Distinguirse Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb distinguirse means to stand out, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. It is a spelling-changing -ir verb, reflexive verb: the stem is distingu and the endings follow the -ir pattern, with the exceptions noted in the tables below. 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 «Me distingo todos los días», which means «I stand out every day». 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.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: distinguirse
  • English: to stand out
  • Verb type: spelling-changing -ir verb, reflexive
  • Ending: -ir
  • Gerund: distinguiendo
  • Past participle: distinguido
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + distinguido)
  • Reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nos, os, se — one before every conjugated form, matching the person.
  • Spelling change: in the present indicative the yo form is distingo, not distinguo, so the stem-final letter changes before e and i.
  • Spelling change: in the present subjunctive the yo form is distinga, not distingua, so the stem-final letter changes before e and i.

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

distinguirse is reflexive: Me distingo todos los días; te distingues todos los días. Without the pronoun, the verb means doing the action to someone else rather than to yourself, so keep the pronoun with the form.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for distinguirse. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.

Gerund: distinguiendo · Past participle: distinguido

Present Indicative

Person Pronoun Form
yo me distingo
tú te distingues
él/ella/Ud. se distingue
nosotros/as nos distinguimos
vosotros/as os distinguís
ellos/ellas/Uds. se distinguen

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For distinguirse, the yo form is distingo, as in the examples below. Use the present for routines («todos los días») and for general truths, and remember that Spanish often uses the present where English would use a progressive or a near future.

Preterite

Person Pronoun Form
yo me distinguí
tú te distinguiste
él/ella/Ud. se distinguió
nosotros/as nos distinguimos
vosotros/as os distinguisteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se distinguieron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo distinguí» is the classic use. Do not confuse it with the imperfect: the preterite moves the story forward, one finished event at a time.

Imperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me distinguía
tú te distinguías
él/ella/Ud. se distinguía
nosotros/as nos distinguíamos
vosotros/as os distinguíais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se distinguían

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. «De pequeño, yo distinguía» shows the habitual use. It sets the scene while the preterite reports what happened inside it.

Future

Person Pronoun Form
yo me distinguiré
tú te distinguirás
él/ella/Ud. se distinguirá
nosotros/as nos distinguiremos
vosotros/as os distinguiréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se distinguirán

The future tense states what will happen. For distinguirse the future is built on the infinitive: «Mañana yo distinguiré». It is also used for predictions and promises, and in spoken Spanish it often alternates with ir a + infinitive.

Conditional

Person Pronoun Form
yo me distinguiría
tú te distinguirías
él/ella/Ud. se distinguiría
nosotros/as nos distinguiríamos
vosotros/as os distinguiríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se distinguirían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo distinguiría» is the typical pattern. It shares its stem with the future and changes only the endings.

Present Perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me he distinguido
tú te has distinguido
él/ella/Ud. se ha distinguido
nosotros/as nos hemos distinguido
vosotros/as os habéis distinguido
ellos/ellas/Uds. se han distinguido

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. It is haber in the present plus the past participle: «Hoy yo he distinguido». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.

Pluperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me había distinguido
tú te habías distinguido
él/ella/Ud. se había distinguido
nosotros/as nos habíamos distinguido
vosotros/as os habíais distinguido
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habían distinguido

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había distinguido». It is haber in the imperfect plus the past participle, and it is the tense for explaining what had already happened when something else took place.

Future Perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habré distinguido
tú te habrás distinguido
él/ella/Ud. se habrá distinguido
nosotros/as nos habremos distinguido
vosotros/as os habréis distinguido
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrán distinguido

The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré distinguido» is the pattern — haber in the future plus the past participle. It is less common in speech but regular in formal writing.

Conditional Perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habría distinguido
tú te habrías distinguido
él/ella/Ud. se habría distinguido
nosotros/as nos habríamos distinguido
vosotros/as os habríais distinguido
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrían distinguido

The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría distinguido si hubiera podido». It is haber in the conditional plus the past participle, and it is the tense for regrets and missed chances.

Present Subjunctive

Person Pronoun Form
yo me distinga
tú te distingas
él/ella/Ud. se distinga
nosotros/as nos distingamos
vosotros/as os distinguáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se distingan

The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él distinga». The trigger is in the main clause; the subjunctive is the mood of uncertainty, desire and influence. Learn the yo form first — most of the table follows from it.

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)

Person Pronoun Form
yo me distinguiera
tú te distinguieras
él/ella/Ud. se distinguiera
nosotros/as nos distinguiéramos
vosotros/as os distinguierais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se distinguieran

The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él distinguiera, todo sería distinto». The table above shows the -ra forms, the ones you will hear most often. There is also a less common -se set built on the same stem.

Imperative — Affirmative

Person Pronoun Form
tú te distingue
él/ella/Ud. se distinga
nosotros/as nos distingamos
vosotros/as os distinguid
ellos/ellas/Uds. se distingan

There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.

In real speech the reflexive pronoun attaches to the end of an affirmative command; the table shows the pronoun and the form separately so you can see both parts.

The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡distingue!». There is no yo form — you cannot command yourself. The tú form is the one you will use with friends and family, and the usted form with people you address formally.

Imperative — Negative

Person Pronoun Form
tú te distingas
él/ella/Ud. se distinga
nosotros/as nos distingamos
vosotros/as os distinguáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se distingan

There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.

In real speech the reflexive pronoun attaches to the end of an affirmative command; the table shows the pronoun and the form separately so you can see both parts.

The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No distingas!». Unlike the affirmative imperative, the negative forms come from the present subjunctive, which is why they look different. Never use the affirmative form after no.

Example sentences

  1. Me distingo todos los días. — I stand out every day.
  2. Ayer me distinguí por la tarde. — Yesterday I stood out in the afternoon.
  3. Antes, me distinguía todos los días. — In the past, I used to stand out every day.
  4. Mañana me distinguiré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will stand out without fail.
  5. Si tuviera más tiempo, me distinguiría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would stand out right now.
  6. Hoy me he distinguido dos veces. — Today I have stood out twice.
  7. Espero que te distingas pronto. — I hope You stand out soon.
  8. Si me distinguiera, todo sería distinto. — If I stood out, everything would be different.
  9. Ahora mismo me estoy distinguiendo. — Right now I am standing out.
  10. ¡No te distingas! — Don't stand out!

Common mistakes

1. Forgetting the reflexive pronoun

Wrong: yo distingo todos los días.

Right: me distingo todos los días.

distinguirse is reflexive: the pronoun me belongs before every conjugated form. Without it, you are using the non-reflexive verb, which means something different — doing the action to someone else instead of to yourself.

2. Missing the spelling change in the present indicative

Wrong: Yo distinguo.

Right: Yo distingo.

The spelling changes so the pronunciation stays the same: the yo form in the present indicative is distingo, not distinguo. The endings are regular — only the spelling of the stem-final letter adjusts before e and i.

3. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer me distinguía.

Right: Ayer me distinguí.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, distinguí. The imperfect distinguía describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.

4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que te distingues.

Right: Espero que te distingas.

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: distingas, not the indicative distingues. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.

5. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No te distingue.

Right: No te distingas.

Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no distingas. The affirmative distingue can never follow no.

6. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He distinguiendo.

Right: He distinguido.

The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he distinguido. The gerund distinguiendo goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy distinguiendo»), never with haber.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the nosotros/as form of distinguirse in the present indicative?

- (a) distingue
- (b) distingo
- (c) distinguimos
- (d) distingues

2. What is the vosotros/as form of distinguirse in the preterite?

- (a) distinguisteis
- (b) distinguí
- (c) distinguiste
- (d) distinguió

3. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of distinguirse in the imperfect?

- (a) distinguías
- (b) distinguía
- (c) distinguía
- (d) distinguían

4. What is the yo form of distinguirse in the future?

- (a) distinguiré
- (b) distinguiremos
- (c) distinguirás
- (d) distinguirá

5. What is the tú form of distinguirse in the conditional?

- (a) distinguiríamos
- (b) distinguiría
- (c) distinguiría
- (d) distinguirías

6. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of distinguirse in the present perfect?

- (a) hemos distinguido
- (b) has distinguido
- (c) he distinguido
- (d) ha distinguido

7. What is the nosotros/as form of distinguirse in the present subjunctive?

- (a) distingas
- (b) distinga
- (c) distingamos
- (d) distinga

8. What is the vosotros/as form of distinguirse in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)?

- (a) distinguierais
- (b) distinguiera
- (c) distinguiera
- (d) distinguieras

9. What is the gerund of distinguirse?

- (a) distingo
- (b) distinguiendo
- (c) distinguirse
- (d) distinguido

10. What is the past participle of distinguirse?

- (a) distinguido
- (b) distinguirse
- (c) distinguí
- (d) distinguiendo

Answer key

1. (c) — In the present indicative, the nosotros/as form of distinguirse is distinguimos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (a) — In the preterite, the vosotros/as form of distinguirse is distinguisteis. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (d) — In the imperfect, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of distinguirse is distinguían. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (a) — In the future, the yo form of distinguirse is distinguiré. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (d) — In the conditional, the tú form of distinguirse is distinguirías. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (d) — In the present perfect, the él/ella/Ud. form of distinguirse is ha distinguido. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (c) — In the present subjunctive, the nosotros/as form of distinguirse is distingamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (a) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the vosotros/as form of distinguirse is distinguierais. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (b) — The gerund of distinguirse is distinguiendo. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy distinguiendo». 10. (a) — The past participle of distinguirse is distinguido. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he distinguido».

Frequently asked questions

Is distinguirse regular or irregular?

Mostly yes — distinguirse takes the regular -ir endings, but the spelling of the stem changes in some forms (for example the yo preterite distinguí). The endings never change; only the stem-final letter adjusts so the pronunciation stays the same.

What are the gerund and past participle of distinguirse?

The gerund is distinguiendo and the past participle is distinguido. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy distinguiendo») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he distinguido»).

How do I say «I stand out» in Spanish?

Say «Me distingo todos los días». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.

What is the difference between the preterite and the imperfect of distinguirse?

Use the preterite (distinguí) for a single finished event and the imperfect (distinguía) for habits and background. «Ayer yo distinguí» reports something that happened and ended; «Antes, yo distinguía» describes what used to happen.

When do I use the subjunctive with distinguirse?

Use the subjunctive after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions — for example «Espero que tú distingas». The trigger sits in the main clause; once it is there, the subjunctive form is required, not a stylistic choice.

What does the -se in distinguirse mean?

The -se marks distinguirse as reflexive: the action comes back to the subject. You always pair the form with its pronoun — me, te, se, nos, os, se — placed before the conjugated verb. Dropping the pronoun changes the meaning, so treat the pronoun as part of the verb.

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