-ar verb irregular · stem-changing-e-ie C1 · Advanced

Conjugate desalentar in Spanish

to discourage, to dishearten

desalentar is an irregular -ar verb ranked #1496 among the most common Spanish verbs. For example: "No dejes que los fracasos te desalienten." (Don't let failures discourage you.). Use the tables below for full conjugation across all 7 tenses.

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⚡ Irregular verb — desalentar (stem-changing-e-ie) does not follow standard -ar patterns. Pay close attention to the stems in each tense.

Describes current actions, habits, and general truths. The most frequently used tense — master it first.

Pronoun Conjugation
yo desaliento *
desalientas *
él/ella/Ud. desalienta *
nosotros desalentamos
vosotros desalentáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. desalientan *
Example

El mal tiempo desalienta a los turistas.

The bad weather discourages tourists.

Describes completed past actions with a clear start and end. Key signals: ayer, el lunes pasado, de repente.

Pronoun Conjugation
yo desalenté
desalentaste
él/ella/Ud. desalentó
nosotros desalentamos
vosotros desalentasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. desalentaron
Example

Ayer yo desalenté.

Yesterday I discourage, to dishearten.

Describes habitual past actions, background context, and ongoing states. Key signals: siempre, normalmente, cuando era niño.

Pronoun Conjugation
yo desalentaba
desalentabas
él/ella/Ud. desalentaba
nosotros desalentábamos
vosotros desalentabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. desalentaban
Example

Antes yo desalentaba con frecuencia.

Before, I used to discourage, to dishearten often.

Describes future events and predictions. In everyday speech, ir a + infinitive is often preferred for planned events.

Pronoun Conjugation
yo desalentaré
desalentarás
él/ella/Ud. desalentará
nosotros desalentaremos
vosotros desalentaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. desalentarán
Example

Mañana yo desalentaré.

Tomorrow I will discourage, to dishearten.

Expresses what would happen under certain conditions — equivalent to "would" in English. Also used for polite requests.

Pronoun Conjugation
yo desalentaría
desalentarías
él/ella/Ud. desalentaría
nosotros desalentaríamos
vosotros desalentaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. desalentarían
Example

Si pudiera, yo desalentaría.

If I could, I would discourage, to dishearten.

Used in clauses expressing wishes, doubt, emotion, or uncertainty — typically after que. Triggers: querer, esperar, dudar, ojalá.

Pronoun Conjugation
yo desaliente *
desalientes *
él/ella/Ud. desaliente *
nosotros desalentemos
vosotros desalentéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. desalienten *
Example

No dejes que los fracasos te desalienten.

Don't let failures discourage you.

Used to give commands and direct requests. Affirmative and negative forms differ significantly in Spanish.

Pronoun Conjugation
yo -
desalienta *
él/ella/Ud. desaliente *
nosotros desalentemos
vosotros desalentad
ellos/ellas/Uds. desalienten *
Example

No dejes que los fracasos te desalienten.

Don't let failures discourage you.

Test yourself

Type the correct conjugation for each prompt.

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Example sentences

Common phrases with desalentar

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