desvestir Preterite Conjugation
desvestir — to undress
In the preterite, desvestir is irregular only in the third person (él/ellos), where the 'e' changes to 'i'.
desvestir Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use this to describe a completed instance of undressing that happened at a specific point in the past.
Notes on desvestir in the Preterite
Watch out for the 'slipper' effect: the stem change (e to i) only occurs in the third-person singular (desvistió) and plural (desvistieron). Other forms use the regular -ir endings.
Example Sentences
Ayer desvestí al niño muy tarde.
Yesterday I undressed the child very late.
yo
La enfermera desvistió al herido con cuidado.
The nurse undressed the injured man carefully.
él/ella/usted
Ellos desvistieron los altares después de la ceremonia.
They stripped (undressed) the altars after the ceremony.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'desvestió' instead of 'desvistió'.
Correct: desvistió
Why: Third-person forms of E-to-I verbs in the preterite must take the stem change.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: desvisto
Desvestir changes the 'e' to 'i' in all forms except nosotros and vosotros: desvisto, desvistes, desviste, desvisten.
Imperfect
yo: desvestía
Desvestir is completely regular in the imperfect: desvestía, desvestías, desvestía, desvestíamos, desvestíais, desvestían.
Future
yo: desvestiré
The future of desvestir is regular: just add -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án to the infinitive.
Conditional
yo: desvestiría
The conditional of desvestir is regular: desvestiría, desvestirías, desvestiría, etc.
Present Subjunctive
yo: desvista
The present subjunctive uses the 'i' stem change in ALL forms: desvista, desvistas, desvista, desvistamos, desvistáis, desvistan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: desvistiera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'desvisti-' stem from the third-person preterite: desvistiera, desvistieras, desvistiera...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: desviste
Give commands to undress: desviste (tú), desvista (usted), desvistan (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no desvistas
Negative commands use 'no' + present subjunctive: no desvistas, no desvista, no desvistamos, no desvistan.