Desviar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of desviar — "to divert" 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 desviar 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. Desviar means to divert something from its course: desviar el tráfico, desviar la atención, desviar los fondos. It is used for traffic, rivers, attention and money. To see it in a real sentence: Yo desvío el tráfico por otra calle — "I divert the traffic down another street".
Present tense conjugation table: desviar
Every person of desviar in the present tense. The gerund is desviando and the past participle is desviado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | desvío |
| tú | desvías |
| él/ella/Ud. | desvía |
| nosotros/as | desviamos |
| vosotros/as | desviáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | desvían |
How the present of desviar is formed
The present of desviar is built from the stem desvi- plus the present endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar 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 | desvío |
| tú | -as | desvías |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | desvía |
| nosotros/as | -amos | desviamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | desviáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | desvían |
The gerund of desviar is desviando and the past participle is desviado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of desviar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and desviar 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 desvío el tráfico por otra calle" — "Every day, I divert the traffic down another street"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo desvía el río con un canal" — "My friend diverts the river with a canal"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo desvío la atención de sus alumnos" — "Right now, I divert his pupils' attention"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros desviamos la mirada hacia la ventana" — "Tomorrow, we divert his gaze towards the window"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos desvían los fondos a otro proyecto" — "They divert the funds to another project"
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 desvío el tráfico por otra calle — "I divert the traffic down another street"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo desvié el tráfico por otra calle — "I diverted the traffic down another street"
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 desvías el río con un canal — "You divert the river with a canal"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú desviabas el río con un canal — "You used to divert the river with a canal"
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 desvía la atención de sus alumnos — "He diverts his pupils' attention"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él desviará la atención de sus alumnos — "He will divert his pupils' attention"
Examples: desviar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show desviar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo desvío el tráfico por otra calle — "I divert the traffic down another street"
- Tú desvías el río con un canal — "You divert the river with a canal"
- Él desvía la atención de sus alumnos — "He diverts his pupils' attention"
- Nosotros desviamos la mirada hacia la ventana — "We divert his gaze towards the window"
- Vosotros desviáis los fondos a otro proyecto — "You divert the funds to another project"
- Ellos desvían el tráfico por otra calle — "They divert the traffic down another street"
- Yo desvío el río con un canal — "I divert the river with a canal"
Common mistakes with desviar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with desviar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo desvío en el tráfico por otra calle.
✓ Correct: Yo desvío el tráfico por otra calle.
desviar takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo desvío el tráfico por otra calle.
✗ *Tú desvía el río con un canal.
✓ Correct: Tú desvías el río con un canal.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes desvías, él takes desvía.
✗ *Cada día, yo desvié la atención de sus alumnos
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo desvío la atención de sus alumnos
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros desviais la mirada hacia la ventana.
✓ Correct: Vosotros desviáis la mirada hacia la ventana.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: desviáis, not desviais.
Quiz: desviar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of desviar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of desviar for tú? A. desvía B. desviamos C. desvías D. desvío
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el tráfico por otra calle — "I divert the traffic down another street" (present) A. desvías B. desvía C. desviamos D. desvío
Complete the sentence: Él ______ el río con un canal — "He diverts the river with a canal" (present) A. desvías B. desviamos C. desvía D. desvío
Which is the correct present form of desviar for nosotros? A. desvían B. desviamos C. desvías D. desvía
Which sentence uses desviar correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo desvías la atención de sus alumnos B. Mi amigo desviaba la atención de sus alumnos C. Mi amigo desviamos la atención de sus alumnos D. Mi amigo desvía la atención de sus alumnos
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ la mirada hacia la ventana — "You divert his gaze towards the window" (present) A. desvías B. desvía C. desviáis D. desvío
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ los fondos a otro proyecto — "They divert the funds to another project" (present) A. desvío B. desvías C. desvía D. desvían
What is the gerund of desviar? A. desviando B. desviado C. desvío D. desvié
Answer key
- desvías — The tú form in the present is desvías.
- desvío — The present form for yo is desvío.
- desvía — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is desvía.
- desviamos — The nosotros form in the present is desviamos.
- Mi amigo desvía la atención de sus alumnos — Mi amigo desvía la atención de sus alumnos is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- desviáis — The present form for vosotros/as is desviáis.
- desvían — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is desvían.
- desviando — The gerund is desviando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle desviado.
Frequently asked questions
Is desviar regular in the present tense?
Yes — in the present tense desviar follows the regular endings for -ar verbs, as the table above shows.
What is the gerund and the past participle of desviar?
The gerund is desviando and the past participle is desviado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I divert" in the present tense?
Say desvío. For example: Yo desvío el tráfico por otra calle — "I divert the traffic down another street".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of desviar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo desvío el tráfico por otra calle — "I divert the traffic down another street". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo desvié el tráfico por otra calle — "Yesterday, I diverted the traffic down another street". 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 desviar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- desviar 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.