Introduction

desmentir means “to deny, to refute”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to deny, to refute” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows desmentir 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 desmiento el rumor por la mañana.” — “I deny the rumour.”

desmentir in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how desmentir 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 desmiento el rumor cada día.” — “I deny the rumour.”
  2. “Tú desmientes el rumor cada día.” — “you deny the rumour.”
  3. “Él desmiente el rumor siempre.” — “He denies the rumour.”
  4. “Nosotros desmentimos el rumor todos los días.” — “We deny the rumour.”

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 desmentí el rumor ayer.” — “I denyed the rumour.” (preterite) 6. “Él desmintió el rumor ayer.” — “He denyed the rumour.” (preterite) 7. “Yo desmentía el rumor cuando era joven.” — “I used to deny the rumour.” (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 desmentiremos el rumor mañana.” — “We will deny the rumour.” (future) 9. “Tú has desmentido el rumor hoy.” — “you have denyed the rumour.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo desmienta el rumor.” — “I hope that I deny the rumour.” (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 desmentís el rumor cada semana.” — “You deny the rumour.” 12. “Ellos desmienten el rumor normalmente.” — “They deny the rumour.”

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

Dialogue at home in the evening

Ana: “¿Tú desmientes el rumor?” — Do you deny the rumour?

Luis: “Sí, yo desmiento el rumor cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I deny the rumour every day. It is part of my routine.

Ana: “¿Y ayer? ¿También desmientes el rumor?” — And yesterday? Did you deny the rumour too?

Luis: “Sí, ayer yo desmentí el rumor. Mañana nosotros desmentiremos el rumor otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I denyed the rumour. Tomorrow we will deny the rumour again.

A short paragraph

Él desmiente el rumor cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how desmentir 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 desmiento el rumor — 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 desmentir yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

Common mistakes

Using the unchanged stem

Learners often write desmento for the yo form, keeping the infinitive stem unchanged. The correct form is desmiento. Because desmentir changes its stem vowel, the change appears in the stressed syllables of the present: say the correct form out loud a few times — yo desmiento el rumor — until the changed stem feels natural.

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is desmentí, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — desmenti — 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 desmentir.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

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

Confusing desmentir with descubrir

desmentir 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 desmentir — deny — the sentence needs desmentir; if it needs the meaning of descubrir, use that verb instead.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the best answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the yo form of desmentir in the present?

  • A. desmientes
  • B. desmiente
  • C. desmentimos
  • D. desmiento

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

  • A. desmentimos
  • B. desmentiste
  • C. desmentí
  • D. desmintió

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

  • A. desmentías
  • B. desmentíamos
  • C. desmentíais
  • D. desmentía

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

  • A. desmentirá
  • B. desmentiremos
  • C. desmentiré
  • D. desmentirás

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

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

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

  • A. desmienta
  • B. desmientan
  • C. desmienta
  • D. desmientas

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

  • A. desmentiste
  • B. desmintió
  • C. desmentimos
  • D. desmentí

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

  • A. desmentíamos
  • B. desmentías
  • C. desmentía
  • D. desmentía

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

  • A. desmentiré
  • B. desmentirás
  • C. desmentiremos
  • D. desmentirá

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

  • A. desmentiría
  • B. desmentiríamos
  • C. desmentiría
  • D. desmentirías

Answer key

  1. desmiento — The present table gives yo = desmiento.
  2. desmentiste — The preterite table gives tu = desmentiste.
  3. desmentía — The imperfect table gives el = desmentía.
  4. desmentiremos — The future table gives nosotros = desmentiremos.
  5. habéis desmentido — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis desmentido.
  6. desmientan — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = desmientan.
  7. desmentí — The preterite table gives yo = desmentí.
  8. desmentías — The imperfect table gives tu = desmentías.
  9. desmentirá — The future table gives el = desmentirá.
  10. desmentiríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = desmentiríamos.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use desmentir in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo desmiento el rumor.” — “I deny the rumour.” Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

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

Learn the present yo form desmiento first, then the preterite yo form desmentí and the participle desmentido. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund desmintiendo next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is desmentir reflexive?

No — desmentir is not reflexive. It takes a direct object, not a reflexive pronoun: yo desmiento el rumor. 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 desmentir?

On the main conjugation page for desmentir, 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