Discutir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of discutir — "to discuss, to argue" 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 discutir 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. 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. To see it in a real sentence: Él discute el precio con el vendedor. — "He/she discusses the price with the seller." Work through the table below, then the formation notes, the usage rules and the contrast with the preterite, and test yourself at the end.

Present tense conjugation table: discutir

Every person of discutir in the present tense. The gerund is discutiendo and the past participle is discutido.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo discuto
tú discutes
él/ella/Ud. discute
nosotros/as discutimos
vosotros/as discutís
ellos/ellas/Uds. discuten

How the present indicative of discutir is formed

The present indicative of discutir is built from the stem discut- 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 discuto
tú -es discutes
él/ella/Ud. -e discute
nosotros/as -imos discutimos
vosotros/as -ís discutís
ellos/ellas/Uds. -en discuten

The gerund of discutir is discutiendo and the past participle is discutido. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.

When to use the present tense of discutir

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and discutir 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 tense describes things you do regularly. If you do it every day, every week or every morning, the present is the tense to use. For discutir, this use looks like this: "Yo discuto el precio con el vendedor." — "I discuss the price with the seller." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

General facts

The present tense states facts that are generally true, not tied to one moment. It is the tense for definitions and permanent situations. For discutir, this use looks like this: "Él discute de política en la cena." — "He/she discusses politics at dinner." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

What is happening now

The present tense also covers what is happening at this moment, especially with verbs that describe an action in progress. For discutir, this use looks like this: "Nosotros discutimos el plan con el equipo." — "We discuss the plan with the team." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Timetables and schedules

The present tense is used for fixed plans and timetables, such as trains, classes and opening times, even when they refer to the future. For discutir, this use looks like this: "Ellos discuten con su hermano por el coche." — "They discuss with her brother about the car." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Instructions and requests

The present tense appears in instructions and polite requests, where it sounds softer than a direct command. For discutir, this use looks like this: "Tú discutes el precio con el vendedor." — "You discuss the price with the seller." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

The present tense vs the preterite

Learners often mix up the present and the preterite with discutir. The rule is simple: the present is for habits, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite is for one finished action in the past. The three pairs below show the same idea in both tenses, so you can feel the difference.

Pair 1: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Yo discuto el precio con el vendedor." — "I discuss the price with the seller."
  • Preterite: "Yo discutí el precio con el vendedor." — "I discussed the price with the seller." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 2: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Él discute de política en la cena." — "He/she discusses politics at dinner."
  • Preterite: "Él discutió de política en la cena." — "He/she discussed politics at dinner." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 3: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Nosotros discutimos el plan con el equipo." — "We discuss the plan with the team."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros discutimos el plan con el equipo." — "We discussed the plan with the team." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Example sentences in the present tense

Eight natural sentences with discutir in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo discuto el precio con el vendedor. — I discuss the price with the seller.
  2. Tú discutes de política en la cena. — You discuss politics at dinner.
  3. Él discute el plan con el equipo. — He/she discusses the plan with the team.
  4. Nosotros discutimos con su hermano por el coche. — We discuss with her brother about the car.
  5. Vosotros discutís el precio con el vendedor. — You all discuss the price with the seller.
  6. Ellos discuten de política en la cena. — They discuss politics at dinner.
  7. Yo discuto el plan con el equipo. — I discuss the plan with the team.
  8. Él discute con su hermano por el coche. — He/she discusses with her brother about the car.

Common mistakes

  1. 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.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo discuto el plan con el equipo. — Right: Ayer, yo discutí el plan con el equipo. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (discutí), not the present (discuto). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. 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.
  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. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

Eight questions on the present tense of discutir. Choose the right form, then 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: Tú ___ de política en la cena. (present tense) A. discutes B. discuto C. discute D. discutimos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el plan con el equipo. (present tense) A. discute B. discuto C. discutes D. discutimos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ con su hermano por el coche. (present tense) A. discutimos B. discuto C. discutes D. discute

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ el precio con el vendedor. (present tense) A. discutís B. discuto C. discutes D. discute

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ de política en la cena. (present tense) A. discuten B. discuto C. discutes D. discute

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el plan con el equipo. (present tense) A. discuto B. discutes C. discute D. discutimos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ con su hermano por el coche. (present tense) A. discute B. discuto C. discutes D. discutimos

Answer key

  1. discuto — The yo present form of discutir is discuto. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. discutes — The tu present form of discutir is discutes. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. discute — The el present form of discutir is discute. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. discutimos — The nosotros present form of discutir is discutimos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. discutís — The vosotros present form of discutir is discutís. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. discuten — The ellos present form of discutir is discuten. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. discuto — The yo present form of discutir is discuto. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. discute — The el present form of discutir is discute. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of discutir?

Use the present tense of discutir for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo discuto el precio con el vendedor. — "I discuss the price with the seller." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of discutir formed?

Take the stem discut- and add the present endings for -ir verbs. The full table is at the top of this page.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of discutir?

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo discuto de política en la cena. with Yo discutí de política en la cena. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of discutir?

Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the discutir examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Discutir conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.

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