Describir Conjugation | How to Conjugate Describir in Spanish

Describir means “to describe.” You will learn its regular finite -IR forms, its irregular participle descrito, and the accepted regional participle descripto documented for Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

Describir conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Irregular. Most finite forms of describir follow the ordinary -IR pattern. Its major irregularity is the past participle descrito — “described.” RAE also accepts descripto — “described” — in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

Describir gerund, past participle, and infinitive

The infinitive names the verb, the gerund supports progressive constructions, and the participle forms compound tenses with haber — “to have” as an auxiliary. The primary learner participle is descrito — “described”; descripto — “described” — is an accepted regional alternative documented by RAE.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	describir	to describe
Gerund	describiendo	describing
Past participle	descrito	described

Describir meaning and essential uses

Describir — “to describe” — is usually transitive: it takes the person, object, place, process, or situation being described as its direct object. Describo el problema con detalle. — “I describe the problem in detail.”

It can also describe tracing or following a geometric path: El planeta describe una órbita. — “The planet traces an orbit.” The main learner use remains giving a verbal description of someone or something.

Describir irregular conjugation patterns

The finite stem describ- normally takes the expected -IR endings: describo — “I describe,” describimos — “we describe,” and describieron — “they described.”

The key irregular form is the participle descrito — “described,” used as the primary learner form in the compound tables. The accepted alternative descripto — “described” — is regional and is treated separately rather than substituted mechanically.

Describir indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Describir present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use it for current actions, habits, facts, and contextually near-future events. The stem takes the regular -IR present endings.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	describo	I describe
Tú — you, singular informal	describes	you describe
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	describe	he / she describes; you describe (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	describimos	we describe
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	describís	you describe (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	describen	they describe; you describe (plural)

• Describo el proceso paso a paso. — I describe the process step by step.

Describir preterite conjugation

Preterite (el pretérito perfecto simple / pretérito indefinido) — Use it for completed or bounded past events. The table uses the verified -IR preterite family.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	describí	I described
Tú — you, singular informal	describiste	you described
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	describió	he / she described; you described (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	describimos	we described
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	describisteis	you described (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	describieron	they described; you described (plural)

• La testigo describió el coche con precisión. — The witness described the car precisely.

Describir imperfect conjugation

Imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) — Use it for habitual, background, descriptive, or ongoing past situations. The table uses the regular -IR imperfect family.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	describía	I used to describe / was describing
Tú — you, singular informal	describías	you used to describe / were describing
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	describía	he / she used to describe / was describing; you used to describe / were describing (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	describíamos	we used to describe / were describing
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	describíais	you used to describe / were describing (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	describían	they used to describe / were describing; you used to describe / were describing (plural)

• Antes describía cada detalle en sus cartas. — He / she used to describe every detail in the letters.

Describir present progressive

Present progressive — This verbal periphrasis focuses on an action or process in progress. Form it with present estar — “to be” — plus describiendo — the gerund of the target verb.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	estoy describiendo	I am describing
Tú — you, singular informal	estás describiendo	you are describing
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	está describiendo	he / she is describing; you are describing (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	estamos describiendo	we are describing
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	estáis describiendo	you are describing (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	están describiendo	they are describing; you are describing (plural)

• Estamos describiendo los resultados del estudio. — We are describing the study results.

Describir near future conjugation

Near future — This verbal periphrasis expresses a plan, intention, or expected event. Form it with present ir — “to go” — plus a — “to” — and describir — “to describe.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	voy a describir	I am going to describe
Tú — you, singular informal	vas a describir	you are going to describe
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	va a describir	he / she is going to describe; you are going to describe (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	vamos a describir	we are going to describe
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	vais a describir	you are going to describe (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	van a describir	they are going to describe; you are going to describe (plural)

• Voy a describir la escena con detalle. — I am going to describe the scene in detail.

Describir future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, where context supports it, probability. The endings attach to the full infinitive; this verb has no special future or conditional stem.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	describiré	I will describe
Tú — you, singular informal	describirás	you will describe
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	describirá	he / she will describe; you will describe (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	describiremos	we will describe
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	describiréis	you will describe (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	describirán	they will describe; you will describe (plural)

• Describiré el procedimiento en el informe. — I will describe the procedure in the report.

Describir conditional conjugation

Conditional (el condicional simple) — Use it for hypothetical outcomes, softened statements, or other conditional meanings supported by context. The endings attach to the full infinitive; this verb has no special future or conditional stem.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	describiría	I would describe
Tú — you, singular informal	describirías	you would describe
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	describiría	he / she would describe; you would describe (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	describiríamos	we would describe
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	describiríais	you would describe (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	describirían	they would describe; you would describe (plural)

• Describiría la situación de otra manera. — I would describe the situation differently.

Describir present perfect conjugation

Present perfect (el pretérito perfecto compuesto) — Use it for completed events connected to a present reference frame; its distribution varies across Spanish-speaking regions. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle descrito — “described.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	he descrito	I have described
Tú — you, singular informal	has descrito	you have described
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	ha descrito	he / she has described; you have described (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hemos descrito	we have described
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habéis descrito	you have described (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	han descrito	they have described; you have described (plural)

• He descrito todos los síntomas. — I have described all the symptoms.

Describir past perfect conjugation

Past perfect (el pretérito pluscuamperfecto) — Use it for an event completed before another past reference point. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle descrito — “described.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	había descrito	I had described
Tú — you, singular informal	habías descrito	you had described
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	había descrito	he / she had described; you had described (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habíamos descrito	we had described
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habíais descrito	you had described (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habían descrito	they had described; you had described (plural)

• Ya habíamos descrito el problema. — We had already described the problem.

Describir future perfect conjugation

Future perfect (el futuro perfecto) — Use it for an event expected to be completed before a future reference point. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle descrito — “described.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habré descrito	I will have described
Tú — you, singular informal	habrás descrito	you will have described
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habrá descrito	he / she will have described; you will have described (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habremos descrito	we will have described
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habréis descrito	you will have described (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrán descrito	they will have described; you will have described (plural)

• Para entonces habrán descrito todo el proceso. — By then they will have described the whole process.

Describir conditional perfect conjugation

Conditional perfect (el condicional compuesto) — Use it for a hypothetical completed outcome. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle descrito — “described.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habría descrito	I would have described
Tú — you, singular informal	habrías descrito	you would have described
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habría descrito	he / she would have described; you would have described (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habríamos descrito	we would have described
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habríais descrito	you would have described (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrían descrito	they would have described; you would have described (plural)

• Habría descrito mejor la ruta con un mapa. — I would have described the route better with a map.

Describir subjunctive conjugations

Describir present subjunctive conjugation

Present subjunctive (el presente de subjuntivo) — Use it in subordinate contexts involving wishes, influence, emotion, doubt or denial, evaluation, necessity, possibility, or non-specific reference. It uses the regular present-subjunctive endings for a -IR verb.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	describa	that I describe
Tú — you, singular informal	describas	that you describe
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	describa	that he / she describe; that you describe (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	describamos	that we describe
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	describáis	that you describe (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	describan	that they describe; that you describe (plural)

• Necesito que describas lo que viste. — I need you to describe what you saw.

Describir imperfect subjunctive conjugation

Imperfect subjunctive (el imperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses the -ra series. The accepted -se series is also valid in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table; do not treat the two series as mechanically interchangeable in every special construction. These forms are built from the preterite third-person plural family; the main table shows the -ra series.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	describiera	that I described
Tú — you, singular informal	describieras	that you described
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	describiera	that he / she described; that you described (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	describiéramos	that we described
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	describierais	that you described (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	describieran	that they described; that you described (plural)

• Querían que describiéramos la experiencia. — They wanted us to describe the experience.
• Preferían que describieses el objeto sin tocarlo. — They preferred that you describe the object without touching it.

Describir future subjunctive conjugation

Future subjunctive (el futuro de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. It survives mainly in formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical contexts and is included here as a reference system. These reference forms share the same historical stem family as the imperfect subjunctive.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	describiere	if / when I should describe
Tú — you, singular informal	describieres	if / when you should describe
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	describiere	if / when he / she should describe; if / when you should describe (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	describiéremos	if / when we should describe
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	describiereis	if / when you should describe (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	describieren	if / when they should describe; if / when you should describe (plural)

• Quien describiere los hechos deberá identificarse. — Whoever should describe the events must identify themselves.

Describir present perfect subjunctive conjugation

Present perfect subjunctive (el pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) — Use it when a completed event appears inside a present- or future-oriented subjunctive environment. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle descrito — “described.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	haya descrito	that I have described
Tú — you, singular informal	hayas descrito	that you have described
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	haya descrito	that he / she has described; that you have described (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hayamos descrito	that we have described
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hayáis descrito	that you have described (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hayan descrito	that they have described; that you have described (plural)

• Dudo que haya descrito todos los detalles. — I doubt that he / she has described all the details.

Describir past perfect subjunctive conjugation

Past perfect subjunctive (el pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses hubiera; hubiese is an accepted auxiliary alternative in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle descrito — “described.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiera descrito	that I had described
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieras descrito	that you had described
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiera descrito	that he / she had described; that you had described (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéramos descrito	that we had described
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubierais descrito	that you had described (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieran descrito	that they had described; that you had described (plural)

• Si hubiéramos descrito mejor el problema, habría sido más fácil resolverlo. — If we had described the problem better, it would have been easier to solve.
• Si hubieses descrito la señal, la habríamos reconocido. — If you had described the sign, we would have recognized it.

Describir future perfect subjunctive conjugation

Future perfect subjunctive (el futuro perfecto de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. It is a reference form used mainly in formal, legal, literary, or historical contexts. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle descrito — “described.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiere descrito	if / when I should have described
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieres descrito	if / when you should have described
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiere descrito	if / when he / she should have described; if / when you should have described (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéremos descrito	if / when we should have described
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubiereis descrito	if / when you should have described (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieren descrito	if / when they should have described; if / when you should have described (plural)

• Si hubieren descrito los daños, constarán en el acta. — If they should have described the damage, it will appear in the record.

Describir imperative and commands

Commands address another person directly. Spanish uses different morphological sources depending on person and polarity; the nosotros/nosotras row is a present-subjunctive form used with exhortative “let’s…” value.

Describir affirmative commands

Use affirmative commands for direct instructions when the target verb supports that function naturally. The table includes the five core addressee or exhortative rows.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	describe	describe
Usted — you, singular formal	describa	describe (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	describamos	let’s describe
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	describid	describe (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	describan	describe (plural)

• Describe la imagen con dos frases. — Describe the image in two sentences.

Describir negative commands

Negative commands use subjunctive-based forms. The particle no — “not / do not” — comes before the command form.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no describas	do not describe
Usted — you, singular formal	no describa	do not describe (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no describamos	let’s not describe
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no describáis	do not describe (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no describan	do not describe (plural)

• No describas datos privados. — Do not describe private data.

Common constructions with Describir

These target-verb patterns show sentence frames that materially affect how the verb is used.

• describir algo con detalle. — to describe something in detail.
• describir a una persona. — to describe a person.
• describir una trayectoria. — to trace / describe a path.

Example sentences with Describir

These examples reinforce the target verb across useful forms and contexts already explained in the lesson.

• Describe tu habitación. — Describe your room.
• Ella describió al sospechoso. — She described the suspect.
• Hemos descrito los cambios principales. — We have described the main changes.
• Quiero que describas el sonido. — I want you to describe the sound.
• El informe describe una tendencia clara. — The report describes a clear trend.
• No puedo describir exactamente lo que sentí. — I cannot describe exactly what I felt.

Regional and usage notes for Describir

The core tables use the primary participle descrito — “described.” RAE also accepts descripto — “described” — in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Voseo also changes common present and affirmative-command forms in regions where vos is used.

• Vos describís el problema con claridad. — You describe the problem clearly. (voseo)
• Describí lo que viste. — Describe what you saw. (affirmative vos command)
• Hemos descripto el proceso. — We have described the process. (accepted participle in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay)

Most finite forms of describir are straightforward -IR forms. The form to memorize is the primary participle descrito — “described”; recognize descripto — “described” — as an accepted regional alternative rather than a universal replacement.