Introduction

Learning to conjugate desinfectar — “to disinfect” — 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, desinfectar is one of the verbs that carries those sentences, especially when the topic is my hands. On this page you will find the full conjugation of desinfectar 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. desinfectar is a regular -ar verb; the gerund is desinfectando and the past participle is desinfectado, and both appear in the tables and examples below. For example: “Yo desinfecto las manos todos los días.” — “I disinfect my hands.” Read the tables first, then the notes, and finish with the quiz to check what you have learned.

Quick facts
Infinitive desinfectar
English to disinfect
Verb type Regular -ar verb
Gerund desinfectando
Past participle desinfectado
Auxiliary verb haber

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: desinfectando · Past participle: desinfectado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo desinfecto
tú desinfectas
él/ella/Ud. desinfecta
nosotros/as desinfectamos
vosotros/as desinfectáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. desinfectan

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For desinfectar, the yo form is desinfecto, as in “Yo desinfecto las manos.” — “I disinfect my hands.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo desinfecté
tú desinfectaste
él/ella/Ud. desinfectó
nosotros/as desinfectamos
vosotros/as desinfectasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. desinfectaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For desinfectar, the yo form is desinfecté, as in “Yo desinfecté las manos.” — “I disinfected my hands.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo desinfectaba
tú desinfectabas
él/ella/Ud. desinfectaba
nosotros/as desinfectábamos
vosotros/as desinfectabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. desinfectaban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For desinfectar, the yo form is desinfectaba, as in “Yo desinfectaba las manos.” — “I used to disinfect my hands.”

Future

Person Form
yo desinfectaré
tú desinfectarás
él/ella/Ud. desinfectará
nosotros/as desinfectaremos
vosotros/as desinfectaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. desinfectarán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For desinfectar, the yo form is desinfectaré, as in “Yo desinfectaré las manos.” — “I will disinfect my hands.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo desinfectaría
tú desinfectarías
él/ella/Ud. desinfectaría
nosotros/as desinfectaríamos
vosotros/as desinfectaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. desinfectarían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For desinfectar, the yo form is desinfectaría, as in “Yo desinfectaría las manos.” — “I would disinfect my hands.”

Present Perfect

Person Form
yo he desinfectado
tú has desinfectado
él/ella/Ud. ha desinfectado
nosotros/as hemos desinfectado
vosotros/as habéis desinfectado
ellos/ellas/Uds. han desinfectado

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For desinfectar, the yo form is he desinfectado, as in “Yo he desinfectado las manos.” — “I have disinfected my hands.”

Pluperfect

Person Form
yo había desinfectado
tú habías desinfectado
él/ella/Ud. había desinfectado
nosotros/as habíamos desinfectado
vosotros/as habíais desinfectado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habían desinfectado

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For desinfectar, the yo form is había desinfectado, as in “Yo había desinfectado las manos.” — “I had disinfected my hands.”

Future Perfect

Person Form
yo habré desinfectado
tú habrás desinfectado
él/ella/Ud. habrá desinfectado
nosotros/as habremos desinfectado
vosotros/as habréis desinfectado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán desinfectado

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For desinfectar, the yo form is habré desinfectado, as in “Yo habré desinfectado las manos.” — “I will have disinfected my hands.”

Conditional Perfect

Person Form
yo habría desinfectado
tú habrías desinfectado
él/ella/Ud. habría desinfectado
nosotros/as habríamos desinfectado
vosotros/as habríais desinfectado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrían desinfectado

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For desinfectar, the yo form is habría desinfectado, as in “Yo habría desinfectado las manos.” — “I would have disinfected my hands.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo desinfecte
tú desinfectes
él/ella/Ud. desinfecte
nosotros/as desinfectemos
vosotros/as desinfectéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. desinfecten

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For desinfectar, the yo form is desinfecte, as in “Espero que yo desinfecte las manos.” — “I hope that I disinfect my hands.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo desinfectara
tú desinfectaras
él/ella/Ud. desinfectara
nosotros/as desinfectáramos
vosotros/as desinfectarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. desinfectaran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For desinfectar, the yo form is desinfectara, as in “Si yo desinfectara las manos, ...” — “If I disinfected my hands, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: desinfectara becomes desinfectase, 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 desinfecta
Ud. desinfecte
nosotros/as desinfectemos
vosotros/as desinfectad
Uds. desinfecten

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú desinfectes
Ud. desinfecte
nosotros/as desinfectemos
vosotros/as desinfectéis
Uds. desinfecten

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is desinfecta, as in “¡Desinfecta las manos” — “Disinfect my hands” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no desinfectes. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with desinfectar.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with desinfectar, 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.

  1. “Yo desinfecto las manos cada día.” — “I disinfect my hands.”
  2. “Él desinfecta las manos todos los días.” — “He disinfects my hands.”
  3. “Yo desinfecté las manos ayer.” — “I disinfected my hands.”
  4. “Él desinfectó las manos ayer.” — “He disinfected my hands.”
  5. “Yo desinfectaba las manos cuando era joven.” — “I used to disinfect my hands.”
  6. “Nosotros desinfectaremos las manos mañana.” — “We will disinfect my hands.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo desinfectaría las manos.” — “If I could, i would disinfect my hands.”
  8. “Yo he desinfectado las manos hoy.” — “I have disinfected my hands.”
  9. “Espero que yo desinfecte las manos.” — “I hope that I disinfect my hands.”
  10. “estoy desinfectando las manos ahora mismo.” — “I am disinfecting my hands.”

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is desinfecté, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — desinfecte — 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 desinfectar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For desinfectar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: desinfectamos. 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 desinfectado las manos. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy desinfectado is not the present perfect of desinfectar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing desinfectar with descubrir

desinfectar 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 desinfectar — disinfect — the sentence needs desinfectar; 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 desinfecte las manos. Using the indicative — Espero que yo desinfecto — is one of the most frequent learner errors with desinfectar. 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 desinfectar in the present?

  • A. desinfectas
  • B. desinfecta
  • C. desinfectamos
  • D. desinfecto

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

  • A. desinfectamos
  • B. desinfectaste
  • C. desinfecté
  • D. desinfectó

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

  • A. desinfectabas
  • B. desinfectábamos
  • C. desinfectabais
  • D. desinfectaba

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

  • A. desinfectará
  • B. desinfectaremos
  • C. desinfectaré
  • D. desinfectarás

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

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

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

  • A. desinfecte
  • B. desinfecten
  • C. desinfecte
  • D. desinfectes

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

  • A. desinfectaste
  • B. desinfectó
  • C. desinfectamos
  • D. desinfecté

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

  • A. desinfectábamos
  • B. desinfectabas
  • C. desinfectaba
  • D. desinfectaba

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

  • A. desinfectaré
  • B. desinfectarás
  • C. desinfectaremos
  • D. desinfectará

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

  • A. desinfectaría
  • B. desinfectaríamos
  • C. desinfectaría
  • D. desinfectarías

Answer key

  1. desinfecto — The present table gives yo = desinfecto.
  2. desinfectaste — The preterite table gives tu = desinfectaste.
  3. desinfectaba — The imperfect table gives el = desinfectaba.
  4. desinfectaremos — The future table gives nosotros = desinfectaremos.
  5. habéis desinfectado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis desinfectado.
  6. desinfecten — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = desinfecten.
  7. desinfecté — The preterite table gives yo = desinfecté.
  8. desinfectabas — The imperfect table gives tu = desinfectabas.
  9. desinfectará — The future table gives el = desinfectará.
  10. desinfectaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = desinfectaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

Is desinfectar regular or irregular?

desinfectar 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 desinfectar?

The past participle of desinfectar is desinfectado. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he desinfectado, había desinfectado, habré desinfectado — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund desinfectando and you have the two non-finite forms covered.

What is the gerund of desinfectar?

The gerund of desinfectar is desinfectando. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy desinfectando, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle desinfectado, which belongs with haber, not with estar.

What is the yo form of desinfectar in the present?

The yo form is desinfecto — “Yo desinfecto las manos.” means “I disinfect my hands.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú desinfectas, él desinfecta, nosotros desinfectamos, ellos desinfectan.

What is the difference between desinfectar and descubrir?

desinfectar means “to disinfect”, while descubrir means “to discover”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to disinfect”, use desinfectar; if it is about the meaning of descubrir, use descubrir instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.

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