Desmayarse Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb desmayarse means to faint, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Desmayarse is a regular -ar, reflexive verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. Desmayarse is reflexive, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun that matches the person: me, te, se, nos, os or se. For example, me desmayo en la calle means "I faint in the street". Without the pronoun, the verb changes meaning or stops making sense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of desmayarse 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. For example, in the present tense you say Yo me desmayo en la calle — "I faint in the street" — and in the preterite you say Yo me desmayé de repente — "I fainted suddenly". Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: desmayarse
  • English: to faint
  • Verb type: regular -ar, reflexive verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: desmayando
  • Past participle: desmayado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + desmayado)
  • Reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nos, os, se — one before every conjugated form, matching the person.

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for desmayarse, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Desmayarse is reflexive: me desmayo, te desmayas. Without the pronoun, desmayar means something else — it acts on someone or something else, not on yourself.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for desmayarse. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.

Gerund: desmayando · Past participle: desmayado

Present indicative

Person Pronoun Form
yo me desmayo
tú te desmayas
él/ella/Ud. se desmaya
nosotros/as nos desmayamos
vosotros/as os desmayáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se desmayan

Preterite

Person Pronoun Form
yo me desmayé
tú te desmayaste
él/ella/Ud. se desmayó
nosotros/as nos desmayamos
vosotros/as os desmayasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se desmayaron

Imperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me desmayaba
tú te desmayabas
él/ella/Ud. se desmayaba
nosotros/as nos desmayábamos
vosotros/as os desmayabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se desmayaban

Future

Person Pronoun Form
yo me desmayaré
tú te desmayarás
él/ella/Ud. se desmayará
nosotros/as nos desmayaremos
vosotros/as os desmayaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se desmayarán

Conditional

Person Pronoun Form
yo me desmayaría
tú te desmayarías
él/ella/Ud. se desmayaría
nosotros/as nos desmayaríamos
vosotros/as os desmayaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se desmayarían

Present perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me he desmayado
tú te has desmayado
él/ella/Ud. se ha desmayado
nosotros/as nos hemos desmayado
vosotros/as os habéis desmayado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se han desmayado

Pluperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me había desmayado
tú te habías desmayado
él/ella/Ud. se había desmayado
nosotros/as nos habíamos desmayado
vosotros/as os habíais desmayado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habían desmayado

Future perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habré desmayado
tú te habrás desmayado
él/ella/Ud. se habrá desmayado
nosotros/as nos habremos desmayado
vosotros/as os habréis desmayado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrán desmayado

Conditional perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habría desmayado
tú te habrías desmayado
él/ella/Ud. se habría desmayado
nosotros/as nos habríamos desmayado
vosotros/as os habríais desmayado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrían desmayado

Present subjunctive

Person Pronoun Form
yo me desmaye
tú te desmayes
él/ella/Ud. se desmaye
nosotros/as nos desmayemos
vosotros/as os desmayéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se desmayen

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Pronoun Form
yo me desmayara
tú te desmayaras
él/ella/Ud. se desmayara
nosotros/as nos desmayáramos
vosotros/as os desmayarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se desmayaran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Pronoun Form
tú te desmaya
él/ella/Ud. se desmaye
nosotros/as nos desmayemos
vosotros/as os desmayad
ellos/ellas/Uds. se desmayen

Imperative (negative)

Person Pronoun Form
tú te desmayes
él/ella/Ud. se desmaye
nosotros/as nos desmayemos
vosotros/as os desmayéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se desmayen

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund desmayando with estar for the progressive: estoy desmayando (or me estoy desmayando for this reflexive verb)
Past participle desmayado with haber for the perfect tenses: he desmayado

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. It is the tense you will use most often in everyday conversation, for habits with words like todos los días and for statements that are true in general. For desmayarse, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me desmayo de repente — "I faint suddenly". Learn the present indicative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions in the past — things that started and ended, often with time words like ayer, anoche or la semana pasada. The preterite moves a story forward, one completed event at a time. For desmayarse, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me desmayé por el calor — "I fainted because of the heat". Learn the preterite forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with words like antes, de niño or mientras. It describes how things used to be, not one finished event. For desmayarse, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me desmayaba en la calle — "I used to faint in the street". Learn the imperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. It talks about what will happen, not what is happening now. For desmayarse, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me desmayaré de repente — "I will faint suddenly". Learn the future forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often in si clauses. It softens a request and describes imagined situations. For desmayarse, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me desmayaría por el calor — "I would faint because of the heat". Learn the conditional forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. It connects the past with the present moment. For desmayarse, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me he desmayado en la calle — "I have fainted in the street". Learn the present perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. It is the past of the past, and it usually appears with antes de or ya. For desmayarse, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me había desmayado de repente — "I had fainted suddenly". Learn the pluperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time, often with para mañana or para el viernes. For desmayarse, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me habré desmayado por el calor — "I will have fainted because of the heat". Learn the future perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. It looks back at a past that never happened. For desmayarse, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me habría desmayado en la calle — "I would have fainted in the street". Learn the conditional perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. The subjunctive does not state a fact; it states an attitude towards the action. For desmayarse, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él se desmaye de repente — "I hope he faints suddenly". Learn the present subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past, and note the -ra forms shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For desmayarse, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo me desmayara por el calor, todo cambiaría — "If I fainted because of the heat, everything would change". Learn the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. It tells someone to do something, and it has no yo form. For desmayarse, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Que se desmaye en la calle — "Let him faint in the street". Learn the imperative (affirmative) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. It uses the subjunctive forms, so it looks different from the affirmative commands. For desmayarse, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No te desmayes de repente — "Don't faint suddenly". Learn the imperative (negative) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with desmayarse, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Yo me desmayo por el calor — "I faint because of the heat"
  2. Él se desmaya en la calle — "He faints in the street"
  3. Yo me desmayé de repente — "I fainted suddenly"
  4. Yo me desmayaba por el calor — "I used to faint because of the heat"
  5. Tú te desmayarás en la calle — "You will faint in the street"
  6. Yo me desmayaría de repente — "I would faint suddenly"
  7. Él se ha desmayado por el calor — "He has fainted because of the heat"
  8. Espero que él se desmaye en la calle — "I hope he faints in the street"
  9. Yo me había desmayado de repente — "I had fainted suddenly"
  10. Ellos se desmayaban por el calor — "They used to faint because of the heat"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo desmayo en la calle — Right: Yo me desmayo en la calle — Desmayarse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required: without it the verb means something else, or nothing at all.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo me desmayo — Right: Ayer, yo me desmayé — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to desmayé.
  3. Wrong: De niño, yo me desmayé todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo me desmayaba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (desmayaba), not the preterite. The preterite (desmayé) is for one finished action.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy desmayado de repente. — Right: Yo me he desmayado de repente. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he desmayado, has desmayado, ha desmayado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: Espero que él desmaya en la calle. — Right: Espero que él se desmaye en la calle. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: desmaye. The indicative desmaya is wrong here.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on desmayarse. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo me ___ en la calle. (present tense) A. desmayaban B. desmayo C. habrían desmayado D. habrán desmayado

  2. Complete the sentence: Él se ___ en la calle. (preterite) A. desmayó B. desmayaría C. habíais desmayado D. desmayaran

  3. Complete the sentence: Nosotros nos ___ en la calle. (imperfect) A. desmayábamos B. habréis desmayado C. ha desmayado D. desmayaba

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú te ___ en la calle. (future) A. habremos desmayado B. desmayarás C. habían desmayado D. desmayara

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo me ___ en la calle. (conditional) A. habréis desmayado B. desmayaría C. habrán desmayado D. habíais desmayado

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él se ___ en la calle. (present subjunctive) A. habré desmayado B. desmayad C. desmaye D. habrán desmayado

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo me ___ en la calle, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. desmayara B. desmayasteis C. desmayo D. había desmayado

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros nos ___ en la calle. (present perfect) A. habían desmayado B. hemos desmayado C. desmayaras D. habíais desmayado

  9. Complete the command: No te ___ en la calle. (negative imperative, tú) A. desmayemos B. desmayes C. desmayéis D. desmayen

  10. Which is the gerund of desmayarse, used with estar for the progressive? A. desmayaré B. desmayando C. desmayo D. desmayaba

Answer key

  1. me desmayo — The yo present tense of desmayarse is me desmayo.
  2. se desmayó — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of desmayarse is se desmayó.
  3. nos desmayábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of desmayarse is nos desmayábamos.
  4. te desmayarás — The tú future of desmayarse is te desmayarás.
  5. me desmayaría — The yo conditional of desmayarse is me desmayaría.
  6. se desmaye — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of desmayarse is se desmaye.
  7. me desmayara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of desmayarse is me desmayara.
  8. nos hemos desmayado — The nosotros/as present perfect of desmayarse is nos hemos desmayado.
  9. te desmayes — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: te desmayes.
  10. desmayando — The gerund of desmayarse is desmayando: estoy desmayando. The participle desmayado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does desmayarse mean in English?

Desmayarse means to faint. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo me desmayo en la calle. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is desmayarse a reflexive verb?

Yes. Desmayarse is reflexive, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun that matches the person: me, te, se, nos, os or se. For example, Yo me desmayo en la calle and Él se desmaya de repente. If you leave the pronoun out, the verb changes meaning or stops making sense.

What is the gerund and the past participle of desmayarse?

The gerund is desmayando, used with estar for the progressive: estoy desmayando. The past participle is desmayado, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he desmayado.

How do I say “I faint” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo me desmayé de repente. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo me desmayaba por el calor. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo me he desmayado en la calle.

How do I practise desmayarse?

Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the desmayarse examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.

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