Introduction

Learning to conjugate desmentir — “to deny, to refute” — 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, desmentir is one of the verbs that carries those sentences, especially when the topic is the rumour. On this page you will find the full conjugation of desmentir 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. desmentir is a stem-changing -ir verb (e → ie); the gerund is desmintiendo and the past participle is desmentido, and both appear in the tables and examples below. For example: “Yo desmiento el rumor todos los días.” — “I deny the rumour.” Read the tables first, then the notes, and finish with the quiz to check what you have learned.

Quick facts
Infinitive desmentir
English to deny, to refute
Verb type Stem-changing -ir verb (e → ie)
Gerund desmintiendo
Past participle desmentido
Auxiliary verb haber

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: desmintiendo · Past participle: desmentido

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo desmiento
tú desmientes
él/ella/Ud. desmiente
nosotros/as desmentimos
vosotros/as desmentís
ellos/ellas/Uds. desmienten

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For desmentir, the yo form is desmiento, as in “Yo desmiento el rumor.” — “I deny the rumour.” This is one of the tenses where desmentir does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.

Preterite

Person Form
yo desmentí
tú desmentiste
él/ella/Ud. desmintió
nosotros/as desmentimos
vosotros/as desmentisteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. desmintieron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For desmentir, the yo form is desmentí, as in “Yo desmentí el rumor.” — “I denyed the rumour.” This is one of the tenses where desmentir does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.

Imperfect

Person Form
yo desmentía
tú desmentías
él/ella/Ud. desmentía
nosotros/as desmentíamos
vosotros/as desmentíais
ellos/ellas/Uds. desmentían

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For desmentir, the yo form is desmentía, as in “Yo desmentía el rumor.” — “I used to deny the rumour.”

Future

Person Form
yo desmentiré
tú desmentirás
él/ella/Ud. desmentirá
nosotros/as desmentiremos
vosotros/as desmentiréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. desmentirán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For desmentir, the yo form is desmentiré, as in “Yo desmentiré el rumor.” — “I will deny the rumour.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo desmentiría
tú desmentirías
él/ella/Ud. desmentiría
nosotros/as desmentiríamos
vosotros/as desmentiríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. desmentirían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For desmentir, the yo form is desmentiría, as in “Yo desmentiría el rumor.” — “I would deny the rumour.”

Present Perfect

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

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For desmentir, the yo form is he desmentido, as in “Yo he desmentido el rumor.” — “I have denyed the rumour.”

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For desmentir, the yo form is había desmentido, as in “Yo había desmentido el rumor.” — “I had denyed the rumour.”

Future Perfect

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

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For desmentir, the yo form is habré desmentido, as in “Yo habré desmentido el rumor.” — “I will have denyed the rumour.”

Conditional Perfect

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

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For desmentir, the yo form is habría desmentido, as in “Yo habría desmentido el rumor.” — “I would have denyed the rumour.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo desmienta
tú desmientas
él/ella/Ud. desmienta
nosotros/as desmintamos
vosotros/as desmintáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. desmientan

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For desmentir, the yo form is desmienta, as in “Espero que yo desmienta el rumor.” — “I hope that I deny the rumour.” This is one of the tenses where desmentir does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo desmintiera
tú desmintieras
él/ella/Ud. desmintiera
nosotros/as desmintiéramos
vosotros/as desmintierais
ellos/ellas/Uds. desmintieran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For desmentir, the yo form is desmintiera, as in “Si yo desmintiera el rumor, ...” — “If I denyed the rumour, ...” Watch out: the past participle of desmentir is irregular — desmentido, not the regular form — and that irregular participle appears in every perfect tense.

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: desmintiera becomes desmintiese, 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 desmiente
Ud. desmienta
nosotros/as desmintamos
vosotros/as desmentid
Uds. desmientan

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú desmientas
Ud. desmienta
nosotros/as desmintamos
vosotros/as desmintáis
Uds. desmientan

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is desmiente, as in “¡Desmiente el rumor” — “Deny the rumour” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no desmientas. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with desmentir. This is one of the tenses where desmentir does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with desmentir, 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 desmiento el rumor cada día.” — “I deny the rumour.”
  2. “Él desmiente el rumor todos los días.” — “He denies the rumour.”
  3. “Yo desmentí el rumor ayer.” — “I denyed the rumour.”
  4. “Él desmintió el rumor ayer.” — “He denyed the rumour.”
  5. “Yo desmentía el rumor cuando era joven.” — “I used to deny the rumour.”
  6. “Nosotros desmentiremos el rumor mañana.” — “We will deny the rumour.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo desmentiría el rumor.” — “If I could, i would deny the rumour.”
  8. “Yo he desmentido el rumor hoy.” — “I have denyed the rumour.”
  9. “Espero que yo desmienta el rumor.” — “I hope that I deny the rumour.”
  10. “estoy desmintiendo el rumor ahora mismo.” — “I am denying the rumour.”

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.

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo desmienta el rumor. Using the indicative — Espero que yo desmiento — is one of the most frequent learner errors with desmentir. 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 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

Is desmentir regular or irregular?

desmentir is a stem-changing -ir verb (e → ie). It changes its stem (e → ie) in several tenses, so the stem in the table is not always the infinitive stem. It is irregular in these tenses: present, present-subjunctive, preterite, imperfect-subjunctive, gerund, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The tables on this page show the correct form for every person, so use them rather than guessing.

What is the past participle of desmentir?

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

What is the gerund of desmentir?

The gerund of desmentir is desmintiendo. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy desmintiendo, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. For this verb the gerund shows the stem change, so do not build it from the infinitive by habit. Keep it distinct from the past participle desmentido, which belongs with haber, not with estar.

What is the yo form of desmentir in the present?

The yo form is desmiento — “Yo desmiento el rumor.” means “I deny the rumour.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú desmientes, él desmiente, nosotros desmentimos, ellos desmienten.

What is the difference between desmentir and descubrir?

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

Related links