Desvestir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

desvestir means "to undress" in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Desvestir means to undress someone: desvestir a su hijo, desvestir al paciente. For undressing yourself, Spanish uses desvestirse. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by use, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of desvestir; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the desvestir present tense page.

desvestir in everyday use: examples with translations

Everyday present uses

How the verb sounds in the present, the future and in hypotheticals — the forms you will use most often.

  1. Yo desvisto a su hijo antes de dormir — "I undress his son before bed"
  2. Mi amigo desviste al paciente en la consulta — "My friend undresses the patient in the surgery"
  3. Mañana, tú desvestirás la muñeca para cambiarla — "Tomorrow, you will undress the doll to change her"
  4. Yo desvestiría al niño para el baño si pudiera — "I would undress the child for his bath if I could"

Talking about the past

The same verb in the past: one finished action, a habit, something that has just happened, and something that had already happened.

  1. Ayer, yo desvestí a su hijo antes de dormir — "Yesterday, I undressed his son before bed"
  2. Antes, nosotros desvestíamos al paciente en la consulta — "Before, we used to undress the patient in the surgery"
  3. Él ha desvestido la muñeca para cambiarla — "He has undressed the doll to change her"
  4. Yo ya había desvestido al niño para el baño antes de salir — "I already had undressed the child for his bath before leaving"

Wishes, conditions and commands

The verb after espero que, in si clauses, as a command — and in the conditional perfect, for what would have happened.

  1. Espero que él desvista a su hijo antes de dormir — "I hope he undresses his son before bed"
  2. Si yo desvistiera al paciente en la consulta, todo cambiaría — "If I undressed the patient in the surgery, everything would change"
  3. Desviste la muñeca para cambiarla. — "Undress the doll to change her."
  4. Yo habría desvestido al niño para el baño con más tiempo — "I would have undressed the child for his bath with more time"

desvestir in conversation

Two short dialogues that use desvestir the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

Two friends talk about it.

  • Lucía: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Lucía: Yo desvisto a su hijo antes de dormir — "I undress his son before bed"
  • Marcos: Él desviste al paciente en la consulta — "He undresses the patient in the surgery"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo desvestí la muñeca para cambiarla — "Yesterday, I undressed the doll to change her"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú desvestirás al niño para el baño — "Tomorrow, you will undress the child for his bath"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Desviste a la modelo en el estudio. — "Undress the model in the studio."
  • Lucía: Él ha desvestido a su hijo antes de dormir — "He has undressed his son before bed"
  • Marcos: Espero que él desvista al paciente en la consulta — "I hope he undresses the patient in the surgery"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo desvestía la muñeca para cambiarla — "Before, I used to undress the doll to change her"

Common mistakes with desvestir

The errors learners actually make with desvestir, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ *Yo desvesto al niño para el baño.

✓ Correct: Yo desvisto al niño para el baño.

desvestir is a stem-changing verb (e → i): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is desvisto, not desvesto.

✗ *Espero que él desviste al niño para el baño

✓ Correct: Espero que él desvista al niño para el baño

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él desvista al niño para el baño — not the indicative Espero que él desviste al niño para el baño.

✗ *Ayer, yo desvisto a la modelo en el estudio

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo desvestí a la modelo en el estudio

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo desvestí a la modelo en el estudio.

✗ *De niño, yo desvestí a su hijo antes de dormir todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo desvestía a su hijo antes de dormir todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo desvestía a su hijo antes de dormir todos los días.

✗ *Yo desvisto en la muñeca para cambiarla.

✓ Correct: Yo desvisto la muñeca para cambiarla.

desvestir takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo desvisto la muñeca para cambiarla.

Quiz: desvestir in use

Ten questions on desvestir — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a su hijo antes de dormir — "I undress his son before bed" (present) A. desvisto B. desvistes C. desviste D. desvestimos

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ al paciente en la consulta — "Yesterday, I undressed the patient in the surgery" (preterite) A. desvestimos B. desvestí C. desvestiste D. desvistió

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ la muñeca para cambiarla — "Before, we used to undress the doll to change her" (imperfect) A. desvestía B. desvestías C. desvestíais D. desvestíamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ al niño para el baño — "Tomorrow, you will undress the child for his bath" (future) A. desvestiré B. desvestirá C. desvestiremos D. desvestirás

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a la modelo en el estudio — "I would undress the model in the studio" (conditional) A. desvestirías B. desvestiríamos C. desvestiríais D. desvestiría

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ a su hijo antes de dormir — "He has undressed his son before bed" (present perfect) A. hemos desvestido B. ha desvestido C. he desvestido D. has desvestido

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ al paciente en la consulta — "I hope he undresses the patient in the surgery" (present subjunctive) A. desvistas B. desvistamos C. desvistáis D. desvista

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ la muñeca para cambiarla. — "Undress the doll to change her." (affirmative imperative) A. desvista B. desvistamos C. desvestid D. desviste

  9. Which is the gerund of desvestir, used with estar for the progressive? A. desvestí B. desvistiendo C. desvestido D. desvisto

  10. What does desvestir mean in English? A. to take off B. to enjoy C. to cross D. to undress

Answer key

  1. desvisto — The present form for yo is desvisto.
  2. desvestí — The preterite form for yo is desvestí.
  3. desvestíamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is desvestíamos.
  4. desvestirás — The future form for tú is desvestirás.
  5. desvestiría — The conditional form for yo is desvestiría.
  6. ha desvestido — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha desvestido.
  7. desvista — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is desvista.
  8. desviste — The affirmative imperative form is desviste.
  9. desvistiendo — The gerund of desvestir is desvistiendo: estoy desvistiendo. The participle desvestido is used with haber instead.
  10. to undress — desvestir means to undress.

Frequently asked questions

What does desvestir mean in English?

desvestir means to undress. For example: Yo desvisto a su hijo antes de dormir — "I undress his son before bed". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with desvestir?

desvestir takes a before this kind of complement, as in the examples above. Keep the preposition with the verb — dropping it is one of the most common learner errors with desvestir.

Is desvestir regular?

No. desvestir is a stem-changing -ir verb (e → i). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: desvisto, desvistes, desviste and desvisten — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: desvestimos, desvestís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: desvistió, desvistieron, and the gerund is desvistiendo.

How do I practise desvestir?

Start with the present tense table on the full conjugation page, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure, and come back to the sentences above until you can say them without looking.

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