despertar Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation
despertar — to wake (someone) up
The imperfect subjunctive of despertar is regular: despertara, despertaras, despertara, despertáramos, despertarais, despertaran.
despertar Imperfect Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Imperfect Subjunctive
Use this for 'if' clauses or past requests (e.g., 'If I woke you up, you would be angry').
Notes on despertar in the Imperfect Subjunctive
It is based on the preterite 3rd person plural (despertaron). Since that was regular, this tense is regular too.
Example Sentences
Si me despertaras antes, no llegaría tarde.
If you woke me up earlier, I wouldn't be late.
tú
Ella me pidió que la despertara a mediodía.
She asked me to wake her up at noon.
yo
Si despertáramos a papá, se enojaría.
If we woke dad up, he would get angry.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'despiertara'.
Correct: despertara
Why: The imperfect subjunctive is built from the preterite stem, which does not have the e→ie change.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: despierto
Despertar has an e→ie stem change in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Preterite
yo: desperté
Despertar is regular in the preterite: desperté, despertaste, despertó, despertamos, despertasteis, despertaron.
Imperfect
yo: despertaba
Despertar is regular in the imperfect: despertaba, despertabas, despertaba, despertábamos, despertabais, despertaban.
Future
yo: despertaré
The future of despertar is regular: despertaré, despertarás, despertará, despertaremos, despertaréis, despertarán.
Conditional
yo: despertaría
The conditional of despertar is regular: despertaría, despertarías, despertaría, despertaríamos, despertaríais, despertarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: despierte
The present subjunctive follows the e→ie stem change: despierte, despiertes, despierte, despertemos, despertéis, despierten.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: despierta
Give commands using despierta (tú), despierte (usted), or despertad (vosotros).
Negative Imperative
yo: no despiertes
Negative commands use the present subjunctive: no despiertes (tú), no despierte (usted).