detenerla

deh-teh-NEHR-lahdeteˈneɾla

“detenerla” means “to stop her” in Spanish (interrupting a person's movement).

to stop her, to stop it

Also: to arrest her, to delay her

VerbB1irregular er

A person gently placing a hand on the shoulder of a walking woman to stop her progress.

gerunddeteniéndola

past Participledetenido

infinitivedetener

📝 In Action

Ella corría muy rápido y fue imposible detenerla.

She was running very fast and it was impossible to stop her.

Si la hemorragia no para, tenemos que detenerla pronto.

If the bleeding doesn't stop, we have to stop it soon.

La policía tiene una orden para detenerla.

The police have a warrant to arrest her.

Word Connections

Synonyms

pararla (to stop her)
arrestarla (to arrest her)
frenarla (to slow her down / brake her)

Antonyms

soltarla (to let her go)
liberarla (to free her)
empujarla (to push her / encourage her)

Common Collocations

intentar detenerla – to try to stop her
sin poder detenerla – without being able to stop her
orden de detenerla – order to arrest/detain her

🔄 Conjugations

subjunctive

imperfect

ellos/ellas/ustedesla detuvieran

yola detuviera

túla detuvieras

vosotrosla detuvierais

nosotrosla detuviéramos

él/ella/ustedla detuviera

present

ellos/ellas/ustedesla detengan

yola detenga

túla detengas

vosotrosla detengáis

nosotrosla detengamos

él/ella/ustedla detenga

indicative

preterite

ellos/ellas/ustedesla detuvieron

yola detuve

túla detuviste

vosotrosla detuvisteis

nosotrosla detuvimos

él/ella/ustedla detuvo

imperfect

ellos/ellas/ustedesla detenían

yola detenía

túla detenías

vosotrosla deteníais

nosotrosla deteníamos

él/ella/ustedla detenía

present

ellos/ellas/ustedesla detienen

yola detengo

túla detienes

vosotrosla detenéis

nosotrosla detenemos

él/ella/ustedla detiene

View All Tenses & Moods →

✏️ Quick Practice

Quick Quiz: detenerla

Question 1 of 2

In the sentence 'Quiero detenerla', what does 'la' refer to?

📚 More Resources

👥 Word Family▼

detención(detention/arrest) — Noun

detenido(detained person) — Noun

detenedor(stopper/holder) — Noun

🎵 Rhymes▼

comerlaverla perla

📚 Etymology▼

From 'detener', which comes from the Latin 'detinere'. This is a combination of 'de-' (away/down) and 'tenere' (to hold). Basically, it means to 'hold back'.

First recorded: 13th century

Cognates (Related words)

English: detainFrench: détenir

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can 'detenerla' mean 'to arrest her'?

Yes! While it often means to physically stop someone from moving, in a legal context, it is the standard word for 'to arrest' or 'to detain'.

Why is 'la' at the end and not at the beginning?

In Spanish, when a verb is in its basic 'infinitive' form (ending in -ar, -er, or -ir), you must attach pronouns like 'la' to the end of the word.