Introduction

Learning to conjugate despachar — “to dispatch, to send off” — opens up a whole set of sentences you will use in real Spanish. Whether you are talking about what you do every day, what happened yesterday, or what you plan to do tomorrow, despachar is one of the verbs that carries those sentences, especially when the topic is the package. On this page you will find the full conjugation of despachar 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. despachar is a regular -ar verb; the gerund is despachando and the past participle is despachado, and both appear in the tables and examples below. For example: “Yo despacho el paquete todos los días.” — “I dispatch the package.” Read the tables first, then the notes, and finish with the quiz to check what you have learned.

Quick facts
Infinitive despachar
English to dispatch, to send off
Verb type Regular -ar verb
Gerund despachando
Past participle despachado
Auxiliary verb haber

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: despachando · Past participle: despachado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo despacho
tú despachas
él/ella/Ud. despacha
nosotros/as despachamos
vosotros/as despacháis
ellos/ellas/Uds. despachan

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For despachar, the yo form is despacho, as in “Yo despacho el paquete.” — “I dispatch the package.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo despaché
tú despachaste
él/ella/Ud. despachó
nosotros/as despachamos
vosotros/as despachasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. despacharon

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For despachar, the yo form is despaché, as in “Yo despaché el paquete.” — “I dispatched the package.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo despachaba
tú despachabas
él/ella/Ud. despachaba
nosotros/as despachábamos
vosotros/as despachabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. despachaban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For despachar, the yo form is despachaba, as in “Yo despachaba el paquete.” — “I used to dispatch the package.”

Future

Person Form
yo despacharé
tú despacharás
él/ella/Ud. despachará
nosotros/as despacharemos
vosotros/as despacharéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. despacharán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For despachar, the yo form is despacharé, as in “Yo despacharé el paquete.” — “I will dispatch the package.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo despacharía
tú despacharías
él/ella/Ud. despacharía
nosotros/as despacharíamos
vosotros/as despacharíais
ellos/ellas/Uds. despacharían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For despachar, the yo form is despacharía, as in “Yo despacharía el paquete.” — “I would dispatch the package.”

Present Perfect

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

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For despachar, the yo form is he despachado, as in “Yo he despachado el paquete.” — “I have dispatched the package.”

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For despachar, the yo form is había despachado, as in “Yo había despachado el paquete.” — “I had dispatched the package.”

Future Perfect

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

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For despachar, the yo form is habré despachado, as in “Yo habré despachado el paquete.” — “I will have dispatched the package.”

Conditional Perfect

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

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For despachar, the yo form is habría despachado, as in “Yo habría despachado el paquete.” — “I would have dispatched the package.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo despache
tú despaches
él/ella/Ud. despache
nosotros/as despachemos
vosotros/as despachéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. despachen

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For despachar, the yo form is despache, as in “Espero que yo despache el paquete.” — “I hope that I dispatch the package.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo despachara
tú despacharas
él/ella/Ud. despachara
nosotros/as despacháramos
vosotros/as despacharais
ellos/ellas/Uds. despacharan

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For despachar, the yo form is despachara, as in “Si yo despachara el paquete, ...” — “If I dispatched the package, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: despachara becomes despachase, and the same change applies to every person. Both variants mean the same thing; -ra is more common in everyday speech.

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú despacha
Ud. despache
nosotros/as despachemos
vosotros/as despachad
Uds. despachen

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú despaches
Ud. despache
nosotros/as despachemos
vosotros/as despachéis
Uds. despachen

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is despacha, as in “¡Despacha el paquete” — “Dispatch the package” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no despaches. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with despachar.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with despachar, covering different tenses and persons. Read each one out loud, then read the translation, and notice how the verb form changes while the meaning stays the same.

  1. “Yo despacho el paquete cada día.” — “I dispatch the package.”
  2. “Él despacha el paquete todos los días.” — “He dispatches the package.”
  3. “Yo despaché el paquete ayer.” — “I dispatched the package.”
  4. “Él despachó el paquete ayer.” — “He dispatched the package.”
  5. “Yo despachaba el paquete cuando era joven.” — “I used to dispatch the package.”
  6. “Nosotros despacharemos el paquete mañana.” — “We will dispatch the package.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo despacharía el paquete.” — “If I could, i would dispatch the package.”
  8. “Yo he despachado el paquete hoy.” — “I have dispatched the package.”
  9. “Espero que yo despache el paquete.” — “I hope that I dispatch the package.”
  10. “estoy despachando el paquete ahora mismo.” — “I am dispatching the package.”

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is despaché, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — despache — is a spelling error, and in speech the stress lands in the wrong place. Preterite yo forms that end in a vowel carry that accent, so check it every time you write the preterite of despachar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For despachar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: despachamos. Only the context tells you which tense is meant, so pay attention to the time words around it — cada día points to the present, ayer points to the preterite. Do not invent a different form for one of the tenses.

Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses

Spanish perfect tenses always use haber, never ser: yo he despachado el paquete. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy despachado is not the present perfect of despachar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing despachar with descubrir

despachar and descubrir look similar, and learners mix them up. They are different verbs with different meanings, so check which one the sentence needs before you conjugate. If you can substitute the English meaning of despachar — dispatch — the sentence needs despachar; if it needs the meaning of descubrir, use that verb instead.

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo despache el paquete. Using the indicative — Espero que yo despacho — is one of the most frequent learner errors with despachar. Whenever the main clause expresses a wish, doubt or emotion, switch to the subjunctive.

Quiz

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

1. What is the yo form of despachar in the present?

  • A. despachas
  • B. despacha
  • C. despachamos
  • D. despacho

2. What is the tu form of despachar in the preterite?

  • A. despachamos
  • B. despachaste
  • C. despaché
  • D. despachó

3. What is the el form of despachar in the imperfect?

  • A. despachabas
  • B. despachábamos
  • C. despachabais
  • D. despachaba

4. What is the nosotros form of despachar in the future?

  • A. despachará
  • B. despacharemos
  • C. despacharé
  • D. despacharás

5. What is the vosotros form of despachar in the present perfect?

  • A. he despachado
  • B. has despachado
  • C. ha despachado
  • D. habéis despachado

6. What is the ellos form of despachar in the present subjunctive?

  • A. despache
  • B. despachen
  • C. despache
  • D. despaches

7. What is the yo form of despachar in the preterite?

  • A. despachaste
  • B. despachó
  • C. despachamos
  • D. despaché

8. What is the tu form of despachar in the imperfect?

  • A. despachábamos
  • B. despachabas
  • C. despachaba
  • D. despachaba

9. What is the el form of despachar in the future?

  • A. despacharé
  • B. despacharás
  • C. despacharemos
  • D. despachará

10. What is the nosotros form of despachar in the conditional?

  • A. despacharía
  • B. despacharíamos
  • C. despacharía
  • D. despacharías

Answer key

  1. despacho — The present table gives yo = despacho.
  2. despachaste — The preterite table gives tu = despachaste.
  3. despachaba — The imperfect table gives el = despachaba.
  4. despacharemos — The future table gives nosotros = despacharemos.
  5. habéis despachado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis despachado.
  6. despachen — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = despachen.
  7. despaché — The preterite table gives yo = despaché.
  8. despachabas — The imperfect table gives tu = despachabas.
  9. despachará — The future table gives el = despachará.
  10. despacharíamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = despacharíamos.

Frequently asked questions

Is despachar regular or irregular?

despachar is a regular -ar verb. It follows the regular patterns for its ending in every tense. The tables on this page show the correct form for every person, so use them rather than guessing.

What is the past participle of despachar?

The past participle of despachar is despachado. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he despachado, había despachado, habré despachado — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund despachando and you have the two non-finite forms covered.

What is the gerund of despachar?

The gerund of despachar is despachando. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy despachando, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle despachado, which belongs with haber, not with estar.

What is the yo form of despachar in the present?

The yo form is despacho — “Yo despacho el paquete.” means “I dispatch the package.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú despachas, él despacha, nosotros despachamos, ellos despachan.

What is the difference between despachar and descubrir?

despachar means “to dispatch, to send off”, while descubrir means “to discover”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to dispatch, to send off”, use despachar; if it is about the meaning of descubrir, use descubrir instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.

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