despejar Preterite Conjugation
despejar — to clear
The preterite of despejar is regular: despejé, despejaste, despejó, despejamos, despejasteis, despejaron.
despejar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite tense for 'despejar' to talk about actions of clearing that were completed at a specific moment in the past. For example, clearing a table after a meal, or clearing a path before moving forward.
Notes on despejar in the Preterite
Despejar is a regular -ar verb and follows the standard conjugation pattern in the preterite tense.
Example Sentences
Despejé la mesa rápidamente.
I cleared the table quickly.
yo
¿Despejaste el camino con la pala?
Did you clear the path with the shovel?
tú
El equipo despejó el campo de escombros.
The team cleared the field of debris.
él/ella/usted
Despejaron la duda en la reunión.
They cleared up the doubt in the meeting.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect instead of the preterite for a single completed action.
Correct: Use 'Despejé la mesa' (I cleared the table) for a completed action.
Why: The preterite is for specific, finished moments, while the imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on the 'yo' form.
Correct: It's 'despejé', not 'despeje'.
Why: The accent mark on the final 'é' is crucial to indicate the preterite tense for the first-person singular.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: despejo
The present tense (despejo, despejas, etc.) describes current or habitual actions.
Imperfect
yo: despejaba
The imperfect (despejaba, despejabas, etc.) describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
Future
yo: despejaré
The future tense (despejaré, despejarás, etc.) indicates actions that will happen.
Conditional
yo: despejaría
The conditional (despejaría, despejarías, etc.) expresses hypotheticals, polite requests, or future-in-the-past.
Present Subjunctive
yo: despeje
The present subjunctive (despeje, despejes, etc.) follows expressions of doubt, desire, emotion, or uncertainty.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: despejara
The imperfect subjunctive (despejara/despejase) is used for past hypotheticals and wishes.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: despeja
Use despeja, despeje, despejemos, despejen, despejad for direct commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no despejes
Use no despejes, no despeje, no despejemos, no despejen, no despejéis for negative commands.