despegar Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation
despegar — to unstick
The imperfect subjunctive is formed from the third-person plural preterite: despegara, despegaras, despegara, despegáramos, despegarais, despegaran.
despegar Imperfect Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Imperfect Subjunctive
Use this for hypothetical situations or past requests regarding unsticking something, like 'If the plane took off now, we would arrive late'.
Notes on despegar in the Imperfect Subjunctive
This tense is regular based on the preterite stem 'despegar-'. It does not have the 'gu' spelling change found in the present subjunctive.
Example Sentences
Si el avión despegara ahora, llegaríamos a tiempo.
If the plane took off now, we would arrive on time.
él/ella/usted
Me gustaría que despegaras ese chicle de la mesa.
I would like you to unstick that gum from the table.
tú
Si despegaran los precios, compraría más.
If the prices took off (skyrocketed), I would buy more.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on the nosotros form: 'despegaramos'.
Correct: despegáramos
Why: The nosotros form of the imperfect subjunctive always requires a written accent on the third-to-last syllable.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'despegar' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: despego
Despegar is completely regular in the present tense: despego, despegas, despega, despegamos, despegáis, despegan.
Preterite
yo: despegué
The preterite of despegar is regular except for the 'yo' form: despegué, despegaste, despegó, despegamos, despegasteis, despegaron.
Imperfect
yo: despegaba
The imperfect of despegar is regular: despegaba, despegabas, despegaba, despegábamos, despegabais, despegaban.
Future
yo: despegaré
The future of despegar is regular: despegaré, despegarás, despegará, despegaremos, despegaréis, despegarán.
Conditional
yo: despegaría
The conditional of despegar is regular: despegaría, despegarías, despegaría, despegaríamos, despegaríais, despegarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: despegue
The present subjunctive of despegar features a 'gu' spelling change to keep the hard 'g' sound: despegue, despegues, despegue, despeguemos, despeguéis, despeguen.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: despega
The imperative uses 'despega' for informal commands and 'despegue(n)' for formal ones.
Negative Imperative
yo: no despegues
The negative imperative always uses the present subjunctive forms: no despegues, no despegue, no despeguemos, no despeguéis, no despeguen.