Departir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

departir means “to chat, to converse” in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Departir means to chat or to converse, to talk with someone in a relaxed, friendly way. It is a slightly formal verb for conversation, fully regular, and it is used in social and literary contexts. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by tense, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of departir; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the departir present tense page.

departir in everyday use: examples with translations

In the present tense

  1. Yo departo con sus amigos en el café. — “I chat with my friends in the café.”
  2. Él departe con el vecino en la puerta. — “He chats with the neighbour at the door.”
  3. Nosotros departimos sobre el viaje de verano. — “We chat about the summer trip.”
  4. Ellos departen amigablemente toda la tarde. — “They chat in a friendly way all afternoon.”

In the past

  1. Ayer, yo departí con el vecino en la puerta. — “Yesterday, I chatted with the neighbour at the door.”
  2. Antes, nosotros departíamos sobre el viaje de verano. — “Before, we used to chat about the summer trip.”
  3. Él departió amigablemente toda la tarde. — “He chatted in a friendly way all afternoon.”
  4. Yo ya había departido con sus amigos en el café antes de salir. — “I had already chatted with my friends in the café before leaving.”

Plans, hopes and possibilities

  1. Mañana, tú departirás con sus amigos en el café. — “Tomorrow, you will chat with my friends in the café.”
  2. Yo departiría con el vecino en la puerta si tuviera más tiempo. — “I would chat with the neighbour at the door if I had more time.”
  3. Él ha departido sobre el viaje de verano. — “He has chatted about the summer trip.”
  4. Espero que él departa amigablemente toda la tarde. — “I hope he chats in a friendly way all afternoon.”

departir in conversation

Two short dialogues that use departir the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

Two friends talk about their day.

  • Ana: Yo departo con sus amigos en el café. — “I chat with my friends in the café.”
  • Bea: Él departe con el vecino en la puerta. — “He chats with the neighbour at the door.”
  • Ana: Ayer, yo departí con el vecino en la puerta. — “Yesterday, I chatted with the neighbour at the door.”
  • Bea: Mañana, tú departirás con sus amigos en el café. — “Tomorrow, you will chat with my friends in the café.”

At home, talking about tomorrow.

  • Luis: Nosotros departimos sobre el viaje de verano. — “We chat about the summer trip.”
  • Marta: Antes, nosotros departíamos sobre el viaje de verano. — “Before, we used to chat about the summer trip.”
  • Luis: Yo departiría con el vecino en la puerta si tuviera más tiempo. — “I would chat with the neighbour at the door if I had more time.”
  • Marta: Espero que él departa amigablemente toda la tarde. — “I hope he chats in a friendly way all afternoon.”

A short scene with departir

A short scene shows how departir works across the day. In the morning: Departo con sus amigos en el café. In the afternoon: Departe con el vecino en la puerta. Yesterday it was different: Ayer, departí sobre el viaje de verano. And tomorrow: Mañana, departiré amigablemente toda la tarde. Four small moments, four tenses, one verb — that is how departir sounds in real life. Try changing the person in each sentence: say it about yourself, about a friend, and about your family, and the forms will start to feel automatic.

Common mistakes with departir

The errors learners actually make with departir, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ Yo departe con sus amigos en el café.

✓ Correct: Yo departo con sus amigos en el café.

The person matters: departe is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is departo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.

✗ Ayer yo departo con el vecino en la puerta.

✓ Correct: Ayer yo departí con el vecino en la puerta.

The present and the preterite are different tenses: departo is happening now, while departí is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.

✗ Treating departir and conversar as identical in every context.

✓ Correct: Departir means to chat, to converse, while conversar means to converse.

They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: departir fits sentences such as Departo con sus amigos en el café, while conversar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.

✗ Yo soy departido con el vecino en la puerta.

✓ Correct: Yo he departido con el vecino en la puerta.

Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he departido, has departido, ha departido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

✗ De niño, yo departí sobre el viaje de verano todos los días.

✓ Correct: De niño, yo departía sobre el viaje de verano todos los días.

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (departía), not the preterite. The preterite (departí) is for one finished action.

Quiz: departir in use

Ten questions on departir — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

1. Complete the sentence: Él ______ con el vecino en la puerta. — “He/she chats with the neighbour at the door.”

  • a) departe
  • b) departo
  • c) departes
  • d) departimos

2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ sobre el viaje de verano. — “Yesterday, I chatted about the summer trip.”

  • a) departiste
  • b) departió
  • c) departieron
  • d) departí

3. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ amigablemente toda la tarde cuando eran jóvenes. — “They used to chat in a friendly way all afternoon when they were young.”

  • a) departías
  • b) departíamos
  • c) departían
  • d) departía

4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, nosotros ______ con sus amigos en el café. — “Tomorrow, we will chat with my friends in the café.”

  • a) departirán
  • b) departiremos
  • c) departiré
  • d) departirás

5. Complete the sentence: Él ______ con el vecino en la puerta si pudiera. — “He would chat with the neighbour at the door if he could.”

  • a) departiría
  • b) departirías
  • c) departiríamos
  • d) departo

6. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ sobre el viaje de verano. — “I have chatted about the summer trip.”

  • a) has departido
  • b) ha departido
  • c) han departido
  • d) he departido

7. Complete the sentence: Espero que tú ______ amigablemente toda la tarde. — “I hope you chat in a friendly way all afternoon.”

  • a) departamos
  • b) departo
  • c) departas
  • d) departa

8. Which is the past participle of departir, used with haber in the perfect tenses?

  • a) departí
  • b) departido
  • c) departiendo
  • d) departo

9. What does departir mean in English?

  • a) to chat, to converse
  • b) to converse
  • c) to derive, to drift
  • d) to decipher

10. Which sentence is correct?

  • a) Él departe con el vecino en la puerta.
  • b) Él departo con el vecino en la puerta.
  • c) Nosotros departe sobre el viaje de verano.
  • d) Yo departe con sus amigos en el café.

Answer key

  1. a) departe — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: departe.

  2. d) departí — The sentence needs the yo form in the preterite: departí, for one finished action yesterday.

  3. c) departían — The sentence needs the ellos/ellas form in the imperfect: departían, for a repeated past habit.

  4. b) departiremos — The sentence needs the nosotros form in the future: departiremos.

  5. a) departiría — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the conditional: departiría.

  6. d) he departido — The sentence needs the yo form in the present perfect: he departido, haber + departido.

  7. c) departas — After espero que, the subjunctive is required: the tú present subjunctive is departas.

  8. b) departido — The past participle is departido: he departido, has departido, ha departido. The gerund departiendo is used with estar instead.

  9. a) to chat, to converse — departir means to chat, to converse. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.

  10. a) Él departe con el vecino en la puerta. — Él departe con el vecino en la puerta. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences mix up the person and the form.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use departir in everyday conversation?

Start with the phrases in the examples above — especially the common combinations such as Departo con sus amigos en el café and Departe con el vecino en la puerta. Use the present tense for habits and general facts, and the preterite for things that happened once. Say the sentences aloud until the forms feel automatic, then swap in your own details: your own town, your own family, your own routine.

What is the difference between departir and conversar?

Departir means “to chat, to converse”, while conversar means “to converse”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use departir when you mean “to chat, to converse” and conversar when you mean “to converse”.

Which tense do I need most with departir?

The present tense, for habits, routines and general facts — that is where you will use departir most. The preterite comes next, for things that happened once and ended. The examples on this page use both, plus the imperfect, the future and the present perfect, so you can see the verb across the tenses you actually need.

Is departir formal or informal?

Departir is neutral — it is used in both formal and informal Spanish, at home, at work and at school. There is no special formal version of it; the same forms work in a conversation with a friend and in a letter to a company. What changes is the situation, not the verb.

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