detener Imperfect Conjugation
detener — to stop
The imperfect of detener is regular: detenía, detenías, detenía, deteníamos, deteníais, detenían.
detener Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe an ongoing state of being stopped or a habitual action in the past, like a train that used to stop at every station.
Notes on detener in the Imperfect
This tense is completely regular for -er verbs. Just add the -ía endings to the stem 'deten-'.
Example Sentences
El tren se detenía en cada pueblo.
The train used to stop in every town.
él/ella/usted
Antes, ellos no detenían el tráfico por aquí.
Before, they didn't stop traffic around here.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Yo detenía el reloj cada vez que hacíamos una pausa.
I would stop the clock every time we took a break.
yo
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on the 'i'.
Correct: detenía
Why: All imperfect endings for -er verbs require an accent on the 'í'.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'detener' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
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.
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-'.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: detén
The imperative for detener has a short 'tú' form: detén.
Negative Imperative
yo: no detengas
The negative imperative of detener uses the present subjunctive: no detengas, no detenga, no detengamos, no detengáis, no detengan.