Ella Verbsdetenerse to stop, to pause (for a moment), to linger (over) Irregular Verb
At a glance: Detenerse (to stop, to pause (for a moment), to linger (over)) is a widely used reflexive irregular verbs in Spanish. In the present tense: me detengo, te detienes, se detiene, nos detenemos, os detenéis, se 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 (me detuve), future (me detendré), conditional (me detendría) and subjunctive.

Detenerse conjugation tables as a PDF
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The Indicative Present of detenerse 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, “me detengo”, meaning “I stop”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me detengo | I stop |
| Tú | te detienes | you stop |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se detiene | s/he stops |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos detenemos | we stop |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os detenéis | you (plural) stop |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se 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. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Preterite of detenerse is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “me detuve”, meaning “I stopped”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me detuve | I stopped |
| Tú | te detuviste | you stopped |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se detuvo | s/he stopped |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos detuvimos | we stopped |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os detuvisteis | you (plural) stopped |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se detuvieron | they stopped |
How it’s built: Irregular stem detuv- plus the endings -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Imperfect of detenerse is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “me detenía”, meaning “I used to stop”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me detenía | I used to stop |
| Tú | te detenías | you used to stop |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se detenía | s/he used to stop |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos deteníamos | we used to stop |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os deteníais | you (plural) used to stop |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se detenían | they used to stop |
How it’s built: Regular: stem deten- plus the -er endings. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Present Continuous of detenerse is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “me estoy deteniendo”, meaning “I am stopping”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me estoy deteniendo | I am stopping |
| Tú | te estás deteniendo | you are stopping |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se está deteniendo | s/he is stopping |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos estamos deteniendo | we are stopping |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os estáis deteniendo | you (plural) are stopping |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se están deteniendo | they are stopping |
How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund deteniendo. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Informal Future of detenerse is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “me 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 | me voy a detener | I am going to stop |
| Tú | te vas a detener | you are going to stop |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se va a detener | s/he is going to stop |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos vamos a detener | we are going to stop |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os vais a detener | you (plural) are going to stop |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se 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 reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Future of detenerse is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “me detendré”, meaning “I will stop”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me detendré | I will stop |
| Tú | te detendrás | you will stop |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se detendrá | s/he will stop |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos detendremos | we will stop |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os detendréis | you (plural) will stop |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se detendrán | they will stop |
How it’s built: Irregular stem detendr- instead of detener, plus the future endings. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Conditional of detenerse is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “me detendría”, meaning “I would stop”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me detendría | I would stop |
| Tú | te detendrías | you would stop |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se detendría | s/he would stop |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos detendríamos | we would stop |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os detendríais | you (plural) would stop |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se detendrían | they would stop |
How it’s built: Irregular stem detendr- instead of detener, plus the conditional endings. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Present Perfect of detenerse 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, “me he detenido”, meaning “I have stopped”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me he detenido | I have stopped |
| Tú | te has detenido | you have stopped |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se ha detenido | s/he has stopped |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos hemos detenido | we have stopped |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os habéis detenido | you (plural) have stopped |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se 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 reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Past Perfect of detenerse is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “me había detenido”, meaning “I had stopped”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me había detenido | I had stopped |
| Tú | te habías detenido | you had stopped |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se había detenido | s/he had stopped |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos habíamos detenido | we had stopped |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os habíais detenido | you (plural) had stopped |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se 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 reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Future Perfect of detenerse is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “me habré detenido”, meaning “I will have stopped”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me habré detenido | I will have stopped |
| Tú | te habrás detenido | you will have stopped |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se habrá detenido | s/he will have stopped |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos habremos detenido | we will have stopped |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os habréis detenido | you (plural) will have stopped |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se 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 reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of detenerse is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “me habría detenido”, meaning “I would have stopped”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me habría detenido | I would have stopped |
| Tú | te habrías detenido | you would have stopped |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se habría detenido | s/he would have stopped |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos habríamos detenido | we would have stopped |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os habríais detenido | you (plural) would have stopped |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se 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. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
Want detenerse to come out without thinking?
Detenerse follows the same pattern as tener. The app teaches that pattern step by step, then quizzes you until both come out automatically.
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, “me detenga”, meaning “I stop”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me detenga | I stop |
| Tú | te detengas | you stop |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se detenga | s/he stops |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos detengamos | we stop |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os detengáis | you (plural) stop |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se detengan | they stop |
How it’s built: Every form follows the yo present, detengo (detenga, detengas, detenga, detengamos, detengáis, detengan). The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
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, “me detuviera”, meaning “I stopped”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me detuviera | I stopped |
| Tú | te detuvieras | you stopped |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se detuviera | s/he stopped |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos detuviéramos | we stopped |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os detuvierais | you (plural) stopped |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se 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). The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
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, “me detuviere”, meaning “I will stop”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me detuviere | I will stop |
| Tú | te detuvieres | you will stop |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se detuviere | s/he will stop |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos detuviéremos | we will stop |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os detuviereis | you (plural) will stop |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se 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). The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
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, “me haya detenido”, meaning “I have stopped”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me haya detenido | I have stopped |
| Tú | te hayas detenido | you have stopped |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se haya detenido | s/he has stopped |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos hayamos detenido | we have stopped |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os hayáis detenido | you (plural) have stopped |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se 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 reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
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, “me hubiera detenido”, meaning “I had stopped”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me hubiera detenido | I had stopped |
| Tú | te hubieras detenido | you had stopped |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se hubiera detenido | s/he had stopped |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos hubiéramos detenido | we had stopped |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os hubierais detenido | you (plural) had stopped |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se 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 reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Subjunctive Future Perfect is used to speak about something that will have happened if a hypothetical situations occurs in the future. For example, “me 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 | me hubiere detenido | I will have stopped |
| Tú | te hubieres detenido | you will have stopped |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se hubiere detenido | s/he will have stopped |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos hubiéremos detenido | we will have stopped |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os hubiereis detenido | you (plural) will have stopped |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se 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 reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes in front.
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “deténgase”, meaning “(to you formal) stop!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | detente | (to you) stop! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | deténgase | (to you formal) stop! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | detengámonos | let's stop! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | deteneos | (to you plural) stop! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | deténganse | (to you plural formal) stop! |
How it’s built: Tú is irregular (detente); usted and ustedes take the subjunctive present and attach se (deténgase, deténganse); nosotros takes the subjunctive present, drops the s and attaches nos (detengámonos); vosotros drops the final r of the infinitive and attaches os (deteneos).
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 se 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 te detengas | (to you) don't stop! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no se detenga | (to you formal) don't stop! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no nos detengamos | let's not stop! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no os detengáis | (to you plural) don't stop! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no se detengan | (to you plural formal) don't stop! |
How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no te detengas, no se detenga, no nos detengamos, no os detengáis, no se detengan.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
Detenerse 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 (me detuve), future (me detendré), conditional (me detendría) and subjunctive.
In the present tense (presente), detenerse is conjugated as: yo me detengo, tú te detienes, él/ella/usted se detiene, nosotros nos detenemos, vosotros os detenéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes se 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), detenerse is conjugated as: yo me detuve, tú te detuviste, él/ella/usted se detuvo, nosotros nos detuvimos, vosotros os detuvisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes se detuvieron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.
In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), detenerse is conjugated as: yo me detenía, tú te detenías, él/ella/usted se detenía, nosotros nos deteníamos, vosotros os deteníais, ellos/ellas/ustedes se 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), detenerse is conjugated as: yo me detendré, tú te detendrás, él/ella/usted se detendrá, nosotros nos detendremos, vosotros os detendréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes se detendrán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.
In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), detenerse is conjugated as: yo me detenga, tú te detengas, él/ella/usted se detenga, nosotros nos detengamos, vosotros os detengáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes se 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 means ‘to stop, to arrest, to detain’ and detenerse means ‘to stop, to pause (for a moment), to linger (over)’. 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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