detener Present Conjugation
detener — to stop
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.
detener Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present tense to talk about stopping something right now, habitual pauses, or the act of detaining someone in a general sense.
Notes on detener in the Present
Detener follows the pattern of 'tener'. The 'yo' form adds a 'g' (detengo), and the tú, él, and ellos forms change the 'e' to 'ie' (detienes, detiene, detienen).
Example Sentences
Siempre detengo el coche en esta señal.
I always stop the car at this sign.
yo
La policía detiene al sospechoso.
The police are detaining the suspect.
él/ella/usted
¿Por qué no detienes el video un momento?
Why don't you stop the video for a moment?
tú
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'deteno' for the first person.
Correct: detengo
Why: Like 'tener' (tengo), detener adds a 'g' in the yo form.
Mistake: Saying 'detenemos' with a stem change like 'detienemos'.
Correct: detenemos
Why: The nosotros and vosotros forms never undergo the e to ie stem change.
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
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-'.
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.