Introduction
Learning to conjugate desempeñar — “to carry out, to perform (a role)” — opens up a whole set of sentences you will use in real Spanish. Whether you are talking about what you do every day, what happened yesterday, or what you plan to do tomorrow, desempeñar is one of the verbs that carries those sentences, especially when the topic is an important role. On this page you will find the full conjugation of desempeñar in all thirteen tenses, notes on when to use each one, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. desempeñar is a regular -ar verb; the gerund is desempeñando and the past participle is desempeñado, and both appear in the tables and examples below. For example: “Yo desempeño un papel importante todos los días.” — “I carry out an important role.” Read the tables first, then the notes, and finish with the quiz to check what you have learned.
Quick facts
| Infinitive | desempeñar |
| English | to carry out, to perform (a role) |
| Verb type | Regular -ar verb |
| Gerund | desempeñando |
| Past participle | desempeñado |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
Gerund: desempeñando · Past participle: desempeñado
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | desempeño |
| tú | desempeñas |
| él/ella/Ud. | desempeña |
| nosotros/as | desempeñamos |
| vosotros/as | desempeñáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | desempeñan |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For desempeñar, the yo form is desempeño, as in “Yo desempeño un papel importante.” — “I carry out an important role.”
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | desempeñé |
| tú | desempeñaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | desempeñó |
| nosotros/as | desempeñamos |
| vosotros/as | desempeñasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | desempeñaron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For desempeñar, the yo form is desempeñé, as in “Yo desempeñé un papel importante.” — “I carryed out an important role.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | desempeñaba |
| tú | desempeñabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | desempeñaba |
| nosotros/as | desempeñábamos |
| vosotros/as | desempeñabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | desempeñaban |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For desempeñar, the yo form is desempeñaba, as in “Yo desempeñaba un papel importante.” — “I used to carry out an important role.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | desempeñaré |
| tú | desempeñarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | desempeñará |
| nosotros/as | desempeñaremos |
| vosotros/as | desempeñaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | desempeñarán |
The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For desempeñar, the yo form is desempeñaré, as in “Yo desempeñaré un papel importante.” — “I will carry out an important role.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | desempeñaría |
| tú | desempeñarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | desempeñaría |
| nosotros/as | desempeñaríamos |
| vosotros/as | desempeñaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | desempeñarían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For desempeñar, the yo form is desempeñaría, as in “Yo desempeñaría un papel importante.” — “I would carry out an important role.”
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he desempeñado |
| tú | has desempeñado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha desempeñado |
| nosotros/as | hemos desempeñado |
| vosotros/as | habéis desempeñado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han desempeñado |
The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For desempeñar, the yo form is he desempeñado, as in “Yo he desempeñado un papel importante.” — “I have carryed out an important role.”
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había desempeñado |
| tú | habías desempeñado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había desempeñado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos desempeñado |
| vosotros/as | habíais desempeñado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían desempeñado |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For desempeñar, the yo form is había desempeñado, as in “Yo había desempeñado un papel importante.” — “I had carryed out an important role.”
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré desempeñado |
| tú | habrás desempeñado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá desempeñado |
| nosotros/as | habremos desempeñado |
| vosotros/as | habréis desempeñado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán desempeñado |
The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For desempeñar, the yo form is habré desempeñado, as in “Yo habré desempeñado un papel importante.” — “I will have carryed out an important role.”
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría desempeñado |
| tú | habrías desempeñado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría desempeñado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos desempeñado |
| vosotros/as | habríais desempeñado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían desempeñado |
The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For desempeñar, the yo form is habría desempeñado, as in “Yo habría desempeñado un papel importante.” — “I would have carryed out an important role.”
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | desempeñe |
| tú | desempeñes |
| él/ella/Ud. | desempeñe |
| nosotros/as | desempeñemos |
| vosotros/as | desempeñéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | desempeñen |
The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For desempeñar, the yo form is desempeñe, as in “Espero que yo desempeñe un papel importante.” — “I hope that I carry out an important role.”
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | desempeñara |
| tú | desempeñaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | desempeñara |
| nosotros/as | desempeñáramos |
| vosotros/as | desempeñarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | desempeñaran |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For desempeñar, the yo form is desempeñara, as in “Si yo desempeñara un papel importante, ...” — “If I carryed out an important role, ...”
The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: desempeñara becomes desempeñase, 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 | desempeña |
| Ud. | desempeñe |
| nosotros/as | desempeñemos |
| vosotros/as | desempeñad |
| Uds. | desempeñen |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | desempeñes |
| Ud. | desempeñe |
| nosotros/as | desempeñemos |
| vosotros/as | desempeñéis |
| Uds. | desempeñen |
The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is desempeña, as in “¡Desempeña un papel importante” — “Carry out an important role” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no desempeñes. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with desempeñar.
Example sentences
Here are ten sentences with desempeñar, 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 desempeño un papel importante cada día.” — “I carry out an important role.”
- “Él desempeña un papel importante todos los días.” — “He carries out an important role.”
- “Yo desempeñé un papel importante ayer.” — “I carryed out an important role.”
- “Él desempeñó un papel importante ayer.” — “He carryed out an important role.”
- “Yo desempeñaba un papel importante cuando era joven.” — “I used to carry out an important role.”
- “Nosotros desempeñaremos un papel importante mañana.” — “We will carry out an important role.”
- “Si pudiera, yo desempeñaría un papel importante.” — “If I could, i would carry out an important role.”
- “Yo he desempeñado un papel importante hoy.” — “I have carryed out an important role.”
- “Espero que yo desempeñe un papel importante.” — “I hope that I carry out an important role.”
- “estoy desempeñando un papel importante ahora mismo.” — “I am carrying out an important role.”
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
- desempeño — The present table gives yo = desempeño.
- desempeñaste — The preterite table gives tu = desempeñaste.
- desempeñaba — The imperfect table gives el = desempeñaba.
- desempeñaremos — The future table gives nosotros = desempeñaremos.
- habéis desempeñado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis desempeñado.
- desempeñen — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = desempeñen.
- desempeñé — The preterite table gives yo = desempeñé.
- desempeñabas — The imperfect table gives tu = desempeñabas.
- desempeñará — The future table gives el = desempeñará.
- desempeñaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = desempeñaríamos.
Frequently asked questions
Is desempeñar regular or irregular?
desempeñar 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 desempeñar?
The past participle of desempeñar is desempeñado. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he desempeñado, había desempeñado, habré desempeñado — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund desempeñando and you have the two non-finite forms covered.
What is the gerund of desempeñar?
The gerund of desempeñar is desempeñando. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy desempeñando, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle desempeñado, which belongs with haber, not with estar.
What is the yo form of desempeñar in the present?
The yo form is desempeño — “Yo desempeño un papel importante.” means “I carry out an important role.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú desempeñas, él desempeña, nosotros desempeñamos, ellos desempeñan.
What is the difference between desempeñar and descubrir?
desempeñar means “to carry out, to perform (a role)”, while descubrir means “to discover”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to carry out, to perform (a role)”, use desempeñar; if it is about the meaning of descubrir, use descubrir instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.
Related links
- desempeñar in the present tense — the full present-tense page for this verb.
- desempeñar 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.