Desvestir Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb desvestir means to undress, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Desvestir means to undress someone: desvestir a su hijo, desvestir al paciente. For undressing yourself, Spanish uses desvestirse. Like every Spanish verb, desvestir changes its ending for each person and tense, and this page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say Yo desvisto a su hijo antes de dormir — "I undress his son before bed". Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.

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.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: desvestir
  • English: to undress
  • Verb type: stem-changing -ir verb (e → i)
  • Ending: -ir
  • Gerund: desvistiendo
  • Past participle: desvestido
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + desvestido)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for desvestir, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for desvestir. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem.

Present indicative

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | desvisto | | tú | desvistes | | él/ella/Ud. | desviste | | nosotros/as | desvestimos | | vosotros/as | desvestís | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | desvisten |

Preterite

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | desvestí | | tú | desvestiste | | él/ella/Ud. | desvistió | | nosotros/as | desvestimos | | vosotros/as | desvestisteis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | desvistieron |

Imperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | desvestía | | tú | desvestías | | él/ella/Ud. | desvestía | | nosotros/as | desvestíamos | | vosotros/as | desvestíais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | desvestían |

Future

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | desvestiré | | tú | desvestirás | | él/ella/Ud. | desvestirá | | nosotros/as | desvestiremos | | vosotros/as | desvestiréis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | desvestirán |

Conditional

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | desvestiría | | tú | desvestirías | | él/ella/Ud. | desvestiría | | nosotros/as | desvestiríamos | | vosotros/as | desvestiríais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | desvestirían |

Present perfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Future perfect

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

Conditional perfect

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

Present subjunctive

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | desvista | | tú | desvistas | | él/ella/Ud. | desvista | | nosotros/as | desvistamos | | vosotros/as | desvistáis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | desvistan |

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | desvistiera | | tú | desvistieras | | él/ella/Ud. | desvistiera | | nosotros/as | desvistiéramos | | vosotros/as | desvistierais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | desvistieran |

Imperative (affirmative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | desviste | | él/ella/Ud. | desvista | | nosotros/as | desvistamos | | vosotros/as | desvestid | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | desvistan |

Imperative (negative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | desvistas | | él/ella/Ud. | desvista | | nosotros/as | desvistamos | | vosotros/as | desvistáis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | desvistan |

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund desvistiendo with estar for the progressive: está desvistiendo
Past participle desvestido with haber for the perfect tenses: he desvestido

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. 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. For desvestir, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo desvisto a su hijo antes de dormir — "I undress his son before bed".

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. In this tense the stem changes in the third person: desvistió, desvistieron. The gerund changes too: desvistiendo. For desvestir, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, yo desvestí al paciente en la consulta — "Yesterday, I undressed the patient in the surgery".

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For desvestir, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, yo desvestía la muñeca para cambiarla — "As a child, I used to undress the doll to change her".

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For desvestir, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, yo desvestiré al niño para el baño — "Tomorrow, I will undress the child for his bath".

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For desvestir, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo desvestiría a su hijo antes de dormir si pudiera — "I would undress his son before bed if I could".

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For desvestir, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, yo he desvestido al paciente en la consulta — "Today, I have undressed the patient in the surgery".

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For desvestir, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo ya había desvestido la muñeca para cambiarla antes de salir — "I already had undressed the doll to change her before leaving".

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For desvestir, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, yo habré desvestido al niño para el baño — "By tomorrow, I will have undressed the child for his bath".

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For desvestir, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría desvestido a su hijo antes de dormir con más tiempo — "I would have undressed his son before bed with more time".

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. 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. For desvestir, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él desvista al paciente en la consulta — "I hope he undresses the patient in the surgery".

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past. The -ra forms are shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is irregular — see the table above. For desvestir, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo desvistiera la muñeca para cambiarla, todo cambiaría — "If I undressed the doll to change her, everything would change".

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. 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. For desvestir, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Desviste al niño para el baño. — "Undress the child for his bath.".

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. 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. For desvestir, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No desvistas a su hijo antes de dormir. — "Do not undress his son before bed.".

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with desvestir, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  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. Ayer, yo desvestí la muñeca para cambiarla — "Yesterday, I undressed the doll to change her"
  4. Antes, nosotros desvestíamos al niño para el baño — "Before, we used to undress the child for his bath"
  5. Mañana, tú desvestirás a la modelo en el estudio — "Tomorrow, you will undress the model in the studio"
  6. Yo desvestiría a su hijo antes de dormir si tuviera más tiempo — "I would undress his son before bed if I had more time"
  7. Él ha desvestido al paciente en la consulta — "He has undressed the patient in the surgery"
  8. Espero que él desvista la muñeca para cambiarla — "I hope he undresses the doll to change her"
  9. Yo ya había desvestido al niño para el baño antes de salir — "I already had undressed the child for his bath before leaving"
  10. Ellos desvestían a la modelo en el estudio cuando eran jóvenes — "They used to undress the model in the studio when they were young"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo desvesto al paciente en la consulta. — Right: Yo desvisto al paciente en la consulta. — 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.
  2. Wrong: Espero que él desviste al paciente en la consulta — Right: Espero que él desvista al paciente en la consulta — After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él desvista al paciente en la consulta — not the indicative Espero que él desviste al paciente en la consulta.
  3. Wrong: Ayer, yo desvisto la muñeca para cambiarla — Right: Ayer, yo desvestí la muñeca para cambiarla — Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo desvestí la muñeca para cambiarla.
  4. Wrong: De niño, yo desvestí al niño para el baño todos los días — Right: De niño, yo desvestía al niño para el baño todos los días — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo desvestía al niño para el baño todos los días.
  5. Wrong: Yo desvisto su hijo antes de dormir. — Right: Yo desvisto a su hijo antes de dormir. — desvestir takes a before this complement: Yo desvisto a su hijo antes de dormir. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on desvestir. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  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: Él ______ al paciente en la consulta — "He undressed the patient in the surgery" (preterite) A. desvestí B. desvestiste C. desvestimos D. desvistió

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

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú ______ al niño para el baño — "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: Espero que él ______ a su hijo antes de dormir — "I hope he undresses his son before bed" (present subjunctive) A. desvistas B. desvistamos C. desvistáis D. desvista

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ______ al paciente en la consulta, todo cambiaría — "If I undressed the patient in the surgery, everything would change" (imperfect subjunctive) A. desvistieras B. desvistiéramos C. desvistierais D. desvistiera

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ la muñeca para cambiarla — "We have undressed the doll to change her" (present perfect) A. ha desvestido B. hemos desvestido C. he desvestido D. has desvestido

  9. Complete the sentence: No ______ al niño para el baño. — "Do not undress the child for his bath." (negative imperative) A. desvista B. desvistamos C. desvistáis D. desvistas

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

Answer key

  1. desvisto — The present form for yo is desvisto.
  2. desvistió — The preterite form for él/ella/Ud. is desvistió.
  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. desvista — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is desvista.
  7. desvistiera — The imperfect subjunctive form for yo is desvistiera.
  8. hemos desvestido — The present perfect form for nosotros/as is hemos desvestido.
  9. desvistas — The negative imperative form is desvistas.
  10. desvistiendo — The gerund of desvestir is desvistiendo: estoy desvistiendo. The participle desvestido is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does desvestir mean in English?

desvestir means to undress. It is used in everyday situations such as 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.

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. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem, which is the part learners most often get right by accident.

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 I say "I undress" in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Ayer, yo desvestí al paciente en la consulta — "Yesterday, I undressed the patient in the surgery". For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: De niño, yo desvestía la muñeca para cambiarla — "As a child, I used to undress the doll to change her". For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Hoy, yo he desvestido al paciente en la consulta — "Today, I have undressed the patient in the surgery".

What is the difference between desvestir and quitarse?

Quitarse la ropa is the everyday way to say to take your clothes off. Desvestir is more formal and usually takes another person as its object. Desvestir means to undress someone: desvestir a su hijo, desvestir al paciente. For undressing yourself, Spanish uses desvestirse.

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