Introduction

desempeñar means “to carry out, to perform (a role)”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to carry out, to perform (a role)” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows desempeñar 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 desempeño un papel importante por la mañana.” — “I carry out an important role.”

desempeñar in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how desempeñar 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 desempeño un papel importante cada día.” — “I carry out an important role.”
  2. “Tú desempeñas un papel importante cada día.” — “you carry out an important role.”
  3. “Él desempeña un papel importante siempre.” — “He carries out an important role.”
  4. “Nosotros desempeñamos un papel importante todos los días.” — “We carry out an important role.”

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 desempeñé un papel importante ayer.” — “I carryed out an important role.” (preterite) 6. “Él desempeñó un papel importante ayer.” — “He carryed out an important role.” (preterite) 7. “Yo desempeñaba un papel importante cuando era joven.” — “I used to carry out an important role.” (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 desempeñaremos un papel importante mañana.” — “We will carry out an important role.” (future) 9. “Tú has desempeñado un papel importante hoy.” — “you have carryed out an important role.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo desempeñe un papel importante.” — “I hope that I carry out an important role.” (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 desempeñáis un papel importante cada semana.” — “You carry out an important role.” 12. “Ellos desempeñan un papel importante normalmente.” — “They carry out an important role.”

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

Dialogue in a café

Sofía: “¿Tú desempeñas un papel importante?” — Do you carry out an important role?

Diego: “Sí, yo desempeño un papel importante cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I carry out an important role every day. It is part of my routine.

Sofía: “¿Y ayer? ¿También desempeñas un papel importante?” — And yesterday? Did you carry out an important role too?

Diego: “Sí, ayer yo desempeñé un papel importante. Mañana nosotros desempeñaremos un papel importante otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I carryed out an important role. Tomorrow we will carry out an important role again.

A short paragraph

Él desempeña un papel importante cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how desempeñar 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 desempeño un papel importante — 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 desempeñar yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is desempeñé, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — desempeñe — 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 desempeñar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For desempeñar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: desempeñamos. 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 desempeñado un papel importante. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy desempeñado is not the present perfect of desempeñar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing desempeñar with descubrir

desempeñar 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 desempeñar — carry out — the sentence needs desempeñar; 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 desempeñe un papel importante. Using the indicative — Espero que yo desempeño — is one of the most frequent learner errors with desempeñar. 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 desempeñar in the present?

  • A. desempeñas
  • B. desempeña
  • C. desempeñamos
  • D. desempeño

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

  • A. desempeñamos
  • B. desempeñaste
  • C. desempeñé
  • D. desempeñó

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

  • A. desempeñabas
  • B. desempeñábamos
  • C. desempeñabais
  • D. desempeñaba

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

  • A. desempeñará
  • B. desempeñaremos
  • C. desempeñaré
  • D. desempeñarás

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

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

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

  • A. desempeñe
  • B. desempeñen
  • C. desempeñe
  • D. desempeñes

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

  • A. desempeñaste
  • B. desempeñó
  • C. desempeñamos
  • D. desempeñé

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

  • A. desempeñábamos
  • B. desempeñabas
  • C. desempeñaba
  • D. desempeñaba

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

  • A. desempeñaré
  • B. desempeñarás
  • C. desempeñaremos
  • D. desempeñará

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

  • A. desempeñaría
  • B. desempeñaríamos
  • C. desempeñaría
  • D. desempeñarías

Answer key

  1. desempeño — The present table gives yo = desempeño.
  2. desempeñaste — The preterite table gives tu = desempeñaste.
  3. desempeñaba — The imperfect table gives el = desempeñaba.
  4. desempeñaremos — The future table gives nosotros = desempeñaremos.
  5. habéis desempeñado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis desempeñado.
  6. desempeñen — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = desempeñen.
  7. desempeñé — The preterite table gives yo = desempeñé.
  8. desempeñabas — The imperfect table gives tu = desempeñabas.
  9. desempeñará — The future table gives el = desempeñará.
  10. desempeñaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = desempeñaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use desempeñar in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo desempeño un papel importante.” — “I carry out an important role.” Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

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

Learn the present yo form desempeño first, then the preterite yo form desempeñé and the participle desempeñado. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund desempeñando next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is desempeñar reflexive?

No — desempeñar is not reflexive. It takes a direct object, not a reflexive pronoun: yo desempeño un papel importante. 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 desempeñar?

On the main conjugation page for desempeñar, 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