Introduction

desesperar means “to despair”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to despair” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows desesperar 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 desespero con el tráfico por la mañana.” — “I despair with the traffic.”

desesperar in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how desesperar 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 desespero con el tráfico cada día.” — “I despair with the traffic.”
  2. “Tú desesperas con el tráfico cada día.” — “you despair with the traffic.”
  3. “Él desespera con el tráfico siempre.” — “He despairs with the traffic.”
  4. “Nosotros desesperamos con el tráfico todos los días.” — “We despair with the traffic.”

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 desesperé con el tráfico ayer.” — “I despaired with the traffic.” (preterite) 6. “Él desesperó con el tráfico ayer.” — “He despaired with the traffic.” (preterite) 7. “Yo desesperaba con el tráfico cuando era joven.” — “I used to despair with the traffic.” (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 desesperaremos con el tráfico mañana.” — “We will despair with the traffic.” (future) 9. “Tú has desesperado con el tráfico hoy.” — “you have despaired with the traffic.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo desespere con el tráfico.” — “I hope that I despair with the traffic.” (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 desesperáis con el tráfico cada semana.” — “You despair with the traffic.” 12. “Ellos desesperan con el tráfico normalmente.” — “They despair with the traffic.”

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

Dialogue at work during a coffee break

Marta: “¿Tú desesperas con el tráfico?” — Do you despair with the traffic?

Carlos: “Sí, yo desespero con el tráfico cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I despair with the traffic every day. It is part of my routine.

Marta: “¿Y ayer? ¿También desesperas con el tráfico?” — And yesterday? Did you despair with the traffic too?

Carlos: “Sí, ayer yo desesperé con el tráfico. Mañana nosotros desesperaremos con el tráfico otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I despaired with the traffic. Tomorrow we will despair with the traffic again.

A short paragraph

Él desespera con el tráfico cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how desesperar 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 desespero con el tráfico — 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 desesperar yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is desesperé, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — desespere — 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 desesperar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For desesperar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: desesperamos. 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 desesperado con el tráfico. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy desesperado is not the present perfect of desesperar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing desesperar with descubrir

desesperar 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 desesperar — despair — the sentence needs desesperar; 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 desespere con el tráfico. Using the indicative — Espero que yo desespero — is one of the most frequent learner errors with desesperar. 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 desesperar in the present?

  • A. desesperas
  • B. desespera
  • C. desesperamos
  • D. desespero

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

  • A. desesperamos
  • B. desesperaste
  • C. desesperé
  • D. desesperó

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

  • A. desesperabas
  • B. desesperábamos
  • C. desesperabais
  • D. desesperaba

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

  • A. desesperará
  • B. desesperaremos
  • C. desesperaré
  • D. desesperarás

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

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

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

  • A. desespere
  • B. desesperen
  • C. desespere
  • D. desesperes

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

  • A. desesperaste
  • B. desesperó
  • C. desesperamos
  • D. desesperé

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

  • A. desesperábamos
  • B. desesperabas
  • C. desesperaba
  • D. desesperaba

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

  • A. desesperaré
  • B. desesperarás
  • C. desesperaremos
  • D. desesperará

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

  • A. desesperaría
  • B. desesperaríamos
  • C. desesperaría
  • D. desesperarías

Answer key

  1. desespero — The present table gives yo = desespero.
  2. desesperaste — The preterite table gives tu = desesperaste.
  3. desesperaba — The imperfect table gives el = desesperaba.
  4. desesperaremos — The future table gives nosotros = desesperaremos.
  5. habéis desesperado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis desesperado.
  6. desesperen — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = desesperen.
  7. desesperé — The preterite table gives yo = desesperé.
  8. desesperabas — The imperfect table gives tu = desesperabas.
  9. desesperará — The future table gives el = desesperará.
  10. desesperaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = desesperaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use desesperar in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo desespero con el tráfico.” — “I despair with the traffic.” Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

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

Learn the present yo form desespero first, then the preterite yo form desesperé and the participle desesperado. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund desesperando next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is desesperar reflexive?

No — desesperar is not reflexive. It takes a direct object, not a reflexive pronoun: yo desespero con el tráfico. 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 desesperar?

On the main conjugation page for desesperar, 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