Introduction
Learning to conjugate descubrir — “to discover” — opens up a whole set of sentences you will use in real Spanish. Whether you are talking about what you do every day, what happened yesterday, or what you plan to do tomorrow, descubrir is one of the verbs that carries those sentences, especially when the topic is a new place. On this page you will find the full conjugation of descubrir in all thirteen tenses, notes on when to use each one, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. descubrir is a irregular -ir verb; the gerund is descubriendo and the past participle is descubierto, and both appear in the tables and examples below. For example: “Yo descubro un lugar nuevo todos los días.” — “I discover a new place.” Read the tables first, then the notes, and finish with the quiz to check what you have learned.
Quick facts
| Infinitive | descubrir |
| English | to discover |
| Verb type | Irregular -ir verb |
| Gerund | descubriendo |
| Past participle | descubierto |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
Gerund: descubriendo · Past participle: descubierto
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | descubro |
| tú | descubres |
| él/ella/Ud. | descubre |
| nosotros/as | descubrimos |
| vosotros/as | descubrís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | descubren |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For descubrir, the yo form is descubro, as in “Yo descubro un lugar nuevo.” — “I discover a new place.”
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | descubrí |
| tú | descubriste |
| él/ella/Ud. | descubrió |
| nosotros/as | descubrimos |
| vosotros/as | descubristeis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | descubrieron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For descubrir, the yo form is descubrí, as in “Yo descubrí un lugar nuevo.” — “I discovered a new place.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | descubría |
| tú | descubrías |
| él/ella/Ud. | descubría |
| nosotros/as | descubríamos |
| vosotros/as | descubríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | descubrían |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For descubrir, the yo form is descubría, as in “Yo descubría un lugar nuevo.” — “I used to discover a new place.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | descubriré |
| tú | descubrirás |
| él/ella/Ud. | descubrirá |
| nosotros/as | descubriremos |
| vosotros/as | descubriréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | descubrirán |
The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For descubrir, the yo form is descubriré, as in “Yo descubriré un lugar nuevo.” — “I will discover a new place.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | descubriría |
| tú | descubrirías |
| él/ella/Ud. | descubriría |
| nosotros/as | descubriríamos |
| vosotros/as | descubriríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | descubrirían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For descubrir, the yo form is descubriría, as in “Yo descubriría un lugar nuevo.” — “I would discover a new place.”
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he descubierto |
| tú | has descubierto |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha descubierto |
| nosotros/as | hemos descubierto |
| vosotros/as | habéis descubierto |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han descubierto |
The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For descubrir, the yo form is he descubierto, as in “Yo he descubierto un lugar nuevo.” — “I have discovered a new place.” Watch out: the past participle of descubrir is irregular — descubierto, not the regular form — and that irregular participle appears in every perfect tense.
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había descubierto |
| tú | habías descubierto |
| él/ella/Ud. | había descubierto |
| nosotros/as | habíamos descubierto |
| vosotros/as | habíais descubierto |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían descubierto |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For descubrir, the yo form is había descubierto, as in “Yo había descubierto un lugar nuevo.” — “I had discovered a new place.” Watch out: the past participle of descubrir is irregular — descubierto, not the regular form — and that irregular participle appears in every perfect tense.
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré descubierto |
| tú | habrás descubierto |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá descubierto |
| nosotros/as | habremos descubierto |
| vosotros/as | habréis descubierto |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán descubierto |
The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For descubrir, the yo form is habré descubierto, as in “Yo habré descubierto un lugar nuevo.” — “I will have discovered a new place.” Watch out: the past participle of descubrir is irregular — descubierto, not the regular form — and that irregular participle appears in every perfect tense.
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría descubierto |
| tú | habrías descubierto |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría descubierto |
| nosotros/as | habríamos descubierto |
| vosotros/as | habríais descubierto |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían descubierto |
The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For descubrir, the yo form is habría descubierto, as in “Yo habría descubierto un lugar nuevo.” — “I would have discovered a new place.” Watch out: the past participle of descubrir is irregular — descubierto, not the regular form — and that irregular participle appears in every perfect tense.
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | descubra |
| tú | descubras |
| él/ella/Ud. | descubra |
| nosotros/as | descubramos |
| vosotros/as | descubráis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | descubran |
The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For descubrir, the yo form is descubra, as in “Espero que yo descubra un lugar nuevo.” — “I hope that I discover a new place.”
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | descubriera |
| tú | descubrieras |
| él/ella/Ud. | descubriera |
| nosotros/as | descubriéramos |
| vosotros/as | descubrierais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | descubrieran |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For descubrir, the yo form is descubriera, as in “Si yo descubriera un lugar nuevo, ...” — “If I discovered a new place, ...”
The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: descubriera becomes descubriese, 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 | descubre |
| Ud. | descubra |
| nosotros/as | descubramos |
| vosotros/as | descubrid |
| Uds. | descubran |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | descubras |
| Ud. | descubra |
| nosotros/as | descubramos |
| vosotros/as | descubráis |
| Uds. | descubran |
The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is descubre, as in “¡Descubre un lugar nuevo” — “Discover a new place” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no descubras. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with descubrir.
Example sentences
Here are ten sentences with descubrir, 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.
- “Yo descubro un lugar nuevo cada día.” — “I discover a new place.”
- “Él descubre un lugar nuevo todos los días.” — “He discovers a new place.”
- “Yo descubrí un lugar nuevo ayer.” — “I discovered a new place.”
- “Él descubrió un lugar nuevo ayer.” — “He discovered a new place.”
- “Yo descubría un lugar nuevo cuando era joven.” — “I used to discover a new place.”
- “Nosotros descubriremos un lugar nuevo mañana.” — “We will discover a new place.”
- “Si pudiera, yo descubriría un lugar nuevo.” — “If I could, i would discover a new place.”
- “Yo he descubierto un lugar nuevo hoy.” — “I have discovered a new place.”
- “Espero que yo descubra un lugar nuevo.” — “I hope that I discover a new place.”
- “estoy descubriendo un lugar nuevo ahora mismo.” — “I am discovering a new place.”
Common mistakes
Guessing the past participle
A common error is writing descubrido as the past participle of descubrir. The correct participle is descubierto. That matters in every perfect tense: it is he descubierto, había descubierto, habré descubierto. 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 descubrí, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — descubri — 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 descubrir.
Mixing up present and preterite nosotros
For descubrir, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: descubrimos. 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 descubierto un lugar nuevo. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy descubierto is not the present perfect of descubrir — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.
Confusing descubrir with desarrollar
descubrir and desarrollar 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 descubrir — discover — the sentence needs descubrir; if it needs the meaning of desarrollar, use that verb instead.
Using the indicative after "espero que"
After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo descubra un lugar nuevo. Using the indicative — Espero que yo descubro — is one of the most frequent learner errors with descubrir. 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 descubrir in the present?
- A. descubres
- B. descubre
- C. descubrimos
- D. descubro
2. What is the tu form of descubrir in the preterite?
- A. descubrimos
- B. descubriste
- C. descubrí
- D. descubrió
3. What is the el form of descubrir in the imperfect?
- A. descubrías
- B. descubríamos
- C. descubríais
- D. descubría
4. What is the nosotros form of descubrir in the future?
- A. descubrirá
- B. descubriremos
- C. descubriré
- D. descubrirás
5. What is the vosotros form of descubrir in the present perfect?
- A. he descubierto
- B. has descubierto
- C. ha descubierto
- D. habéis descubierto
6. What is the ellos form of descubrir in the present subjunctive?
- A. descubra
- B. descubran
- C. descubra
- D. descubras
7. What is the yo form of descubrir in the preterite?
- A. descubriste
- B. descubrió
- C. descubrimos
- D. descubrí
8. What is the tu form of descubrir in the imperfect?
- A. descubríamos
- B. descubrías
- C. descubría
- D. descubría
9. What is the el form of descubrir in the future?
- A. descubriré
- B. descubrirás
- C. descubriremos
- D. descubrirá
10. What is the nosotros form of descubrir in the conditional?
- A. descubriría
- B. descubriríamos
- C. descubriría
- D. descubrirías
Answer key
- descubro — The present table gives yo = descubro.
- descubriste — The preterite table gives tu = descubriste.
- descubría — The imperfect table gives el = descubría.
- descubriremos — The future table gives nosotros = descubriremos.
- habéis descubierto — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis descubierto.
- descubran — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = descubran.
- descubrí — The preterite table gives yo = descubrí.
- descubrías — The imperfect table gives tu = descubrías.
- descubrirá — The future table gives el = descubrirá.
- descubriríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = descubriríamos.
Frequently asked questions
Is descubrir regular or irregular?
descubrir 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 descubrir?
The past participle of descubrir is descubierto. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he descubierto, había descubierto, habré descubierto — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. Note that it is irregular: do not write the regular form. Learn it together with the gerund descubriendo and you have the two non-finite forms covered.
What is the gerund of descubrir?
The gerund of descubrir is descubriendo. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy descubriendo, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle descubierto, which belongs with haber, not with estar.
What is the yo form of descubrir in the present?
The yo form is descubro — “Yo descubro un lugar nuevo.” means “I discover a new place.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú descubres, él descubre, nosotros descubrimos, ellos descubren.
What is the difference between descubrir and desarrollar?
descubrir means “to discover”, while desarrollar means “to develop”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to discover”, use descubrir; if it is about the meaning of desarrollar, use desarrollar instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.
Related links
- descubrir in the preterite tense — the full preterite-tense page for this verb.
- descubrir examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a second quiz.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub with every verb on VerbFlow.
- Spanish irregular verbs — the full list of irregular verbs, grouped by pattern.
- desarrollar conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- describir conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- desempenar conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- Verb conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb instantly.
- Verb quiz — practise conjugations with timed questions.