distinguir Present Conjugation
distinguir — to tell apart
The present of distinguir is mostly regular, but the 'yo' form changes to 'distingo' to keep the sound right.
distinguir Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present tense to talk about things you can recognize or tell apart right now, or general facts about your ability to differentiate things.
Notes on distinguir in the Present
This verb has a spelling change in the first person (yo). We drop the 'u' to get 'distingo' so it doesn't sound like 'disting-gw-o'. All other forms are regular.
Example Sentences
No distingo los colores en la oscuridad.
I can't tell the colors apart in the dark.
yo
Tú distingues muy bien entre el bien y el mal.
You distinguish very well between right and wrong.
tú
Nosotros distinguimos a los gemelos por su voz.
We tell the twins apart by their voices.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'distinguo' for the yo form.
Correct: distingo
Why: In Spanish, 'gu' followed by 'o' makes a 'gw' sound. To keep the hard 'g' sound of the infinitive, we must drop the 'u'.
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: distinguí
Distinguir is completely regular in the preterite: distinguí, distinguiste, distinguió, distinguimos, distinguisteis, distinguieron.
Imperfect
yo: distinguía
The imperfect of distinguir is regular: distinguía, distinguías, distinguía, distinguíamos, distinguíais, distinguían.
Future
yo: distinguiré
The future of distinguir is regular: just add the endings to the infinitive (distinguiré).
Conditional
yo: distinguiría
The conditional of distinguir is regular: añadiría, añadirías... wait, I mean: distinguiría, distinguirías, etc.
Present Subjunctive
yo: distinga
The present subjunctive follows the 'yo' form change: distinga, distingas, distinga, distingamos, distingáis, distingan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: distinguiera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the preterite stem: distinguiera, distinguieras, distinguiera...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: distingue
Give commands to distinguish: distingue (tú), distinga (usted), distingamos (nosotros), distinguid (vosotros), distingan (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no distingas
Negative commands use the present subjunctive: no distingas, no distinga, no distingamos, no distingáis, no distingan.