The presente de subjuntivo of descender is used to express wishes, desires, or uncertainty about descending or going down, for example: Espero que no desciendas por esa escalera resbaladiza. (I hope you don’t go down that slippery staircase.)

This is a stem-changing verb, where the ‘e’ changes to ‘ie’ in all subjunctive forms except nosotros and vosotros. This follows the common pattern for many Spanish verbs.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Descender (to descend) in the Subjunctive Mood tense (Castilian Spanish):

Descender generally means to descend or go down, but has several different meanings in the Subjunctive Mood, some of which might surprise you.

To descend physically: For example, Espero que descienda con cuidado por la escalera resbaladiza (I hope you descend the slippery stairs carefully).

To decrease or diminish: For example, Es importante que la inflación descienda para que la economía se recupere (It’s important that inflation descends so the economy can recover).

To originate or derive: For example, Aunque descienda de una familia humilde, ha logrado mucho éxito (Even though he descends from a humble family, he has achieved a lot of success).

To go down in status or rank (colloquial): For example, No me gustaría que descendieras a ese nivel de comportamiento (I wouldn’t like you to descend to that level of behavior).

To go into details (colloquial): For example, No desciendas tanto en los detalles, solo dime lo esencial (Don’t descend so much into the details, just tell me the essentials).

Examples

Examples of Descender in the Subjunctive Mood

Es importante que el alpinista descienda con cuidado por la montaña. (It’s important that the climber descends carefully down the mountain.)

Ojalá que el equipo descienda a la segunda división. (I hope the team gets relegated to the second division.)

Para que los precios desciendan, el gobierno debe controlar la inflación. (For prices to go down, the government must control inflation.)

El juez ordenó que los manifestantes descendieran de los techos. (The judge ordered that the protesters come down from the roofs.)

Sugiero que descendáis por las escaleras de emergencia. (I suggest you descend via the emergency stairs.)

Si el río desciende más, habrá inundaciones en el pueblo. (If the river level drops further, there will be floods in the town.)

Es una lástima que los niveles de oxígeno desciendan tanto en la ciudad. (It’s a pity that oxygen levels drop so much in the city.)

Tal vez descendamos a pie por el sendero, en vez de tomar el teleférico. (Maybe we should hike down the trail, instead of taking the cable car.)

Insisto en que descendas de ahí antes de que te caigas. (I insist that you come down from there before you fall.)

Ojalá que las temperaturas desciendan un poco esta semana. (I hope the temperatures drop a bit this week.)

Quiero que los escaladores desciendan con mucho cuidado por esa pared. (I want the climbers to descend that wall very carefully.)

Es una pena que la calidad de vida descienda tanto en las grandes ciudades. (It’s a shame that the quality of life drops so much in big cities.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Descender (to descend) in the Subjunctive Mood tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Subjunctive mood is also known as the Simple Subjunctive, Subjunctive Present, or Present Subjunctive Mood in English, and as Presente de Subjuntivo, Subjuntivo Presente, Presente del Modo Subjuntivo, or Tiempo Presente del Subjuntivo in Spanish.