Departir Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb departir means to chat, to converse, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know 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. Like every Spanish verb, departir changes its ending for each person and tense, and this page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say departo con sus amigos en el café, and in the preterite you say departí sobre el viaje de verano. Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: departir
  • English: to chat, to converse
  • Verb type: regular -ir verb
  • Ending: -ir
  • Gerund: departiendo
  • Past participle: departido
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + departido)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for departir, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Departir is fully regular: departo, departe. It is chatting in a relaxed way; conversar is the standard word for conversing.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for departir. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo departo
tú departes
él/ella/Ud. departe
nosotros/as departimos
vosotros/as departís
ellos/ellas/Uds. departen

Preterite

Person Form
yo departí
tú departiste
él/ella/Ud. departió
nosotros/as departimos
vosotros/as departisteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. departieron

Imperfect

Person Form
yo departía
tú departías
él/ella/Ud. departía
nosotros/as departíamos
vosotros/as departíais
ellos/ellas/Uds. departían

Future

Person Form
yo departiré
tú departirás
él/ella/Ud. departirá
nosotros/as departiremos
vosotros/as departiréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. departirán

Conditional

Person Form
yo departiría
tú departirías
él/ella/Ud. departiría
nosotros/as departiríamos
vosotros/as departiríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. departirían

Present perfect

Person Form
yo he departido
tú has departido
él/ella/Ud. ha departido
nosotros/as hemos departido
vosotros/as habéis departido
ellos/ellas/Uds. han departido

Pluperfect

Person Form
yo había departido
tú habías departido
él/ella/Ud. había departido
nosotros/as habíamos departido
vosotros/as habíais departido
ellos/ellas/Uds. habían departido

Future perfect

Person Form
yo habré departido
tú habrás departido
él/ella/Ud. habrá departido
nosotros/as habremos departido
vosotros/as habréis departido
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán departido

Conditional perfect

Person Form
yo habría departido
tú habrías departido
él/ella/Ud. habría departido
nosotros/as habríamos departido
vosotros/as habríais departido
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrían departido

Present subjunctive

Person Form
yo departa
tú departas
él/ella/Ud. departa
nosotros/as departamos
vosotros/as departáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. departan

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo departiera
tú departieras
él/ella/Ud. departiera
nosotros/as departiéramos
vosotros/as departierais
ellos/ellas/Uds. departieran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú departe
él/ella/Ud. departa
nosotros/as departamos
vosotros/as departid
ellos/ellas/Uds. departan

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú departas
él/ella/Ud. departa
nosotros/as departamos
vosotros/as departáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. departan

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund departiendo with estar for the progressive: estoy departiendo
Past participle departido with haber for the perfect tenses: he departido

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For departir, the present looks like this in a real sentence: Departo con sus amigos en el café. Learn the present forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For departir, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, departí con el vecino en la puerta. Learn the preterite forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For departir, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, departía sobre el viaje de verano. Learn the imperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For departir, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, departiré amigablemente toda la tarde. Learn the future forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For departir, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Departiría con sus amigos en el café si pudiera. Learn the conditional forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For departir, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, he departido con el vecino en la puerta. Learn the present perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For departir, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Había departido sobre el viaje de verano antes de salir. Learn the pluperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For departir, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, habré departido amigablemente toda la tarde. Learn the future perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For departir, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Habría departido con sus amigos en el café con más tiempo. Learn the conditional perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For departir, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él departa con el vecino en la puerta. Learn the present subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past, and note the -ra forms shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For departir, the imperfect subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Si él departiera sobre el viaje de verano, todo cambiaría. Learn the imperfect subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For departir, the affirmative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: ¡Departe amigablemente toda la tarde! Learn the affirmative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For departir, the negative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: No departas con sus amigos en el café. Learn the negative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with departir, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Departo con sus amigos en el café. — I chat with my friends in the café.
  2. Departe con el vecino en la puerta. — He/she chats with the neighbour at the door.
  3. Ayer, departí sobre el viaje de verano. — Yesterday, I chatted about the summer trip.
  4. Antes, nosotros departíamos amigablemente toda la tarde. — Before, we used to chat in a friendly way all afternoon.
  5. Mañana, tú departirás con sus amigos en el café. — Tomorrow, you will chat with my friends in the café.
  6. 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.
  7. Él ha departido sobre el viaje de verano. — He has chatted about the summer trip.
  8. Espero que él departa amigablemente toda la tarde. — I hope he chats in a friendly way all afternoon.
  9. 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.
  10. Ellos departían con el vecino en la puerta cuando eran jóvenes. — They used to chat with the neighbour at the door when they were young.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo departe con sus amigos en el café. — Right: 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.
  2. Wrong: Ayer yo departo con el vecino en la puerta. — Right: 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.
  3. Wrong: Treating departir and conversar as identical in every context. — Right: 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.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy departido con el vecino en la puerta. — Right: 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.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo departí sobre el viaje de verano todos los días. — Right: 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: test yourself

Ten questions on departir. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ con sus amigos en el café. (present tense) A. departo B. departes C. departe D. departimos

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, él ___ con el vecino en la puerta. (preterite) A. departí B. departiste C. departieron D. departió

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ___ sobre el viaje de verano. (imperfect) A. departías B. departían C. departíamos D. departía

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ___ amigablemente toda la tarde. (future) A. departiremos B. departirás C. departiré D. departirá

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ con sus amigos en el café si pudiera. (conditional) A. departiría B. departirías C. departirían D. departo

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ con el vecino en la puerta. (present subjunctive) A. departas B. departamos C. departo D. departa

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ sobre el viaje de verano, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. departiéramos B. departo C. departiera D. departieras

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ amigablemente toda la tarde. (present perfect) A. han departido B. hemos departido C. he departido D. has departido

  9. Complete the command: ¡___ con sus amigos en el café! (affirmative imperative, tú) A. departe B. departa C. departamos D. departid

  10. Which is the gerund of departir, used with estar for the progressive? A. departido B. departo C. departí D. departiendo

Answer key

  1. departo — The first-person present of departir is departo. The other options are the tú, él/ella and nosotros forms.
  2. departió — The third-person preterite of departir is departió, the form for a single finished action in the past.
  3. departíamos — The nosotros imperfect of departir is departíamos, used here for a repeated past habit.
  4. departirás — The second-person future of departir is departirás.
  5. departiría — The first-person conditional of departir is departiría, the form for what would happen.
  6. departa — After espero que, the subjunctive is required: the third-person present subjunctive of departir is departa.
  7. departiera — The first-person imperfect subjunctive (-ra) of departir is departiera.
  8. hemos departido — The nosotros present perfect of departir is hemos departido: hemos + departido.
  9. departe — The affirmative tú imperative of departir is departe.
  10. departiendo — The gerund of departir is departiendo: estoy departiendo. The participle departido is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does departir mean in English?

Departir means to chat, to converse. It is used in everyday situations such as Departo con sus amigos en el café. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is departir regular or irregular?

Departir is a fully regular -ir verb, so every tense follows the standard endings for its class. Once you know the regular pattern, you can produce every form on this page, including departo in the present and departí in the preterite.

What is the difference between departir and conversar?

Departir means to chat, to converse, while conversar means to converse. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use departir when you mean to chat, to converse, as in Departo con sus amigos en el café, and use conversar for to converse. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.

How do I say “I chat” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: yo departí con el vecino en la puerta. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: yo departía sobre el viaje de verano. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: yo he departido con el vecino en la puerta.

How do I practise departir?

Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the departir examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.

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