Introduction
desechar means “to discard, to throw away”. It belongs to the group of Spanish verbs that express “to discard, to throw away”, and once you can conjugate it you can say a surprising amount with a single verb. This page is the complete reference for desechar: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, with notes on usage, real example sentences, common mistakes, a quiz and frequently asked questions. desechar is a regular -ar verb. If it is irregular in a tense, the note under that table says so plainly, and the forms in the table are the correct ones — copy them, do not guess them from the infinitive. A first example to fix the verb in your mind: “Yo desecho los papeles viejos todos los días.” — “I discard the old papers.”
Quick facts
| Infinitive | desechar |
| English | to discard, to throw away |
| Verb type | Regular -ar verb |
| Gerund | desechando |
| Past participle | desechado |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
Gerund: desechando · Past participle: desechado
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | desecho |
| tú | desechas |
| él/ella/Ud. | desecha |
| nosotros/as | desechamos |
| vosotros/as | desecháis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | desechan |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For desechar, the yo form is desecho, as in “Yo desecho los papeles viejos.” — “I discard the old papers.”
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | deseché |
| tú | desechaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | desechó |
| nosotros/as | desechamos |
| vosotros/as | desechasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | desecharon |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For desechar, the yo form is deseché, as in “Yo deseché los papeles viejos.” — “I discarded the old papers.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | desechaba |
| tú | desechabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | desechaba |
| nosotros/as | desechábamos |
| vosotros/as | desechabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | desechaban |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For desechar, the yo form is desechaba, as in “Yo desechaba los papeles viejos.” — “I used to discard the old papers.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | desecharé |
| tú | desecharás |
| él/ella/Ud. | desechará |
| nosotros/as | desecharemos |
| vosotros/as | desecharéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | desecharán |
The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For desechar, the yo form is desecharé, as in “Yo desecharé los papeles viejos.” — “I will discard the old papers.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | desecharía |
| tú | desecharías |
| él/ella/Ud. | desecharía |
| nosotros/as | desecharíamos |
| vosotros/as | desecharíais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | desecharían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For desechar, the yo form is desecharía, as in “Yo desecharía los papeles viejos.” — “I would discard the old papers.”
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he desechado |
| tú | has desechado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha desechado |
| nosotros/as | hemos desechado |
| vosotros/as | habéis desechado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han desechado |
The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For desechar, the yo form is he desechado, as in “Yo he desechado los papeles viejos.” — “I have discarded the old papers.”
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había desechado |
| tú | habías desechado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había desechado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos desechado |
| vosotros/as | habíais desechado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían desechado |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For desechar, the yo form is había desechado, as in “Yo había desechado los papeles viejos.” — “I had discarded the old papers.”
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré desechado |
| tú | habrás desechado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá desechado |
| nosotros/as | habremos desechado |
| vosotros/as | habréis desechado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán desechado |
The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For desechar, the yo form is habré desechado, as in “Yo habré desechado los papeles viejos.” — “I will have discarded the old papers.”
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría desechado |
| tú | habrías desechado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría desechado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos desechado |
| vosotros/as | habríais desechado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían desechado |
The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For desechar, the yo form is habría desechado, as in “Yo habría desechado los papeles viejos.” — “I would have discarded the old papers.”
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | deseche |
| tú | deseches |
| él/ella/Ud. | deseche |
| nosotros/as | desechemos |
| vosotros/as | desechéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | desechen |
The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For desechar, the yo form is deseche, as in “Espero que yo deseche los papeles viejos.” — “I hope that I discard the old papers.”
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | desechara |
| tú | desecharas |
| él/ella/Ud. | desechara |
| nosotros/as | desecháramos |
| vosotros/as | desecharais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | desecharan |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For desechar, the yo form is desechara, as in “Si yo desechara los papeles viejos, ...” — “If I discarded the old papers, ...”
The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: desechara becomes desechase, 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 | desecha |
| Ud. | deseche |
| nosotros/as | desechemos |
| vosotros/as | desechad |
| Uds. | desechen |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | deseches |
| Ud. | deseche |
| nosotros/as | desechemos |
| vosotros/as | desechéis |
| Uds. | desechen |
The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is desecha, as in “¡Desecha los papeles viejos” — “Discard the old papers” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no deseches. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with desechar.
Example sentences
Here are ten sentences with desechar, 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 desecho los papeles viejos cada día.” — “I discard the old papers.”
- “Él desecha los papeles viejos todos los días.” — “He discards the old papers.”
- “Yo deseché los papeles viejos ayer.” — “I discarded the old papers.”
- “Él desechó los papeles viejos ayer.” — “He discarded the old papers.”
- “Yo desechaba los papeles viejos cuando era joven.” — “I used to discard the old papers.”
- “Nosotros desecharemos los papeles viejos mañana.” — “We will discard the old papers.”
- “Si pudiera, yo desecharía los papeles viejos.” — “If I could, i would discard the old papers.”
- “Yo he desechado los papeles viejos hoy.” — “I have discarded the old papers.”
- “Espero que yo deseche los papeles viejos.” — “I hope that I discard the old papers.”
- “estoy desechando los papeles viejos ahora mismo.” — “I am discarding the old papers.”
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
- desecho — The present table gives yo = desecho.
- desechaste — The preterite table gives tu = desechaste.
- desechaba — The imperfect table gives el = desechaba.
- desecharemos — The future table gives nosotros = desecharemos.
- habéis desechado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis desechado.
- desechen — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = desechen.
- deseché — The preterite table gives yo = deseché.
- desechabas — The imperfect table gives tu = desechabas.
- desechará — The future table gives el = desechará.
- desecharíamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = desecharíamos.
Frequently asked questions
Is desechar regular or irregular?
desechar 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 desechar?
The past participle of desechar is desechado. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he desechado, había desechado, habré desechado — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund desechando and you have the two non-finite forms covered.
What is the gerund of desechar?
The gerund of desechar is desechando. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy desechando, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle desechado, which belongs with haber, not with estar.
What is the yo form of desechar in the present?
The yo form is desecho — “Yo desecho los papeles viejos.” means “I discard the old papers.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú desechas, él desecha, nosotros desechamos, ellos desechan.
What is the difference between desechar and descubrir?
desechar means “to discard, to throw away”, while descubrir means “to discover”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to discard, to throw away”, use desechar; if it is about the meaning of descubrir, use descubrir instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.
Related links
- desechar in the present tense — the full present-tense page for this verb.
- desechar examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a second quiz.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub with every verb on VerbFlow.
- descubrir conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- desarrollar conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- describir conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- Verb conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb instantly.
- Verb quiz — practise conjugations with timed questions.