Introduction

desordenar means “to mess up” in English, and it is a verb you will meet again and again once you start reading and speaking Spanish. It is used whenever you need to talk about the room — at home, at work, and in everyday conversation — which makes it a practical verb to learn early and to use confidently. This page gives you the complete conjugation of desordenar in every tense and mood, with all six persons, plus the gerund and the past participle, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. Every form below comes from VerbFlow's verified conjugation tables, so you can trust the accents and the irregular forms. desordenar is a regular -ar verb, and the notes under each tense explain exactly where it follows the rules and where it breaks them. To hear it in a real sentence: “Yo desordeno la habitación todos los días.” — “I mess up the room.” Work through the tables, read the notes, then test yourself with the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts
Infinitive desordenar
English to mess up
Verb type Regular -ar verb
Gerund desordenando
Past participle desordenado
Auxiliary verb haber

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: desordenando · Past participle: desordenado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo desordeno
tú desordenas
él/ella/Ud. desordena
nosotros/as desordenamos
vosotros/as desordenáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. desordenan

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For desordenar, the yo form is desordeno, as in “Yo desordeno la habitación.” — “I mess up the room.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo desordené
tú desordenaste
él/ella/Ud. desordenó
nosotros/as desordenamos
vosotros/as desordenasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. desordenaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For desordenar, the yo form is desordené, as in “Yo desordené la habitación.” — “I messed up the room.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo desordenaba
tú desordenabas
él/ella/Ud. desordenaba
nosotros/as desordenábamos
vosotros/as desordenabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. desordenaban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For desordenar, the yo form is desordenaba, as in “Yo desordenaba la habitación.” — “I used to mess up the room.”

Future

Person Form
yo desordenaré
tú desordenarás
él/ella/Ud. desordenará
nosotros/as desordenaremos
vosotros/as desordenaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. desordenarán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For desordenar, the yo form is desordenaré, as in “Yo desordenaré la habitación.” — “I will mess up the room.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo desordenaría
tú desordenarías
él/ella/Ud. desordenaría
nosotros/as desordenaríamos
vosotros/as desordenaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. desordenarían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For desordenar, the yo form is desordenaría, as in “Yo desordenaría la habitación.” — “I would mess up the room.”

Present Perfect

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

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For desordenar, the yo form is he desordenado, as in “Yo he desordenado la habitación.” — “I have messed up the room.”

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For desordenar, the yo form is había desordenado, as in “Yo había desordenado la habitación.” — “I had messed up the room.”

Future Perfect

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

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For desordenar, the yo form is habré desordenado, as in “Yo habré desordenado la habitación.” — “I will have messed up the room.”

Conditional Perfect

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

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For desordenar, the yo form is habría desordenado, as in “Yo habría desordenado la habitación.” — “I would have messed up the room.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo desordene
tú desordenes
él/ella/Ud. desordene
nosotros/as desordenemos
vosotros/as desordenéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. desordenen

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For desordenar, the yo form is desordene, as in “Espero que yo desordene la habitación.” — “I hope that I mess up the room.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo desordenara
tú desordenaras
él/ella/Ud. desordenara
nosotros/as desordenáramos
vosotros/as desordenarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. desordenaran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For desordenar, the yo form is desordenara, as in “Si yo desordenara la habitación, ...” — “If I messed up the room, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: desordenara becomes desordenase, 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 desordena
Ud. desordene
nosotros/as desordenemos
vosotros/as desordenad
Uds. desordenen

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú desordenes
Ud. desordene
nosotros/as desordenemos
vosotros/as desordenéis
Uds. desordenen

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is desordena, as in “¡Desordena la habitación” — “Mess up the room” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no desordenes. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with desordenar.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with desordenar, 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 desordeno la habitación cada día.” — “I mess up the room.”
  2. “Él desordena la habitación todos los días.” — “He messes up the room.”
  3. “Yo desordené la habitación ayer.” — “I messed up the room.”
  4. “Él desordenó la habitación ayer.” — “He messed up the room.”
  5. “Yo desordenaba la habitación cuando era joven.” — “I used to mess up the room.”
  6. “Nosotros desordenaremos la habitación mañana.” — “We will mess up the room.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo desordenaría la habitación.” — “If I could, i would mess up the room.”
  8. “Yo he desordenado la habitación hoy.” — “I have messed up the room.”
  9. “Espero que yo desordene la habitación.” — “I hope that I mess up the room.”
  10. “estoy desordenando la habitación ahora mismo.” — “I am messing up the room.”

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is desordené, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — desordene — 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 desordenar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For desordenar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: desordenamos. 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 desordenado la habitación. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy desordenado is not the present perfect of desordenar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing desordenar with descubrir

desordenar 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 desordenar — mess up — the sentence needs desordenar; 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 desordene la habitación. Using the indicative — Espero que yo desordeno — is one of the most frequent learner errors with desordenar. 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 desordenar in the present?

  • A. desordenas
  • B. desordena
  • C. desordenamos
  • D. desordeno

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

  • A. desordenamos
  • B. desordenaste
  • C. desordené
  • D. desordenó

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

  • A. desordenabas
  • B. desordenábamos
  • C. desordenabais
  • D. desordenaba

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

  • A. desordenará
  • B. desordenaremos
  • C. desordenaré
  • D. desordenarás

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

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

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

  • A. desordene
  • B. desordenen
  • C. desordene
  • D. desordenes

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

  • A. desordenaste
  • B. desordenó
  • C. desordenamos
  • D. desordené

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

  • A. desordenábamos
  • B. desordenabas
  • C. desordenaba
  • D. desordenaba

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

  • A. desordenaré
  • B. desordenarás
  • C. desordenaremos
  • D. desordenará

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

  • A. desordenaría
  • B. desordenaríamos
  • C. desordenaría
  • D. desordenarías

Answer key

  1. desordeno — The present table gives yo = desordeno.
  2. desordenaste — The preterite table gives tu = desordenaste.
  3. desordenaba — The imperfect table gives el = desordenaba.
  4. desordenaremos — The future table gives nosotros = desordenaremos.
  5. habéis desordenado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis desordenado.
  6. desordenen — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = desordenen.
  7. desordené — The preterite table gives yo = desordené.
  8. desordenabas — The imperfect table gives tu = desordenabas.
  9. desordenará — The future table gives el = desordenará.
  10. desordenaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = desordenaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

Is desordenar regular or irregular?

desordenar 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 desordenar?

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

What is the gerund of desordenar?

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

What is the yo form of desordenar in the present?

The yo form is desordeno — “Yo desordeno la habitación.” means “I mess up the room.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú desordenas, él desordena, nosotros desordenamos, ellos desordenan.

What is the difference between desordenar and descubrir?

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

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