Departir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of departir — “to chat, to converse” in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for departir with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. 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. To see it in a real sentence: Departo con sus amigos en el café. — “I chat with my friends in the café.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of departir will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: departir
Every person of departir in the present tense. The gerund is departiendo and the past participle is departido.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | departo |
| tú | departes |
| él/ella/Ud. | departe |
| nosotros/as | departimos |
| vosotros/as | departís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | departen |
How the present indicative of departir is formed
The present indicative of departir is built from the stem plus the present indicative endings for -ir verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ir ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.
| Person | Ending | Form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | departo |
| tú | -es | departes |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | departe |
| nosotros/as | -imos | departimos |
| vosotros/as | -ís | departís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | departen |
Departir is a regular -ir verb in the present tense, so the table above is completely regular. The stem is depart- and the endings are the normal -ir endings, so once you know the pattern you can produce every form on this page.
The gerund of departir is departiendo and the past participle is departido. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.
When to use the present tense of departir
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and departir appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.
Routines and habits
Use the present for things you do regularly, every day or every week. The present is the tense of routine, and departir fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo departo con sus amigos en el café todos los días.” — “I chat with my friends in the café every day.”
General facts
Use the present for facts that are true in general, not just today. When you state how something is, the present is the tense to use.
“Él departe con el vecino en la puerta.” — “He/she chats with the neighbour at the door.”
What is happening right now
Use the present for what is happening at this moment. Spanish often uses the simple present where English uses the progressive, so departo can mean both “I chat” and “I am chating”.
“Ahora mismo, yo departo sobre el viaje de verano.” — “Right now, I chat about the summer trip.”
Fixed plans in the near future
Use the present for a plan that is already fixed, such as something arranged for tomorrow. Spanish uses the present for near-future plans much more freely than English does.
“Mañana, yo departo amigablemente toda la tarde.” — “Tomorrow, I will chat in a friendly way all afternoon.”
Questions and negatives
Use the present to ask about habits and to say what does not happen. The question and the negative use exactly the same forms as the statement.
“¿Tú departes con sus amigos en el café?” — “Do you chat with my friends in the café?”
The present tense vs the closest tenses
Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion
The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.
- Present — habit or general fact: Departe con el vecino en la puerta. — “He/she chats with the neighbour at the door.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Departió con el vecino en la puerta. — the same idea, placed in the preterite.
Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add “used to” in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.
- Present — now: Departen sobre el viaje de verano. — “They chat about the summer trip.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Departían sobre el viaje de verano. — the same idea, placed in the imperfect.
Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen
The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.
- Present — now or a fixed plan: Departes amigablemente toda la tarde. — “You chat in a friendly way all afternoon.”
- Future — what will happen: Departirás amigablemente toda la tarde. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: departir in the present tense
Seven sentences that show departir in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo departo con sus amigos en el café. — “I chat with my friends in the café.”
- Tú departes con el vecino en la puerta. — “You chat with the neighbour at the door.”
- Él departe sobre el viaje de verano. — “He chats about the summer trip.”
- Nosotros departimos amigablemente toda la tarde. — “We chat in a friendly way all afternoon.”
- Vosotros departís con sus amigos en el café. — “You (plural) chat with my friends in the café.”
- Ellos departen con el vecino en la puerta. — “They chat with the neighbour at the door.”
- ¿Tú departes sobre el viaje de verano? — “Do you chat about the summer trip?”
Common mistakes with departir in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with departir in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo departir con sus amigos en el café. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo departo con sus amigos en el café.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of departir is departo, not the infinitive departir.
✗ Vosotros departis con sus amigos en el café. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros departís con sus amigos en el café.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: departís, not departis. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo departo con el vecino en la puerta. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ 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. (confusing departir with conversar).
✓ 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.
Quiz: departir in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of departir. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
1. Which is the correct present tense form of departir for tú?
- a) departes
- b) departo
- c) departe
- d) departen
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ con sus amigos en el café. — “I chat with my friends in the café.”
- a) departe
- b) departimos
- c) departes
- d) departo
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ con el vecino en la puerta. — “He/she chats with the neighbour at the door.” (present tense)
- a) departía
- b) departirá
- c) departe
- d) departió
4. Which is the correct present tense form of departir for nosotros?
- a) departen
- b) departimos
- c) departo
- d) departe
5. Which sentence uses departir correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él departió con el vecino en la puerta.
- b) Él departe con el vecino en la puerta.
- c) Él departirá con el vecino en la puerta.
- d) Ellos departe con el vecino en la puerta.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ sobre el viaje de verano. — “They chat about the summer trip.”
- a) departo
- b) departe
- c) departimos
- d) departen
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ amigablemente toda la tarde? — “Do you chat in a friendly way all afternoon?”
- a) departe
- b) departirás
- c) departes
- d) departo
8. What is the gerund of departir?
- a) departí
- b) departiendo
- c) departido
- d) departo
Answer key
a) departes — The tú form is departes. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; departo is yo, departe is él/ella and departen is ellos/ellas.
d) departo — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: departo. The other options are the wrong person.
c) departe — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: departe. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) departimos — Nosotros takes departimos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ir verbs is -imos, attached to the stem.
b) 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 use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) departen — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is departen.
c) departes — The question needs the tú form in the present: departes.
b) departiendo — The gerund is departiendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle departido.
Frequently asked questions
Is departir regular in the present tense?
Yes. Departir is a regular -ir verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: departo, departes, departe, departimos, departís and departen.
What is the gerund and the past participle of departir?
The gerund is departiendo and the past participle is departido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I chat” in Spanish?
Say departo. For example: Departo con sus amigos en el café. — “I chat with my friends in the café.”
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”. The full conjugation of departir is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of departir — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- departir examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Present tense guide — how the present tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.
- Aturdir conjugation — another -ir verb to compare with departir.
- Aludir conjugation — another -ir verb to compare with departir.
- Aducir conjugation — another -ir verb to compare with departir.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.