
detener Affirmative Imperative Conjugation
detener — to stop
The imperative for detener has a short 'tú' form: detén.
detener Affirmative Imperative Forms
When to Use the Affirmative Imperative
Use this for direct commands to stop someone or something immediately.
Notes on detener in the Affirmative Imperative
The 'tú' form is 'detén' (like 'ten'). The other forms use the 'g' from the subjunctive: detenga, detengamos, detened, detengan.
Example Sentences
¡Detén el coche ahora mismo!
Stop the car right now!
tú
Detenga a ese hombre, por favor.
Stop that man, please.
Detened el juego, alguien se cayó.
Stop the game, someone fell.
vosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Saying 'detiene' for the command.
Correct: detén
Why: Detener follows the irregular short command pattern of 'tener' (ten).
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: detengo
The present tense of detener is irregular, featuring a 'go' form in the first person (detengo) and a stem change (e to ie) in others.
Preterite
yo: detuve
The preterite of detener is highly irregular, using the 'uv' stem: detuve, detuviste, detuvo, detuvimos, detuvisteis, detuvieron.
Imperfect
yo: detenía
The imperfect of detener is regular: detenía, detenías, detenía, deteníamos, deteníais, detenían.
Future
yo: detendré
The future tense of detener uses the irregular stem 'detendr-': detendré, detendrás, detendrá, etc.
Conditional
yo: detendría
The conditional of detener uses the irregular stem 'detendr-': detendría, detendrías, etc.
Present Subjunctive
yo: detenga
The present subjunctive of detener is based on the 'yo' form: detenga, detengas, detenga, detengamos, detengáis, detengan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: detuviera
The imperfect subjunctive of detener uses the preterite stem 'detuvier-'.
Negative Imperative
yo: no detengas
The negative imperative of detener uses the present subjunctive: no detengas, no detenga, no detengamos, no detengáis, no detengan.