Ella Verbsdetener to stop, to arrest, to detain Irregular Verb
At a glance: Detener (to stop, to arrest, to detain) is a widely used irregular verbs in Spanish. In the present tense: detengo, detienes, detiene, detenemos, detenéis, detienen. It is conjugated like tener. Yo adds a g (detengo); tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos change e to ie (detienes, detiene, detienen); nosotros and vosotros are regular. It is also irregular in the preterite (detuve), future (detendré), conditional (detendría) and subjunctive.

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The Indicative Present of detener 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, “detengo”, meaning “I stop”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | detengo | I stop |
| Tú | detienes | you stop |
| Ella / Él / Usted | detiene | s/he stops |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | detenemos | we stop |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | detenéis | you (plural) stop |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | detienen | they stop |
How it’s built: Yo adds a g (detengo); tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos change e to ie (detienes, detiene, detienen); nosotros and vosotros are regular.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Preterite of detener is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “detuve”, meaning “I stopped”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | detuve | I stopped |
| Tú | detuviste | you stopped |
| Ella / Él / Usted | detuvo | s/he stopped |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | detuvimos | we stopped |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | detuvisteis | you (plural) stopped |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | detuvieron | they stopped |
How it’s built: Irregular stem detuv- plus the endings -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Imperfect of detener is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “detenía”, meaning “I used to stop”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | detenía | I used to stop |
| Tú | detenías | you used to stop |
| Ella / Él / Usted | detenía | s/he used to stop |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | deteníamos | we used to stop |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | deteníais | you (plural) used to stop |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | detenían | they used to stop |
How it’s built: Regular: stem deten- plus the -er endings.
The Indicative Present Continuous of detener is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy deteniendo”, meaning “I am stopping”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estoy deteniendo | I am stopping |
| Tú | estás deteniendo | you are stopping |
| Ella / Él / Usted | está deteniendo | s/he is stopping |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estamos deteniendo | we are stopping |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estáis deteniendo | you (plural) are stopping |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | están deteniendo | they are stopping |
How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund deteniendo.
The Indicative Informal Future of detener is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a detener”, meaning “I am going to stop”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | voy a detener | I am going to stop |
| Tú | vas a detener | you are going to stop |
| Ella / Él / Usted | va a detener | s/he is going to stop |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | vamos a detener | we are going to stop |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | vais a detener | you (plural) are going to stop |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | van a detener | they are going to stop |
How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive detener.
The Indicative Future of detener is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “detendré”, meaning “I will stop”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | detendré | I will stop |
| Tú | detendrás | you will stop |
| Ella / Él / Usted | detendrá | s/he will stop |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | detendremos | we will stop |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | detendréis | you (plural) will stop |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | detendrán | they will stop |
How it’s built: Irregular stem detendr- instead of detener, plus the future endings.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Conditional of detener is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “detendría”, meaning “I would stop”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | detendría | I would stop |
| Tú | detendrías | you would stop |
| Ella / Él / Usted | detendría | s/he would stop |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | detendríamos | we would stop |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | detendríais | you (plural) would stop |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | detendrían | they would stop |
How it’s built: Irregular stem detendr- instead of detener, plus the conditional endings.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Present Perfect of detener 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 detenido”, meaning “I have stopped”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | he detenido | I have stopped |
| Tú | has detenido | you have stopped |
| Ella / Él / Usted | ha detenido | s/he has stopped |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hemos detenido | we have stopped |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habéis detenido | you (plural) have stopped |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | han detenido | they have stopped |
How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle detenido.
The Indicative Past Perfect of detener is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había detenido”, meaning “I had stopped”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | había detenido | I had stopped |
| Tú | habías detenido | you had stopped |
| Ella / Él / Usted | había detenido | s/he had stopped |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habíamos detenido | we had stopped |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habíais detenido | you (plural) had stopped |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habían detenido | they had stopped |
How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle detenido.
The Indicative Future Perfect of detener is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré detenido”, meaning “I will have stopped”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habré detenido | I will have stopped |
| Tú | habrás detenido | you will have stopped |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habrá detenido | s/he will have stopped |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habremos detenido | we will have stopped |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habréis detenido | you (plural) will have stopped |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrán detenido | they will have stopped |
How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle detenido.
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of detener is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría detenido”, meaning “I would have stopped”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habría detenido | I would have stopped |
| Tú | habrías detenido | you would have stopped |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habría detenido | s/he would have stopped |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habríamos detenido | we would have stopped |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habríais detenido | you (plural) would have stopped |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrían detenido | they would have stopped |
How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the past participle detenido.
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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, “detenga”, meaning “I stop”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | detenga | I stop |
| Tú | detengas | you stop |
| Ella / Él / Usted | detenga | s/he stops |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | detengamos | we stop |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | detengáis | you (plural) stop |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | detengan | they stop |
How it’s built: Every form follows the yo present, detengo (detenga, detengas, detenga, detengamos, detengáis, detengan).
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, “detuviera”, meaning “I stopped”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | detuviera | I stopped |
| Tú | detuvieras | you stopped |
| Ella / Él / Usted | detuviera | s/he stopped |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | detuviéramos | we stopped |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | detuvierais | you (plural) stopped |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | detuvieran | they stopped |
How it’s built: Built on the irregular ellas/ellos preterite, detuvieron: drop -ron and add the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (detuviéramos).
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, “detuviere”, meaning “I will stop”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | detuviere | I will stop |
| Tú | detuvieres | you will stop |
| Ella / Él / Usted | detuviere | s/he will stop |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | detuviéremos | we will stop |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | detuviereis | you (plural) will stop |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | detuvieren | they will stop |
How it’s built: Built on the irregular ellas/ellos preterite, detuvieron: drop -ron and add the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (detuviéremos).
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
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 detenido”, meaning “I have stopped”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | haya detenido | I have stopped |
| Tú | hayas detenido | you have stopped |
| Ella / Él / Usted | haya detenido | s/he has stopped |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hayamos detenido | we have stopped |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hayáis detenido | you (plural) have stopped |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hayan detenido | they have stopped |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle detenido.
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 detenido”, meaning “I had stopped”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera detenido | I had stopped |
| Tú | hubieras detenido | you had stopped |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiera detenido | s/he had stopped |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéramos detenido | we had stopped |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubierais detenido | you (plural) had stopped |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieran detenido | they had stopped |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle detenido.
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 detenido”, meaning “I will have stopped”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiere detenido | I will have stopped |
| Tú | hubieres detenido | you will have stopped |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiere detenido | s/he will have stopped |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéremos detenido | we will have stopped |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubiereis detenido | you (plural) will have stopped |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieren detenido | they will have stopped |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle detenido.
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “detenga”, meaning “(to you formal) stop!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | detén | (to you) stop! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | detenga | (to you formal) stop! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | detengamos | let's stop! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | detened | (to you plural) stop! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | detengan | (to you plural formal) stop! |
How it’s built: Tú is irregular (detén); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (detenga, detengamos, detengan); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (detened).
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 detenga”, meaning “(to you formal) don't stop!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no detengas | (to you) don't stop! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no detenga | (to you formal) don't stop! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no detengamos | let's not stop! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no detengáis | (to you plural) don't stop! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no detengan | (to you plural formal) don't stop! |
How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no detengas, no detenga, no detengamos, no detengáis, no detengan.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
Detener is an irregular Spanish verb. It is conjugated like tener. In the present tense: yo adds a g (detengo); tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos change e to ie (detienes, detiene, detienen); nosotros and vosotros are regular. It is also irregular in the preterite (detuve), future (detendré), conditional (detendría) and subjunctive.
In the present tense (presente), detener is conjugated as: yo detengo, tú detienes, él/ella/usted detiene, nosotros detenemos, vosotros detenéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes detienen. 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), detener is conjugated as: yo detuve, tú detuviste, él/ella/usted detuvo, nosotros detuvimos, vosotros detuvisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes detuvieron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.
In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), detener is conjugated as: yo detenía, tú detenías, él/ella/usted detenía, nosotros deteníamos, vosotros deteníais, ellos/ellas/ustedes detenían. 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), detener is conjugated as: yo detendré, tú detendrás, él/ella/usted detendrá, nosotros detendremos, vosotros detendréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes detendrán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.
In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), detener is conjugated as: yo detenga, tú detengas, él/ella/usted detenga, nosotros detengamos, vosotros detengáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes detengan. 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.
Detener and detenerse both mean ‘to stop, to arrest, to detain’. Detenerse is the reflexive form of detener, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun – me, te, se, nos, os or se – that matches the subject. The verb itself is conjugated the same way: in the present tense, yo detengo becomes me detengo. In the affirmative tú imperative the pronoun attaches to the end of the verb, so detén becomes detente.
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