desconfiar — Spanish conjugation

to distrust, to mistrust

Frequency#502Irregular

Indicative

Present (Presente) Irregular

The present tense is the most versatile tense in Spanish. It covers actions happening right now, habitual actions, and even near-future plans. One form does the work of three English constructions.

Ella habla inglés — She speaks / is speaking English

PronounSpanishEnglish
yodesconfíoI distrust
desconfíasyou distrust
vosdesconfiásyou distrust
él/ella/Ud.desconfíahe/she/it distrusts
nosotrosdesconfiamoswe distrust
vosotrosdesconfiáisyou (pl.) distrust
ellos/ellas/Uds.desconfíanthey distrust

Preterite (Pretérito indefinido) Regular

Used for completed past actions with a defined endpoint — a single event, a series of events, or an action that interrupted another. Common with time expressions like ayer, el lunes, una vez.

Ella habló de ti ayer — She spoke about you yesterday

PronounSpanishEnglish
yodesconfiéI distrusted
desconfiasteyou distrusted
vosdesconfiasteyou distrusted
él/ella/Ud.desconfióhe/she/it distrusted
nosotrosdesconfiamoswe distrusted
vosotrosdesconfiasteisyou (pl.) distrusted
ellos/ellas/Uds.desconfiaronthey distrusted

Imperfect (Pretérito imperfecto) Regular

Describes ongoing or habitual past states — what things were like, background context, what used to happen. Contrasts with the preterite which marks completed events.

Cuando era niño vivía en Valencia — When I was a child I lived in Valencia

PronounSpanish
yodesconfiaba
desconfiabas
vosdesconfiabas
él/ella/Ud.desconfiaba
nosotrosdesconfiábamos
vosotrosdesconfiabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.desconfiaban

Conditional (Condicional) Regular

Expresses hypothetical actions, polite requests, and what would happen under certain conditions. Also used for reported speech about the future from a past perspective.

¿Podrías ayudarme? — Could you help me?

PronounSpanishEnglish
yodesconfiaríaI would distrust
desconfiaríasyou would distrust
vosdesconfiaríasyou would distrust
él/ella/Ud.desconfiaríahe/she/it would distrust
nosotrosdesconfiaríamoswe would distrust
vosotrosdesconfiaríaisyou (pl.) would distrust
ellos/ellas/Uds.desconfiaríanthey would distrust

Future (Futuro) Regular

Expresses future actions, predictions, and probability about the present. Formed with the full infinitive as stem for most verbs. In spoken Spanish, ir a + infinitive is often preferred for near future.

Ella hablará en conferencia mañana — She will speak at the conference tomorrow

PronounSpanishEnglish
yodesconfiaréI will distrust
desconfiarásyou will distrust
vosdesconfiarásyou will distrust
él/ella/Ud.desconfiaráhe/she/it will distrust
nosotrosdesconfiaremoswe will distrust
vosotrosdesconfiaréisyou (pl.) will distrust
ellos/ellas/Uds.desconfiaránthey will distrust

Present perfect (Pretérito perfecto) Regular

A compound past tense linking a past action to the present moment — something that has happened and still feels recent or relevant. More common in Spain than Latin America where preterite is preferred.

Hoy he hablado con el jefe — Today I have spoken with the boss

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohe desconfiadoI have distrusted
has desconfiadoyou have distrusted
voshas desconfiadoyou have distrusted
él/ella/Ud.ha desconfiadohe/she/it has distrusted
nosotroshemos desconfiadowe have distrusted
vosotroshabéis desconfiadoyou (pl.) have distrusted
ellos/ellas/Uds.han desconfiadothey have distrusted

Pluperfect (Pretérito pluscuamperfecto) Regular

The past of the past — describes an action that was already completed before another past event happened. Always implies a reference point in the past.

Ya había hablado cuando llegaste — She had already spoken when you arrived

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohabía desconfiadoI had distrusted
habías desconfiadoyou had distrusted
voshabías desconfiadoyou had distrusted
él/ella/Ud.había desconfiadohe/she/it had distrusted
nosotroshabíamos desconfiadowe had distrusted
vosotroshabíais desconfiadoyou (pl.) had distrusted
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían desconfiadothey had distrusted

Conditional perfect (Condicional perfecto) Regular

Expresses what would have happened — actions that were possible but did not occur, or regrets about the past. Formed with conditional of haber + past participle.

Habría hablado, pero no me dejaron — I would have spoken, but they did not let me

PronounSpanish
yohabría desconfiado
habrías desconfiado
voshabrías desconfiado
él/ella/Ud.habría desconfiado
nosotroshabríamos desconfiado
vosotroshabríais desconfiado
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrían desconfiado

Future perfect (Futuro perfecto) Regular

Describes an action that will have been completed by a certain point in the future, or expresses probability about a recent past action.

Para el lunes habré terminado — By Monday I will have finished

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohabré desconfiadoI will have distrusted
habrás desconfiadoyou will have distrusted
voshabrás desconfiadoyou will have distrusted
él/ella/Ud.habrá desconfiadohe/she/it will have distrusted
nosotroshabremos desconfiadowe will have distrusted
vosotroshabréis desconfiadoyou (pl.) will have distrusted
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán desconfiadothey will have distrusted

Subjunctive

Present subjunctive (Subjuntivo presente) Irregular

Used in subordinate clauses after expressions of desire, doubt, emotion, necessity, or impersonal statements. Triggered by a change of subject between the main and subordinate clause.

Espero que hable — I hope she speaks

PronounSpanish
yodesconfíe
desconfíes
vosdesconfíes
él/ella/Ud.desconfíe
nosotrosdesconfiemos
vosotrosdesconfiéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.desconfíen

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra) (Subjuntivo imperfecto (-ra)) Regular

The past subjunctive used after past main verbs, in if-clauses with conditional, and for polite softening. The -ra form is more common in everyday speech than the -se form.

Si pudiera, lo haría — If I could, I would do it

PronounSpanish
yodesconfiara
desconfiaras
vosdesconfiaras
él/ella/Ud.desconfiara
nosotrosdesconfiáramos
vosotrosdesconfiarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.desconfiaran

Imperfect subjunctive (-se) (Subjuntivo imperfecto (-se)) Regular

The alternative past subjunctive form. Interchangeable with -ra in most contexts but slightly more literary or formal. Both forms are grammatically correct in all regions.

Si pudiese, lo haría — If I could, I would do it

PronounSpanish
yodesconfiase
desconfiases
vosdesconfiases
él/ella/Ud.desconfiase
nosotrosdesconfiásemos
vosotrosdesconfiaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.desconfiasen

Perfect subjunctive (Pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) Regular

A compound subjunctive that expresses completed actions in a subjunctive context — used after present or future main verbs expressing doubt, emotion or desire.

Dudo que ya haya llegado — I doubt she has already arrived

PronounSpanish
yohaya desconfiado
hayas desconfiado
voshayas desconfiado
él/ella/Ud.haya desconfiado
nosotroshayamos desconfiado
vosotroshayáis desconfiado
ellos/ellas/Uds.hayan desconfiado

Pluperfect subjunctive (Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) Regular

Expresses what had happened in hypothetical or unreal past contexts — the subjunctive equivalent of the pluperfect. Common in contrary-to-fact past conditions.

Si hubiera hablado, lo habrían creído — If she had spoken, they would have believed her

PronounSpanish
yohubiera desconfiado
hubieras desconfiado
voshubieras desconfiado
él/ella/Ud.hubiera desconfiado
nosotroshubiéramos desconfiado
vosotroshubierais desconfiado
ellos/ellas/Uds.hubieran desconfiado

Other forms

Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo afirmativo) Irregular

Direct commands and instructions. The imperative only exists for tú, usted, nosotros, vosotros and ustedes — yo has no command form. Affirmative and negative forms use different conjugations.

Habla más despacio — Speak more slowly

PronounSpanish
desconfía
vosdesconfiá
él/ella/Ud.desconfíe
nosotrosdesconfiemos
vosotrosdesconfiad
ustedesdesconfíen

Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Regular

Negative commands use the subjunctive forms for all persons. Formed with no + present subjunctive. This applies to all persons including tú where the affirmative uses a different form.

No hables tan rápido — Do not speak so fast

PronounSpanish
no desconfíes
vosno desconfíes
él/ella/Ud.no desconfíe
nosotrosno desconfiemos
vosotrosno desconfiéis
ustedesno desconfíen

Present progressive (Presente progresivo) Regular

Emphasises that an action is happening right now at this very moment. Less common than in English since the present tense already covers ongoing actions in Spanish.

Estoy hablando contigo — I am speaking with you

PronounSpanish
yoestoy desconfiando
estás desconfiando
vosestás desconfiando
él/ella/Ud.está desconfiando
nosotrosestamos desconfiando
vosotrosestáis desconfiando
ellos/ellas/Uds.están desconfiando

Preterite progressive (Pretérito indefinido progresivo) Regular

Describes an action that was in progress throughout a completed past period. Uses the preterite of estar + gerund to emphasise the ongoing nature within a defined timeframe.

Estuvo hablando toda la tarde — He was talking all afternoon

PronounSpanish
yoestuve desconfiando
estuviste desconfiando
vosestuviste desconfiando
él/ella/Ud.estuvo desconfiando
nosotrosestuvimos desconfiando
vosotrosestuvisteis desconfiando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estuvieron desconfiando

Imperfect progressive (Pretérito imperfecto progresivo) Regular

Emphasises an ongoing background action using the imperfect of estar + gerund. Layered on top of the imperfect which already conveys continuity — used for extra emphasis on the progressive nature.

Estaba hablando cuando entró — I was speaking when he came in

PronounSpanish
yoestaba desconfiando
estabas desconfiando
vosestabas desconfiando
él/ella/Ud.estaba desconfiando
nosotrosestábamos desconfiando
vosotrosestabais desconfiando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estaban desconfiando

Conditional progressive (Condicional progresivo) Regular

Expresses what would be in progress under hypothetical conditions. Uses the conditional of estar + gerund. Less common but used for emphasis on the ongoing nature of a hypothetical action.

Estaría hablando ahora si pudiera — I would be speaking now if I could

PronounSpanish
yoestaría desconfiando
estarías desconfiando
vosestarías desconfiando
él/ella/Ud.estaría desconfiando
nosotrosestaríamos desconfiando
vosotrosestaríais desconfiando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarían desconfiando

Future progressive (Futuro progresivo) Regular

Describes an action that will be in progress at a future point, or expresses probability about an ongoing present action. Uses the future of estar + gerund.

Mañana a esta hora estaré viajando — At this time tomorrow I will be travelling

PronounSpanish
yoestaré desconfiando
estarás desconfiando
vosestarás desconfiando
él/ella/Ud.estará desconfiando
nosotrosestaremos desconfiando
vosotrosestaréis desconfiando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarán desconfiando