Ella Verbsdespegar to take off (of a plane), to unstick, to peel off Irregular Verb
At a glance: Despegar (to take off (of a plane), to unstick, to peel off) is a irregular verb in Spanish. In the present tense: despego, despegas, despega, despegamos, despegáis, despegan. The present tense is regular. In the preterite: yo adds a u (despegué); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (despegue).

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The Indicative Present of despegar is used to talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths. For example, “despego”, meaning “I take off”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | despego | I take off |
| Tú | despegas | you take off |
| Ella / Él / Usted | despega | s/he takes off |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | despegamos | we take off |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | despegáis | you (plural) take off |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | despegan | they take off |
How it’s built: Regular: stem despeg- plus the -ar endings.
The Indicative Preterite of despegar is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “despegué”, meaning “I took off”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | despegué | I took off |
| Tú | despegaste | you took off |
| Ella / Él / Usted | despegó | s/he took off |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | despegamos | we took off |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | despegasteis | you (plural) took off |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | despegaron | they took off |
How it’s built: Yo adds a u (despegué); the other forms are regular.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Imperfect of despegar is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “despegaba”, meaning “I used to take off”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | despegaba | I used to take off |
| Tú | despegabas | you used to take off |
| Ella / Él / Usted | despegaba | s/he used to take off |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | despegábamos | we used to take off |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | despegabais | you (plural) used to take off |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | despegaban | they used to take off |
How it’s built: Regular: stem despeg- plus the -ar endings.
The Indicative Present Continuous of despegar is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy despegando”, meaning “I am taking off”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estoy despegando | I am taking off |
| Tú | estás despegando | you are taking off |
| Ella / Él / Usted | está despegando | s/he is taking off |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estamos despegando | we are taking off |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estáis despegando | you (plural) are taking off |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | están despegando | they are taking off |
How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund despegando.
The Indicative Informal Future of despegar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a despegar”, meaning “I am going to take off”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | voy a despegar | I am going to take off |
| Tú | vas a despegar | you are going to take off |
| Ella / Él / Usted | va a despegar | s/he is going to take off |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | vamos a despegar | we are going to take off |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | vais a despegar | you (plural) are going to take off |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | van a despegar | they are going to take off |
How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive despegar.
The Indicative Future of despegar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “despegaré”, meaning “I will take off”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | despegaré | I will take off |
| Tú | despegarás | you will take off |
| Ella / Él / Usted | despegará | s/he will take off |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | despegaremos | we will take off |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | despegaréis | you (plural) will take off |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | despegarán | they will take off |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive despegar plus the future endings.
The Indicative Conditional of despegar is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “despegaría”, meaning “I would take off”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | despegaría | I would take off |
| Tú | despegarías | you would take off |
| Ella / Él / Usted | despegaría | s/he would take off |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | despegaríamos | we would take off |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | despegaríais | you (plural) would take off |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | despegarían | they would take off |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive despegar plus the conditional endings.
The Indicative Present Perfect of despegar is used to describe actions that started recently (in the past) and are still happening now or things that have been done recently. For example, “he despegado”, meaning “I have taken off”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | he despegado | I have taken off |
| Tú | has despegado | you have taken off |
| Ella / Él / Usted | ha despegado | s/he has taken off |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hemos despegado | we have taken off |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habéis despegado | you (plural) have taken off |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | han despegado | they have taken off |
How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle despegado.
The Indicative Past Perfect of despegar is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había despegado”, meaning “I had taken off”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | había despegado | I had taken off |
| Tú | habías despegado | you had taken off |
| Ella / Él / Usted | había despegado | s/he had taken off |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habíamos despegado | we had taken off |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habíais despegado | you (plural) had taken off |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habían despegado | they had taken off |
How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle despegado.
The Indicative Future Perfect of despegar is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré despegado”, meaning “I will have taken off”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habré despegado | I will have taken off |
| Tú | habrás despegado | you will have taken off |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habrá despegado | s/he will have taken off |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habremos despegado | we will have taken off |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habréis despegado | you (plural) will have taken off |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrán despegado | they will have taken off |
How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle despegado.
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of despegar is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría despegado”, meaning “I would have taken off”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habría despegado | I would have taken off |
| Tú | habrías despegado | you would have taken off |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habría despegado | s/he would have taken off |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habríamos despegado | we would have taken off |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habríais despegado | you (plural) would have taken off |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrían despegado | they would have taken off |
How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the past participle despegado.
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The Subjunctive Present is used to talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about. For example, “despegue”, meaning “I take off”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | despegue | I take off |
| Tú | despegues | you take off |
| Ella / Él / Usted | despegue | s/he takes off |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | despeguemos | we take off |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | despeguéis | you (plural) take off |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | despeguen | they take off |
How it’s built: Every form adds a u (despegue, despegues, despegue, despeguemos, despeguéis, despeguen).
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Subjunctive Imperfect is used to speak about unlikely or uncertain events in the past or to cast an opinion (emotional) about something that happened in the past. For example, “despegara”, meaning “I took off”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | despegara | I took off |
| Tú | despegaras | you took off |
| Ella / Él / Usted | despegara | s/he took off |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | despegáramos | we took off |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | despegarais | you (plural) took off |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | despegaran | they took off |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, despegaron, without -ron, plus the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (despegáramos).
The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, “despegare”, meaning “I will take off”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | despegare | I will take off |
| Tú | despegares | you will take off |
| Ella / Él / Usted | despegare | s/he will take off |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | despegáremos | we will take off |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | despegareis | you (plural) will take off |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | despegaren | they will take off |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, despegaron, without -ron, plus the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (despegáremos).
The Subjunctive Present Perfect is used to describe past actions or events that are still connected to the present day and to speak about an action that will have happened by a certain time in the future. For example, “haya despegado”, meaning “I have taken off”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | haya despegado | I have taken off |
| Tú | hayas despegado | you have taken off |
| Ella / Él / Usted | haya despegado | s/he has taken off |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hayamos despegado | we have taken off |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hayáis despegado | you (plural) have taken off |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hayan despegado | they have taken off |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle despegado.
The Subjunctive Past Perfect is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that occurred before other actions/events in the past. For example, “hubiera despegado”, meaning “I had taken off”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera despegado | I had taken off |
| Tú | hubieras despegado | you had taken off |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiera despegado | s/he had taken off |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéramos despegado | we had taken off |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubierais despegado | you (plural) had taken off |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieran despegado | they had taken off |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle despegado.
The Subjunctive Future Perfect is used to speak about something that will have happened if a hypothetical situations occurs in the future. For example, “hubiere despegado”, meaning “I will have taken off”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiere despegado | I will have taken off |
| Tú | hubieres despegado | you will have taken off |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiere despegado | s/he will have taken off |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéremos despegado | we will have taken off |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubiereis despegado | you (plural) will have taken off |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieren despegado | they will have taken off |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle despegado.
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “despegue”, meaning “(to you formal) take off!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | despega | (to you) take off! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | despegue | (to you formal) take off! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | despeguemos | let's take off! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | despegad | (to you plural) take off! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | despeguen | (to you plural formal) take off! |
How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present (despega); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (despegue, despeguemos, despeguen); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (despegad).
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, “no despegue”, meaning “(to you formal) don't take off!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no despegues | (to you) don't take off! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no despegue | (to you formal) don't take off! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no despeguemos | let's not take off! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no despeguéis | (to you plural) don't take off! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no despeguen | (to you plural formal) don't take off! |
How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no despegues, no despegue, no despeguemos, no despeguéis, no despeguen.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
Despegar is an irregular Spanish verb. The present tense is regular. In the preterite: yo adds a u (despegué); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (despegue).
In the present tense (presente), despegar is conjugated as: yo despego, tú despegas, él/ella/usted despega, nosotros despegamos, vosotros despegáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes despegan. The present tense is used To talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths.
In the preterite (pretérito indefinido), despegar is conjugated as: yo despegué, tú despegaste, él/ella/usted despegó, nosotros despegamos, vosotros despegasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes despegaron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.
In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), despegar is conjugated as: yo despegaba, tú despegabas, él/ella/usted despegaba, nosotros despegábamos, vosotros despegabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes despegaban. The imperfect is used To describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do.
In the future tense (futuro simple), despegar is conjugated as: yo despegaré, tú despegarás, él/ella/usted despegará, nosotros despegaremos, vosotros despegaréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes despegarán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.
In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), despegar is conjugated as: yo despegue, tú despegues, él/ella/usted despegue, nosotros despeguemos, vosotros despeguéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes despeguen. The present subjunctive is used To talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about.
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