desconocer — Spanish conjugation

to be unaware of (to not know or recognise)

Frequency#160Irregular

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
yo	desconozco	I am unaware of
tú	desconoces	you are unaware of
vos	desconocés	you are unaware of
él/ella/Ud.	desconoce	he/she/it is unaware of
nosotros	desconocemos	we are unaware of
vosotros	desconocéis	you (pl.) are unaware of
ellos/ellas/Uds.	desconocen	they are unaware of

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
yo	desconocí	I was unaware of
tú	desconociste	you were unaware of
vos	desconociste	you were unaware of
él/ella/Ud.	desconoció	he/she/it was unaware of
nosotros	desconocimos	we were unaware of
vosotros	desconocisteis	you (pl.) were unaware of
ellos/ellas/Uds.	desconocieron	they were unaware of

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

Pronoun	Spanish
yo	desconocía
tú	desconocías
vos	desconocías
él/ella/Ud.	desconocía
nosotros	desconocíamos
vosotros	desconocíais
ellos/ellas/Uds.	desconocían

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?

Pronoun	Spanish	English
yo	desconocería	I would be unaware of
tú	desconocerías	you would be unaware of
vos	desconocerías	you would be unaware of
él/ella/Ud.	desconocería	he/she/it would be unaware of
nosotros	desconoceríamos	we would be unaware of
vosotros	desconoceríais	you (pl.) would be unaware of
ellos/ellas/Uds.	desconocerían	they would be unaware of

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
yo	desconoceré	I will be unaware of
tú	desconocerás	you will be unaware of
vos	desconocerás	you will be unaware of
él/ella/Ud.	desconocerá	he/she/it will be unaware of
nosotros	desconoceremos	we will be unaware of
vosotros	desconoceréis	you (pl.) will be unaware of
ellos/ellas/Uds.	desconocerán	they will be unaware of

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
yo	he desconocido	I have been unaware of
tú	has desconocido	you have been unaware of
vos	has desconocido	you have been unaware of
él/ella/Ud.	ha desconocido	he/she/it has been unaware of
nosotros	hemos desconocido	we have been unaware of
vosotros	habéis desconocido	you (pl.) have been unaware of
ellos/ellas/Uds.	han desconocido	they have been unaware of

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
yo	había desconocido	I had been unaware of
tú	habías desconocido	you had been unaware of
vos	habías desconocido	you had been unaware of
él/ella/Ud.	había desconocido	he/she/it had been unaware of
nosotros	habíamos desconocido	we had been unaware of
vosotros	habíais desconocido	you (pl.) had been unaware of
ellos/ellas/Uds.	habían desconocido	they had been unaware of

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

Pronoun	Spanish
yo	habría desconocido
tú	habrías desconocido
vos	habrías desconocido
él/ella/Ud.	habría desconocido
nosotros	habríamos desconocido
vosotros	habríais desconocido
ellos/ellas/Uds.	habrían desconocido

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

Pronoun	Spanish	English
yo	habré desconocido	I will have been unaware of
tú	habrás desconocido	you will have been unaware of
vos	habrás desconocido	you will have been unaware of
él/ella/Ud.	habrá desconocido	he/she/it will have been unaware of
nosotros	habremos desconocido	we will have been unaware of
vosotros	habréis desconocido	you (pl.) will have been unaware of
ellos/ellas/Uds.	habrán desconocido	they will have been unaware of

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

Pronoun	Spanish
yo	desconozca
tú	desconozcas
vos	desconozcas
él/ella/Ud.	desconozca
nosotros	desconozcamos
vosotros	desconozcáis
ellos/ellas/Uds.	desconozcan

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

Pronoun	Spanish
yo	desconociera
tú	desconocieras
vos	desconocieras
él/ella/Ud.	desconociera
nosotros	desconociéramos
vosotros	desconocierais
ellos/ellas/Uds.	desconocieran

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

Pronoun	Spanish
yo	desconociese
tú	desconocieses
vos	desconocieses
él/ella/Ud.	desconociese
nosotros	desconociésemos
vosotros	desconocieseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.	desconociesen

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

Pronoun	Spanish
yo	haya desconocido
tú	hayas desconocido
vos	hayas desconocido
él/ella/Ud.	haya desconocido
nosotros	hayamos desconocido
vosotros	hayáis desconocido
ellos/ellas/Uds.	hayan desconocido

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

Pronoun	Spanish
yo	hubiera desconocido
tú	hubieras desconocido
vos	hubieras desconocido
él/ella/Ud.	hubiera desconocido
nosotros	hubiéramos desconocido
vosotros	hubierais desconocido
ellos/ellas/Uds.	hubieran desconocido

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

Pronoun	Spanish
tú	desconoce
vos	desconocé
él/ella/Ud.	desconozca
nosotros	desconozcamos
vosotros	desconoced
ustedes	desconozcan

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

Pronoun	Spanish
tú	no desconozcas
vos	no desconozcas
él/ella/Ud.	no desconozca
nosotros	no desconozcamos
vosotros	no desconozcáis
ustedes	no desconozcan

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

Pronoun	Spanish
yo	estoy desconociendo
tú	estás desconociendo
vos	estás desconociendo
él/ella/Ud.	está desconociendo
nosotros	estamos desconociendo
vosotros	estáis desconociendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.	están desconociendo

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

Pronoun	Spanish
yo	estuve desconociendo
tú	estuviste desconociendo
vos	estuviste desconociendo
él/ella/Ud.	estuvo desconociendo
nosotros	estuvimos desconociendo
vosotros	estuvisteis desconociendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.	estuvieron desconociendo

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

Pronoun	Spanish
yo	estaba desconociendo
tú	estabas desconociendo
vos	estabas desconociendo
él/ella/Ud.	estaba desconociendo
nosotros	estábamos desconociendo
vosotros	estabais desconociendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.	estaban desconociendo

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

Pronoun	Spanish
yo	estaría desconociendo
tú	estarías desconociendo
vos	estarías desconociendo
él/ella/Ud.	estaría desconociendo
nosotros	estaríamos desconociendo
vosotros	estaríais desconociendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.	estarían desconociendo

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

Pronoun	Spanish
yo	estaré desconociendo
tú	estarás desconociendo
vos	estarás desconociendo
él/ella/Ud.	estará desconociendo
nosotros	estaremos desconociendo
vosotros	estaréis desconociendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.	estarán desconociendo