describir; if it is about the meaning of descubrir, use descubrir instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.

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