Spanish Verb Descubrir Conjugation

The Spanish verb descubrir is a close cousin of the English "discover" and has that meaning, although in casual contexts "to find" frequently works better.

Descubrir mostly follows the regular pattern for -ir verbs; only the past participle, descubierto, is irregular. Below you'll find the descubrir conjugations and sample sentences in the present, preterite, imperfect, and future tenses of the indicative mood; the present and imperfect tenses of the subjunctive mood; and the imperative mood. Conjugations for the gerund and past participle are also listed.

The only other verbs that follow the conjugation pattern of descubrir are cubrir and two verbs based on it: encubrir (to conceal) and recubrir (to cover again).

Descubrir Meaning

The prefix des-, which is used similarly to the English prefixes "un-" and "dis-," and cubrir, meaning "to cover," make up descubrir. So descubrir can also mean "to uncover." Other common translations include "to unveil," "to find out," "to find out about," and "to reveal." Descubrir is often synonymous with encontrar (to find), which is more common.

Present Indicative Tense of Descubrir

Descubrir Preterite

The preterite is one of Spanish's two simple past tenses, along with the imperfect. The difference between the two is that the preterite is used for actions having a definite end, while the imperfect is used for background or actions that don't have a defined end.

Imperfect Indicative Form of Descubrir

Because descubrir typically refers to an action that ends at a specific time, it is seldom used in the imperfect tense.

Descubrir Future Tense

Periphrastic Future of Descubrir

"Periphrastic" means simply that something has more than one word. The Spanish periphrastic future functions like the "going to + verb" future in English.

Descubrir Conditional Indicative

The conditional tense is used for verbs whose action takes place if some condition occurs. The condition may be implied rather than directly stated.

Present Progressive/Gerund Form of Descubrir

When it is not used to form a progressive tense, the Spanish gerund acts much like an adverb in that it is used to modify or restrict the meanings of verbs.

Gerund of Descubrir: descubriendo

discovering -> Ella está descubriendo lo que pasó.

Past Participle of Descubrir

Participle of Descubrir: descubierto

discovered -> Ella ha descubierto lo que pasó.

Present Subjunctive of Descubrir

Verbs in the subjunctive mood are rarely the main verb of a sentence. Instead, they typically are part of a phrase that follows que.

Imperfect Subjunctive Form of Descubrir

The imperfect subjunctive is for actions that took place or might have happened in the past. Either one of these forms can be used, although most speakers prefer the first one.

Option 1

Option 2

Imperative Forms of Descubrir

Imperative (Positive Command)

Imperative (Negative Command)