Desembarcar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of desembarcar — “to disembark” in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for desembarcar with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Desembarcar means to disembark, to get off a ship or a plane after a journey. It is the opposite of embarcar, and it is a spelling-change verb: c becomes qu before e. It is a spelling-change verb (c becomes qu before e), but the present tense itself is regular — the spelling change shows up in the subjunctive and the preterite. To see it in a real sentence: Desembarco en el puerto al amanecer. — “I disembark in the port at dawn.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of desembarcar will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: desembarcar
Every person of desembarcar in the present tense. The gerund is desembarcando and the past participle is desembarcado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | desembarco |
| tú | desembarcas |
| él/ella/Ud. | desembarca |
| nosotros/as | desembarcamos |
| vosotros/as | desembarcáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | desembarcan |
How the present indicative of desembarcar is formed
The present indicative of desembarcar is built from the stem plus the present indicative endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.
| Person | Ending | Form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | desembarco |
| tú | -as | desembarcas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | desembarca |
| nosotros/as | -amos | desembarcamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | desembarcáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | desembarcan |
Desembarcar is a spelling-change verb. In the present tense the forms are regular, so the table above follows the normal -ar endings. The spelling change appears when the ending starts with e: the present subjunctive is desembarque and the preterite first person is desembarqué. The sound stays the same; only the spelling changes to keep it.
The gerund of desembarcar is desembarcando and the past participle is desembarcado. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.
When to use the present tense of desembarcar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and desembarcar appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.
Routines and habits
Use the present for things you do regularly, every day or every week. The present is the tense of routine, and desembarcar fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo desembarco en el puerto al amanecer todos los días.” — “I disembark in the port at dawn every day.”
General facts
Use the present for facts that are true in general, not just today. When you state how something is, the present is the tense to use.
“Él desembarca del barco después del viaje.” — “He/she disembarks from the ship after the journey.”
What is happening right now
Use the present for what is happening at this moment. Spanish often uses the simple present where English uses the progressive, so desembarco can mean both “I disembark” and “I am disembarking”.
“Ahora mismo, yo desembarco en la isla con las maletas.” — “Right now, I disembark on the island with the suitcases.”
Fixed plans in the near future
Use the present for a plan that is already fixed, such as something arranged for tomorrow. Spanish uses the present for near-future plans much more freely than English does.
“Mañana, yo desembarco del avión en Madrid.” — “Tomorrow, I will disembark from the plane in Madrid.”
Questions and negatives
Use the present to ask about habits and to say what does not happen. The question and the negative use exactly the same forms as the statement.
“¿Tú desembarcas en el puerto al amanecer?” — “Do you disembark in the port at dawn?”
The present tense vs the closest tenses
Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion
The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.
- Present — habit or general fact: Desembarca del barco después del viaje. — “He/she disembarks from the ship after the journey.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Desembarcó del barco después del viaje. — the same idea, placed in the preterite.
Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add “used to” in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.
- Present — now: Desembarcan en la isla con las maletas. — “They disembark on the island with the suitcases.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Desembarcaban en la isla con las maletas. — the same idea, placed in the imperfect.
Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen
The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.
- Present — now or a fixed plan: Desembarcas del avión en Madrid. — “You disembark from the plane in Madrid.”
- Future — what will happen: Desembarcarás del avión en Madrid. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: desembarcar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show desembarcar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo desembarco en el puerto al amanecer. — “I disembark in the port at dawn.”
- Tú desembarcas del barco después del viaje. — “You disembark from the ship after the journey.”
- Él desembarca en la isla con las maletas. — “He disembarks on the island with the suitcases.”
- Nosotros desembarcamos del avión en Madrid. — “We disembark from the plane in Madrid.”
- Vosotros desembarcáis en el puerto al amanecer. — “You (plural) disembark in the port at dawn.”
- Ellos desembarcan del barco después del viaje. — “They disembark from the ship after the journey.”
- ¿Tú desembarcas en la isla con las maletas? — “Do you disembark on the island with the suitcases?”
Common mistakes with desembarcar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with desembarcar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo desembarcar en el puerto al amanecer. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo desembarco en el puerto al amanecer.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of desembarcar is desembarco, not the infinitive desembarcar.
✗ Vosotros desembarcais en el puerto al amanecer. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros desembarcáis en el puerto al amanecer.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: desembarcáis, not desembarcais. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo desembarco del barco después del viaje. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo desembarqué del barco después del viaje.
The present and the preterite are different tenses: desembarco is happening now, while desembarqué is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
✗ Treating desembarcar and bajar as identical in every context. (confusing desembarcar with bajar).
✓ Correct: Desembarcar means to disembark, while bajar means to get off, in general.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: desembarcar fits sentences such as Desembarco en el puerto al amanecer, while bajar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: desembarcar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of desembarcar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
1. Which is the correct present tense form of desembarcar for tú?
- a) desembarcas
- b) desembarco
- c) desembarca
- d) desembarcan
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ en el puerto al amanecer. — “I disembark in the port at dawn.”
- a) desembarca
- b) desembarcamos
- c) desembarcas
- d) desembarco
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ del barco después del viaje. — “He/she disembarks from the ship after the journey.” (present tense)
- a) desembarcaba
- b) desembarcará
- c) desembarca
- d) desembarcó
4. Which is the correct present tense form of desembarcar for nosotros?
- a) desembarcan
- b) desembarcamos
- c) desembarco
- d) desembarca
5. Which sentence uses desembarcar correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él desembarcó del barco después del viaje.
- b) Él desembarca del barco después del viaje.
- c) Él desembarcará del barco después del viaje.
- d) Ellos desembarca del barco después del viaje.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ en la isla con las maletas. — “They disembark on the island with the suitcases.”
- a) desembarco
- b) desembarca
- c) desembarcamos
- d) desembarcan
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ del avión en Madrid? — “Do you disembark from the plane in Madrid?”
- a) desembarca
- b) desembarcarás
- c) desembarcas
- d) desembarco
8. What is the gerund of desembarcar?
- a) desembarqué
- b) desembarcando
- c) desembarcado
- d) desembarco
Answer key
a) desembarcas — The tú form is desembarcas. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; desembarco is yo, desembarca is él/ella and desembarcan is ellos/ellas.
d) desembarco — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: desembarco. The other options are the wrong person.
c) desembarca — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: desembarca. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) desembarcamos — Nosotros takes desembarcamos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem.
b) Él desembarca del barco después del viaje. — Él desembarca del barco después del viaje. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) desembarcan — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is desembarcan.
c) desembarcas — The question needs the tú form in the present: desembarcas.
b) desembarcando — The gerund is desembarcando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle desembarcado.
Frequently asked questions
Is desembarcar regular in the present tense?
Yes. Desembarcar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: desembarco, desembarcas, desembarca, desembarcamos, desembarcáis and desembarcan.
What is the gerund and the past participle of desembarcar?
The gerund is desembarcando and the past participle is desembarcado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I disembark” in Spanish?
Say desembarco. For example: Desembarco en el puerto al amanecer. — “I disembark in the port at dawn.”
What is the difference between desembarcar and bajar?
Desembarcar means “to disembark”, while bajar means “to get off, in general”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use desembarcar when you mean “to disembark” and bajar when you mean “to get off, in general”. The full conjugation of desembarcar is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of desembarcar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- desembarcar examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Present tense guide — how the present tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.
- Complete list of Spanish irregular verbs — where this verb's pattern is listed.
- Aterrizar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with desembarcar.
- Enmarcar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with desembarcar.
- Barnizar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with desembarcar.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.