Desvestir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of desvestir — "to undress" in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for desvestir with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Desvestir means to undress someone: desvestir a su hijo, desvestir al paciente. For undressing yourself, Spanish uses desvestirse. To see it in a real sentence: Yo desvisto a su hijo antes de dormir — "I undress his son before bed".
Present tense conjugation table: desvestir
Every person of desvestir in the present tense. The gerund is desvistiendo and the past participle is desvestido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | desvisto |
| tú | desvistes |
| él/ella/Ud. | desviste |
| nosotros/as | desvestimos |
| vosotros/as | desvestís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | desvisten |
How the present of desvestir is formed
The present of desvestir is built from the stem desvest- plus the present endings for -ir verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ir ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.
| Person | Ending | Form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | desvisto |
| tú | -es | desvistes |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | desviste |
| nosotros/as | -imos | desvestimos |
| vosotros/as | -ís | desvestís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | desvisten |
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.
The gerund of desvestir is desvistiendo and the past participle is desvestido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of desvestir
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and desvestir appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.
Habits and routines
The present describes things that happen regularly, as a habit or routine.
"Cada día, yo desvisto a su hijo antes de dormir" — "Every day, I undress his son before bed"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo desviste al paciente en la consulta" — "My friend undresses the patient in the surgery"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo desvisto la muñeca para cambiarla" — "Right now, I undress the doll to change her"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros desvestimos al niño para el baño" — "Tomorrow, we undress the child for his bath"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos desvisten a la modelo en el estudio" — "They undress the model in the studio"
The present tense vs the closest tenses
Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion
The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.
- Present — habit or general fact: {'pre_es': 'Cada día, ', 'pre_en': 'Every day, '}yo desvisto a su hijo antes de dormir — "I undress his son before bed"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo desvestí a su hijo antes de dormir — "I undressed his son before bed"
Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add "used to" in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.
- Present — now: {}tú desvistes al paciente en la consulta — "You undress the patient in the surgery"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú desvestías al paciente en la consulta — "You used to undress the patient in the surgery"
Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen
The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.
- Present — now or a fixed plan: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él desviste la muñeca para cambiarla — "He undresses the doll to change her"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él desvestirá la muñeca para cambiarla — "He will undress the doll to change her"
Examples: desvestir in the present tense
Seven sentences that show desvestir in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo desvisto a su hijo antes de dormir — "I undress his son before bed"
- Tú desvistes al paciente en la consulta — "You undress the patient in the surgery"
- Él desviste la muñeca para cambiarla — "He undresses the doll to change her"
- Nosotros desvestimos al niño para el baño — "We undress the child for his bath"
- Vosotros desvestís a la modelo en el estudio — "You undress the model in the studio"
- Ellos desvisten a su hijo antes de dormir — "They undress his son before bed"
- Yo desvisto al paciente en la consulta — "I undress the patient in the surgery"
Common mistakes with desvestir in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with desvestir in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo desvesto a su hijo antes de dormir.
✓ Correct: Yo desvisto a su hijo antes de dormir.
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.
✗ *Tú desviste al paciente en la consulta.
✓ Correct: Tú desvistes al paciente en la consulta.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes desvistes, él takes desviste.
✗ *Cada día, yo desvestí la muñeca para cambiarla
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo desvisto la muñeca para cambiarla
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros desvestis al niño para el baño.
✓ Correct: Vosotros desvestís al niño para el baño.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: desvestís, not desvestis.
Quiz: desvestir in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of desvestir. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of desvestir for tú? A. desvisto B. desviste C. desvestimos D. desvistes
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
Complete the sentence: Él ______ al paciente en la consulta — "He undresses the patient in the surgery" (present) A. desvisto B. desvistes C. desvestimos D. desviste
Which is the correct present form of desvestir for nosotros? A. desviste B. desvisten C. desvestimos D. desvistes
Which sentence uses desvestir correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo desviste la muñeca para cambiarla B. Mi amigo desvistes la muñeca para cambiarla C. Mi amigo desvestía la muñeca para cambiarla D. Mi amigo desvestimos la muñeca para cambiarla
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ al niño para el baño — "You undress the child for his bath" (present) A. desvestís B. desvisto C. desvistes D. desviste
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ a la modelo en el estudio — "They undress the model in the studio" (present) A. desviste B. desvisten C. desvisto D. desvistes
What is the gerund of desvestir? A. desvestí B. desvistiendo C. desvestido D. desvisto
Answer key
- desvistes — The tú form in the present is desvistes.
- desvisto — The present form for yo is desvisto.
- desviste — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is desviste.
- desvestimos — The nosotros form in the present is desvestimos.
- Mi amigo desviste la muñeca para cambiarla — Mi amigo desviste la muñeca para cambiarla is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- desvestís — The present form for vosotros/as is desvestís.
- desvisten — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is desvisten.
- desvistiendo — The gerund is desvistiendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle desvestido.
Frequently asked questions
Is desvestir regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: 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. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of desvestir?
The gerund is desvistiendo and the past participle is desvestido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I undress" in the present tense?
Say desvisto. For example: Yo desvisto a su hijo antes de dormir — "I undress his son before bed".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of desvestir?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo desvisto a su hijo antes de dormir — "I undress his son before bed". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo desvestí a su hijo antes de dormir — "Yesterday, I undressed his son before bed". Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once.
Related links
- Full conjugation of desvestir — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- desvestir examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Present tense guide — how the present tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.