Introduction

desechar means “to discard, to throw away”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to discard, to throw away” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows desechar 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 desecho los papeles viejos por la mañana.” — “I discard the old papers.”

desechar in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how desechar 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 desecho los papeles viejos cada día.” — “I discard the old papers.”
  2. “Tú desechas los papeles viejos cada día.” — “you discard the old papers.”
  3. “Él desecha los papeles viejos siempre.” — “He discards the old papers.”
  4. “Nosotros desechamos los papeles viejos todos los días.” — “We discard the old papers.”

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 deseché los papeles viejos ayer.” — “I discarded the old papers.” (preterite) 6. “Él desechó los papeles viejos ayer.” — “He discarded the old papers.” (preterite) 7. “Yo desechaba los papeles viejos cuando era joven.” — “I used to discard the old papers.” (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 desecharemos los papeles viejos mañana.” — “We will discard the old papers.” (future) 9. “Tú has desechado los papeles viejos hoy.” — “you have discarded the old papers.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo deseche los papeles viejos.” — “I hope that I discard the old papers.” (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 desecháis los papeles viejos cada semana.” — “You discard the old papers.” 12. “Ellos desechan los papeles viejos normalmente.” — “They discard the old papers.”

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

Dialogue at home in the evening

Ana: “¿Tú desechas los papeles viejos?” — Do you discard the old papers?

Luis: “Sí, yo desecho los papeles viejos cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I discard the old papers every day. It is part of my routine.

Ana: “¿Y ayer? ¿También desechas los papeles viejos?” — And yesterday? Did you discard the old papers too?

Luis: “Sí, ayer yo deseché los papeles viejos. Mañana nosotros desecharemos los papeles viejos otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I discarded the old papers. Tomorrow we will discard the old papers again.

A short paragraph

Él desecha los papeles viejos cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how desechar 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 desecho los papeles viejos — 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 desechar yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is deseché, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — deseche — 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 desechar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For desechar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: desechamos. 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 desechado los papeles viejos. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy desechado is not the present perfect of desechar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing desechar with descubrir

desechar 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 desechar — discard — the sentence needs desechar; 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 deseche los papeles viejos. Using the indicative — Espero que yo desecho — is one of the most frequent learner errors with desechar. 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 desechar in the present?

  • A. desechas
  • B. desecha
  • C. desechamos
  • D. desecho

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

  • A. desechamos
  • B. desechaste
  • C. deseché
  • D. desechó

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

  • A. desechabas
  • B. desechábamos
  • C. desechabais
  • D. desechaba

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

  • A. desechará
  • B. desecharemos
  • C. desecharé
  • D. desecharás

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

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

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

  • A. deseche
  • B. desechen
  • C. deseche
  • D. deseches

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

  • A. desechaste
  • B. desechó
  • C. desechamos
  • D. deseché

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

  • A. desechábamos
  • B. desechabas
  • C. desechaba
  • D. desechaba

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

  • A. desecharé
  • B. desecharás
  • C. desecharemos
  • D. desechará

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

  • A. desecharía
  • B. desecharíamos
  • C. desecharía
  • D. desecharías

Answer key

  1. desecho — The present table gives yo = desecho.
  2. desechaste — The preterite table gives tu = desechaste.
  3. desechaba — The imperfect table gives el = desechaba.
  4. desecharemos — The future table gives nosotros = desecharemos.
  5. habéis desechado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis desechado.
  6. desechen — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = desechen.
  7. deseché — The preterite table gives yo = deseché.
  8. desechabas — The imperfect table gives tu = desechabas.
  9. desechará — The future table gives el = desechará.
  10. desecharíamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = desecharíamos.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use desechar in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo desecho los papeles viejos.” — “I discard the old papers.” Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

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

Learn the present yo form desecho first, then the preterite yo form deseché and the participle desechado. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund desechando next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is desechar reflexive?

No — desechar is not reflexive. It takes a direct object, not a reflexive pronoun: yo desecho los papeles viejos. 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 desechar?

On the main conjugation page for desechar, 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