Derrotar Conjugation in Spanish

derrotar means «to defeat». It is a regular -ar verb verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of derrotar in all thirteen tenses, notes on when to use each one, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. For example: «Yo derroto todos los días» — I defeat every day.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: derrotar
  • English: to defeat
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: derrotando
  • Past participle: derrotado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + derrotado)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for derrotar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for derrotar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem.

Gerund: derrotando · Past participle: derrotado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo derroto
tú derrotas
él/ella/Ud. derrota
nosotros/as derrotamos
vosotros/as derrotáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. derrotan

The present is the tense you will use most with derrotar. It covers daily routines, permanent facts and actions in progress. Learn the yo form derroto first, then the tú and él forms, which are the ones that change the stem in stem-changing verbs.

Preterite

Person Form
yo derroté
tú derrotaste
él/ella/Ud. derrotó
nosotros/as derrotamos
vosotros/as derrotasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. derrotaron

The preterite of derrotar reports what happened. «Ayer yo derroté por la tarde» places the action firmly in finished time. It is the tense of stories and reports, not of background description.

Imperfect

Person Form
yo derrotaba
tú derrotabas
él/ella/Ud. derrotaba
nosotros/as derrotábamos
vosotros/as derrotabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. derrotaban

The imperfect of derrotar paints the background of a past scene: repeated actions, states and descriptions. «Antes, yo derrotaba todos los días» is the pattern. Pair it with the preterite when one event interrupts another.

Future

Person Form
yo derrotaré
tú derrotarás
él/ella/Ud. derrotará
nosotros/as derrotaremos
vosotros/as derrotaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. derrotarán

The future of derrotar looks forward: what will happen tomorrow, next week or next year. «Mañana yo derrotaré sin falta» is the pattern. Remember that the future can also express probability about the present in Spanish.

Conditional

Person Form
yo derrotaría
tú derrotarías
él/ella/Ud. derrotaría
nosotros/as derrotaríamos
vosotros/as derrotaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. derrotarían

The conditional of derrotar is the tense of «would»: what you would do, what would happen, what you would like. «Si pudiera, yo derrotaría sin dudarlo» shows the pattern. It is built on the infinitive, just like the future.

Present Perfect

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

The present perfect of derrotar says «have done»: the action is finished but its result still matters now. «Hoy yo he derrotado dos veces» is the pattern. Learn the participle derrotado well — every perfect tense depends on it.

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect of derrotar steps one event further back than the preterite. «Antes de salir, yo había derrotado» is the pattern: first this happened, then the story moved on. It is haber in the imperfect plus derrotado.

Future Perfect

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

The future perfect of derrotar combines the future of haber with derrotado. «Para el viernes, yo habré derrotado ya» is the pattern. Use it when the completion matters more than the action itself.

Conditional Perfect

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

The conditional perfect of derrotar is the tense of «would have done». «Yo habría derrotado si hubiera podido» is the pattern. It is built from haber in the conditional plus derrotado.

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo derrote
tú derrotes
él/ella/Ud. derrote
nosotros/as derrotemos
vosotros/as derrotéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. derroten

The present subjunctive of derrotar is the mood of what is wished, doubted or demanded rather than stated as fact. «Espero que tú derrotes» is the pattern. If the trigger is in the past, switch to the imperfect subjunctive instead.

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)

Person Form
yo derrotara
tú derrotaras
él/ella/Ud. derrotara
nosotros/as derrotáramos
vosotros/as derrotarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. derrotaran

The imperfect subjunctive of derrotar handles the hypothetical past and the polite conditional. «Ojalá yo derrotara más a menudo» is the pattern. The -ra forms in the table are the standard ones; the -se forms use the same stem with -se endings.

Imperative — Affirmative

Person Form
tú derrota
él/ella/Ud. derrote
nosotros/as derrotemos
vosotros/as derrotad
ellos/ellas/Uds. derroten

There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.

The affirmative imperative of derrotar is for orders and instructions. «¡derrota, por favor!» is the pattern. Remember there is no yo form in the imperative, and the nosotros form doubles as a suggestion: «¡derrotemos!» means «let's do it».

Imperative — Negative

Person Form
tú derrotes
él/ella/Ud. derrote
nosotros/as derrotemos
vosotros/as derrotéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. derroten

There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.

The negative imperative of derrotar is built on the present subjunctive: «¡No derrotes!». Learn it as a set with the subjunctive table above, and never follow no with the affirmative command form.

Example sentences

  1. Yo derroto todos los días. — I defeat every day.
  2. Ayer yo derroté por la tarde. — Yesterday I defeated in the afternoon.
  3. Antes, yo derrotaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to defeat every day.
  4. Mañana yo derrotaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will defeat without fail.
  5. Si tuviera más tiempo, yo derrotaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would defeat right now.
  6. Hoy yo he derrotado dos veces. — Today I have defeated twice.
  7. Espero que tú derrotes pronto. — I hope You defeat soon.
  8. Si yo derrotara, todo sería distinto. — If I defeated, everything would be different.
  9. Ahora mismo yo estoy derrotando. — Right now I am defeating.
  10. ¡derrota, por favor! — Defeat, please!

Common mistakes

1. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer yo derrotaba.

Right: Ayer yo derroté.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, derroté. The imperfect derrotaba describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.

2. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que tú derrotas.

Right: Espero que tú derrotes.

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: derrotes, not the indicative derrotas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.

3. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No derrota.

Right: No derrotes.

Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no derrotes. The affirmative derrota can never follow no.

4. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

Wrong: Yo derrotar todos los días.

Right: Yo derroto todos los días.

The infinitive derrotar names the action; it never works as the main verb of a sentence. Conjugate it for the person: yo derroto.

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He derrotando.

Right: He derrotado.

The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he derrotado. The gerund derrotando goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy derrotando»), never with haber.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of derrotar in the present indicative?

- (a) derrota
- (b) derrotamos
- (c) derroto
- (d) derrotas

2. What is the nosotros/as form of derrotar in the preterite?

- (a) derrotaste
- (b) derrotó
- (c) derroté
- (d) derrotamos

3. What is the vosotros/as form of derrotar in the imperfect?

- (a) derrotaba
- (b) derrotabas
- (c) derrotabais
- (d) derrotaba

4. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of derrotar in the future?

- (a) derrotarás
- (b) derrotaré
- (c) derrotará
- (d) derrotarán

5. What is the yo form of derrotar in the conditional?

- (a) derrotaríamos
- (b) derrotaría
- (c) derrotarías
- (d) derrotaría

6. What is the tú form of derrotar in the present perfect?

- (a) ha derrotado
- (b) hemos derrotado
- (c) has derrotado
- (d) he derrotado

7. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of derrotar in the present subjunctive?

- (a) derrotemos
- (b) derrotes
- (c) derrote
- (d) derrote

8. What is the nosotros/as form of derrotar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)?

- (a) derrotaras
- (b) derrotara
- (c) derrotara
- (d) derrotáramos

9. What is the gerund of derrotar?

- (a) derroto
- (b) derrotando
- (c) derrotar
- (d) derrotado

10. What is the past participle of derrotar?

- (a) derrotado
- (b) derroté
- (c) derrotar
- (d) derrotando

Answer key

1. (a) — In the present indicative, the él/ella/Ud. form of derrotar is derrota. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (d) — In the preterite, the nosotros/as form of derrotar is derrotamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (c) — In the imperfect, the vosotros/as form of derrotar is derrotabais. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (d) — In the future, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of derrotar is derrotarán. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (b) — In the conditional, the yo form of derrotar is derrotaría. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (c) — In the present perfect, the tú form of derrotar is has derrotado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (c) — In the present subjunctive, the él/ella/Ud. form of derrotar is derrote. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (d) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the nosotros/as form of derrotar is derrotáramos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (b) — The gerund of derrotar is derrotando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy derrotando». 10. (a) — The past participle of derrotar is derrotado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he derrotado».

Frequently asked questions

Is derrotar regular or irregular?

Yes — derrotar is a regular -ar verb. Learn the endings once and they work in every tense, with the stem derrot unchanged throughout.

What are the gerund and past participle of derrotar?

The gerund is derrotando and the past participle is derrotado. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy derrotando») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he derrotado»).

How do I say «I defeat» in Spanish?

Say «Yo derroto todos los días». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.

What is the difference between the preterite and the imperfect of derrotar?

Use the preterite (derroté) for a single finished event and the imperfect (derrotaba) for habits and background. «Ayer yo derroté» reports something that happened and ended; «Antes, yo derrotaba» describes what used to happen.

When do I use the subjunctive with derrotar?

Use the subjunctive after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions — for example «Espero que tú derrotes». The trigger sits in the main clause; once it is there, the subjunctive form is required, not a stylistic choice.

How do I use derrotar in the present perfect?

Put haber in the present before the past participle: «Hoy yo he derrotado». The participle derrotado never changes for person — only haber changes — so once you know the participle, the whole perfect tense follows.

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