Introduction

desdeñar means “to disdain” 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 offer — 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 desdeñar 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. desdeñar is a regular -ar 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 desdeño la oferta todos los días.” — “I disdain the offer.” Work through the tables, read the notes, then test yourself with the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts
Infinitive desdeñar
English to disdain
Verb type Regular -ar verb
Gerund desdeñando
Past participle desdeñado
Auxiliary verb haber

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: desdeñando · Past participle: desdeñado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo desdeño
tú desdeñas
él/ella/Ud. desdeña
nosotros/as desdeñamos
vosotros/as desdeñáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. desdeñan

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For desdeñar, the yo form is desdeño, as in “Yo desdeño la oferta.” — “I disdain the offer.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo desdeñé
tú desdeñaste
él/ella/Ud. desdeñó
nosotros/as desdeñamos
vosotros/as desdeñasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. desdeñaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For desdeñar, the yo form is desdeñé, as in “Yo desdeñé la oferta.” — “I disdained the offer.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo desdeñaba
tú desdeñabas
él/ella/Ud. desdeñaba
nosotros/as desdeñábamos
vosotros/as desdeñabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. desdeñaban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For desdeñar, the yo form is desdeñaba, as in “Yo desdeñaba la oferta.” — “I used to disdain the offer.”

Future

Person Form
yo desdeñaré
tú desdeñarás
él/ella/Ud. desdeñará
nosotros/as desdeñaremos
vosotros/as desdeñaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. desdeñarán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For desdeñar, the yo form is desdeñaré, as in “Yo desdeñaré la oferta.” — “I will disdain the offer.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo desdeñaría
tú desdeñarías
él/ella/Ud. desdeñaría
nosotros/as desdeñaríamos
vosotros/as desdeñaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. desdeñarían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For desdeñar, the yo form is desdeñaría, as in “Yo desdeñaría la oferta.” — “I would disdain the offer.”

Present Perfect

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

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For desdeñar, the yo form is he desdeñado, as in “Yo he desdeñado la oferta.” — “I have disdained the offer.”

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For desdeñar, the yo form is había desdeñado, as in “Yo había desdeñado la oferta.” — “I had disdained the offer.”

Future Perfect

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

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For desdeñar, the yo form is habré desdeñado, as in “Yo habré desdeñado la oferta.” — “I will have disdained the offer.”

Conditional Perfect

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

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For desdeñar, the yo form is habría desdeñado, as in “Yo habría desdeñado la oferta.” — “I would have disdained the offer.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo desdeñe
tú desdeñes
él/ella/Ud. desdeñe
nosotros/as desdeñemos
vosotros/as desdeñéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. desdeñen

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For desdeñar, the yo form is desdeñe, as in “Espero que yo desdeñe la oferta.” — “I hope that I disdain the offer.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo desdeñara
tú desdeñaras
él/ella/Ud. desdeñara
nosotros/as desdeñáramos
vosotros/as desdeñarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. desdeñaran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For desdeñar, the yo form is desdeñara, as in “Si yo desdeñara la oferta, ...” — “If I disdained the offer, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: desdeñara becomes desdeñase, 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 desdeña
Ud. desdeñe
nosotros/as desdeñemos
vosotros/as desdeñad
Uds. desdeñen

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú desdeñes
Ud. desdeñe
nosotros/as desdeñemos
vosotros/as desdeñéis
Uds. desdeñen

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is desdeña, as in “¡Desdeña la oferta” — “Disdain the offer” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no desdeñes. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with desdeñar.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with desdeñar, 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 desdeño la oferta cada día.” — “I disdain the offer.”
  2. “Él desdeña la oferta todos los días.” — “He disdains the offer.”
  3. “Yo desdeñé la oferta ayer.” — “I disdained the offer.”
  4. “Él desdeñó la oferta ayer.” — “He disdained the offer.”
  5. “Yo desdeñaba la oferta cuando era joven.” — “I used to disdain the offer.”
  6. “Nosotros desdeñaremos la oferta mañana.” — “We will disdain the offer.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo desdeñaría la oferta.” — “If I could, i would disdain the offer.”
  8. “Yo he desdeñado la oferta hoy.” — “I have disdained the offer.”
  9. “Espero que yo desdeñe la oferta.” — “I hope that I disdain the offer.”
  10. “estoy desdeñando la oferta ahora mismo.” — “I am disdaining the offer.”

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is desdeñé, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — desdeñe — 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 desdeñar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For desdeñar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: desdeñamos. 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 desdeñado la oferta. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy desdeñado is not the present perfect of desdeñar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing desdeñar with descubrir

desdeñar 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 desdeñar — disdain — the sentence needs desdeñar; 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 desdeñe la oferta. Using the indicative — Espero que yo desdeño — is one of the most frequent learner errors with desdeñar. 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 desdeñar in the present?

  • A. desdeñas
  • B. desdeña
  • C. desdeñamos
  • D. desdeño

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

  • A. desdeñamos
  • B. desdeñaste
  • C. desdeñé
  • D. desdeñó

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

  • A. desdeñabas
  • B. desdeñábamos
  • C. desdeñabais
  • D. desdeñaba

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

  • A. desdeñará
  • B. desdeñaremos
  • C. desdeñaré
  • D. desdeñarás

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

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

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

  • A. desdeñe
  • B. desdeñen
  • C. desdeñe
  • D. desdeñes

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

  • A. desdeñaste
  • B. desdeñó
  • C. desdeñamos
  • D. desdeñé

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

  • A. desdeñábamos
  • B. desdeñabas
  • C. desdeñaba
  • D. desdeñaba

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

  • A. desdeñaré
  • B. desdeñarás
  • C. desdeñaremos
  • D. desdeñará

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

  • A. desdeñaría
  • B. desdeñaríamos
  • C. desdeñaría
  • D. desdeñarías

Answer key

  1. desdeño — The present table gives yo = desdeño.
  2. desdeñaste — The preterite table gives tu = desdeñaste.
  3. desdeñaba — The imperfect table gives el = desdeñaba.
  4. desdeñaremos — The future table gives nosotros = desdeñaremos.
  5. habéis desdeñado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis desdeñado.
  6. desdeñen — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = desdeñen.
  7. desdeñé — The preterite table gives yo = desdeñé.
  8. desdeñabas — The imperfect table gives tu = desdeñabas.
  9. desdeñará — The future table gives el = desdeñará.
  10. desdeñaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = desdeñaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

Is desdeñar regular or irregular?

desdeñar is a regular -ar verb. It follows the regular patterns for its ending in every tense. The tables on this page show the correct form for every person, so use them rather than guessing.

What is the past participle of desdeñar?

The past participle of desdeñar is desdeñado. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he desdeñado, había desdeñado, habré desdeñado — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund desdeñando and you have the two non-finite forms covered.

What is the gerund of desdeñar?

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

What is the yo form of desdeñar in the present?

The yo form is desdeño — “Yo desdeño la oferta.” means “I disdain the offer.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú desdeñas, él desdeña, nosotros desdeñamos, ellos desdeñan.

What is the difference between desdeñar and descubrir?

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

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