Discutir Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

discutir means to discuss, to argue, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Discutir means to discuss or to argue, and it covers discussing a price, arguing about politics and arguing with family. In Spain it leans towards arguing, while debatir is the neutral verb for a formal debate. It is a regular -ir verb. This page puts discutir to work: twelve example sentences in different tenses and persons, grouped by use, then two short dialogues where the verb appears naturally, then the common mistakes to avoid, and finally a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every Spanish form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for discutir, and the full tables are on the discutir conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo discuto el precio con el vendedor. — I discuss the price with the seller.
  2. Él discute de política en la cena. — He/she discusses politics at dinner.
  3. Ayer, yo discutí el plan con el equipo. — Yesterday, I discussed the plan with the team.
  4. Antes, nosotros discutíamos con su hermano por el coche. — Before, we used to discuss with her brother about the car.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú discutirás el precio con el vendedor. — Tomorrow, you will discuss the price with the seller.
  2. Yo discutiría de política en la cena. — I would discuss politics at dinner.
  3. Él ha discutido el plan con el equipo. — He/she has discussed the plan with the team.
  4. Espero que él discuta con su hermano por el coche. — I hope he/she discusses with her brother about the car.

With other people

  1. Nosotros discutimos el precio con el vendedor. — We discuss the price with the seller.
  2. Vosotros discutís de política en la cena. — You all discuss politics at dinner.
  3. Antes, ellos discutían el plan con el equipo. — Before, they used to discuss the plan with the team.
  4. Mañana, él discutirá con su hermano por el coche. — Tomorrow, he/she will discuss with her brother about the car.

Discutir in context

Two short dialogues that use discutir the way people really use it. Read them aloud — the verb forms will stick much faster in a conversation than in a table.

Dialogue 1: today and yesterday

  • Ana: "Hola, ¿qué tal?" — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Luis: "Hoy discuto el precio con el vendedor." — "Today I discuss the price with the seller."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, discutí el plan con el equipo." — "Yesterday I discussed the plan with the team."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú discutirás de política en la cena?" — "And tomorrow, will you will discuss politics at dinner?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros discutimos con su hermano por el coche." — "Tomorrow we discuss with her brother about the car."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo discutiría de política en la cena si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would discuss politics at dinner if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él discuta el precio con el vendedor." — "I hope he discusses the price with the seller."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha discutido el plan con el equipo." — "Surely. He has already has discussed the plan with the team."
  • Marta: "Vale, nos vemos mañana." — "OK, see you tomorrow."

Notice how the same verb changes with the tense: the present for the plan, the conditional for the wish, the subjunctive after espero que, and the present perfect for what has already happened. That is the whole point of learning a verb across its tenses, not just in one form.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo discute el precio con el vendedor. — Right: Yo discuto el precio con el vendedor. — The person matters: discute is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is discuto. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Vosotros discutis de política en la cena. — Right: Vosotros discutís de política en la cena. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: discutís, not discutis. The accent marks the stressed vowel.
  3. Wrong: Treating discutir and debatir as identical in every context. — Right: Discutir means to discuss, to argue, while debatir means to debate, the formal partner. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: discutir fits sentences such as Discuto el precio con el vendedor, while debatir belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy discutido de política en la cena. — Right: Yo he discutido de política en la cena. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he discutido, has discutido, ha discutido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo discutí el plan con el equipo todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo discutía el plan con el equipo todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (discutía), not the preterite. The preterite (discutí) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on discutir: four on the forms, three on the meaning, and three on spotting the correct sentence. Check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el precio con el vendedor. (present tense) A. discuto B. discutes C. discute D. discutimos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ de política en la cena. (preterite tense) A. discutí B. discutiste C. discutimos D. discutió

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el plan con el equipo. (future tense) A. discutirá B. discutiremos C. discutirás D. discutiré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ con su hermano por el coche. (imperfect tense) A. discutíais B. discutíamos C. discutía D. discutías

  5. What does "Yo discuto el precio con el vendedor." mean in English? A. I discuss the price with the seller. B. I discuss politics at dinner. C. I discuss the plan with the team. D. I discuss with her brother about the car.

  6. What does "Él discutió de política en la cena." mean in English? A. He/she discussed the price with the seller. B. He/she discussed the plan with the team. C. He/she discussed with her brother about the car. D. He/she discussed politics at dinner.

  7. What does "Nosotros discutiremos el plan con el equipo." mean in English? A. We will discuss politics at dinner. B. We will discuss with her brother about the car. C. We will discuss the plan with the team. D. We will discuss the price with the seller.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo discuten de política en la cena. B. Yo discute de política en la cena. C. Yo discuto de política en la cena.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él discutí el plan con el equipo. B. Él discutió el plan con el equipo. C. Él discutieron el plan con el equipo.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo discuta con su hermano por el coche. B. Yo discutan con su hermano por el coche. C. Yo discuta con su hermano por el coche.

Answer key

  1. discuto — The yo present form of discutir is discuto.
  2. discutió — The el preterite form of discutir is discutió.
  3. discutirás — The tu future form of discutir is discutirás.
  4. discutíamos — The nosotros imperfect form of discutir is discutíamos.
  5. I discuss the price with the seller. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form discuto, so the English is "I discuss the price with the seller." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she discussed politics at dinner. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form discutió, so the English is "He/she discussed politics at dinner." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will discuss the plan with the team. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form discutiremos, so the English is "We will discuss the plan with the team." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo discuto de política en la cena. — The correct sentence is "Yo discuto de política en la cena." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él discutió el plan con el equipo. — The correct sentence is "Él discutió el plan con el equipo." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo discuta con su hermano por el coche. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo discuta con su hermano por el coche." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

What does discutir mean, and when do I use it?

Discutir means to discuss, to argue. Discutir means to discuss or to argue, and it covers discussing a price, arguing about politics and arguing with family. In Spain it leans towards arguing, while debatir is the neutral verb for a formal debate. It is a regular -ir verb. A good first sentence to remember is Yo discuto el precio con el vendedor. — "I discuss the price with the seller."

What is the difference between discutir and debatir?

Discutir means to discuss, to argue, while debatir means to debate, the formal partner. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use discutir when you mean to discuss, to argue, as in Yo discuto de política en la cena., and use debatir for to debate, the formal partner.

How do I say "I discuss" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo discutí de política en la cena.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo discutía el plan con el equipo.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he discutido de política en la cena..

How do I practise discutir?

Start with the discutir conjugation page for the full tables, then the discutir in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Discutir is a regular -ir verb: discutí, discutía, discutiré. In Spain discutir de algo is to argue about it; discutir algo is to discuss it.

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