despegar Present Subjunctive Conjugation
despegar — to unstick
The present subjunctive of despegar features a 'gu' spelling change to keep the hard 'g' sound: despegue, despegues, despegue, despeguemos, despeguéis, despeguen.
despegar Present Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Present Subjunctive
Use this tense when expressing wishes, doubts, or emotions about something being unstuck or a plane taking off, such as 'I hope the plane takes off on time'.
Notes on despegar in the Present Subjunctive
This verb has a spelling change (g to gu) in all persons of the present subjunctive to maintain the hard 'g' sound before the 'e' ending.
Example Sentences
Espero que el avión despegue pronto.
I hope the plane takes off soon.
él/ella/usted
Dudo que despeguen la etiqueta sin romperla.
I doubt they will unstick the label without tearing it.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Tal vez despeguemos los carteles mañana.
Maybe we will unstick the posters tomorrow.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'despege' instead of 'despegue'.
Correct: despegue
Why: In Spanish, 'ge' sounds like a 'j'. You must add a 'u' to keep the hard 'g' sound from the infinitive.
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.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: despegara
The imperfect subjunctive is formed from the third-person plural preterite: despegara, despegaras, despegara, despegáramos, despegarais, despegaran.
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.