Introduction
Despertar means «to wake (someone) up». Despertar means to wake someone up: a child, a partner, a friend who overslept. It is an e → ie stem-changing verb. Do not confuse it with despertarse, which is what you do yourself in the morning. It is a irregular -ar verb, stem-changing (e → ie), so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of despertar 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 despierto a los niños todos los días.» — I wake the children every day.
Quick facts
| Infinitive | despertar |
| English | to wake (someone) up |
| Verb type | Irregular -ar verb, stem-changing (e → ie) |
| Gerund | despertando |
| Past participle | despertado |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
Gerund: despertando · Past participle: despertado
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | despierto |
| tú | despiertas |
| él/ella/Ud. | despierta |
| nosotros/as | despertamos |
| vosotros/as | despertáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | despiertan |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For despertar, the yo form is despierto, as in «Yo despierto» in the examples below. This is one of the tenses where despertar does not follow the regular -ar pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive. Use the present for routines («todos los días») and for general truths.
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | desperté |
| tú | despertaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | despertó |
| nosotros/as | despertamos |
| vosotros/as | despertasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | despertaron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo desperté» is the classic use. Do not confuse it with the imperfect: the preterite moves the story forward, one finished event at a time.
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | despertaba |
| tú | despertabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | despertaba |
| nosotros/as | despertábamos |
| vosotros/as | despertabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | despertaban |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. «De pequeño, yo despertaba» shows the habitual use. It sets the scene while the preterite reports what happened inside it.
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | despertaré |
| tú | despertarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | despertará |
| nosotros/as | despertaremos |
| vosotros/as | despertaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | despertarán |
The future tense states what will happen. For despertar the future is built on the infinitive: «Mañana yo despertaré». It is also used for predictions and promises, and in spoken Spanish it often alternates with ir a + infinitive.
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | despertaría |
| tú | despertarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | despertaría |
| nosotros/as | despertaríamos |
| vosotros/as | despertaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | despertarían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo despertaría» is the typical pattern. It shares its stem with the future and changes only the endings.
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he despertado |
| tú | has despertado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha despertado |
| nosotros/as | hemos despertado |
| vosotros/as | habéis despertado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han despertado |
The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. It is haber in the present plus the past participle: «Hoy yo he despertado». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había despertado |
| tú | habías despertado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había despertado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos despertado |
| vosotros/as | habíais despertado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían despertado |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había despertado». It is haber in the imperfect plus the past participle, and it is the tense for explaining what had already happened when something else took place.
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré despertado |
| tú | habrás despertado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá despertado |
| nosotros/as | habremos despertado |
| vosotros/as | habréis despertado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán despertado |
The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré despertado» is the pattern — haber in the future plus the past participle. It is less common in speech but regular in formal writing.
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría despertado |
| tú | habrías despertado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría despertado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos despertado |
| vosotros/as | habríais despertado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían despertado |
The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría despertado si hubiera podido». It is haber in the conditional plus the past participle, and it is the tense for regrets and missed chances.
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | despierte |
| tú | despiertes |
| él/ella/Ud. | despierte |
| nosotros/as | despertemos |
| vosotros/as | despertéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | despierten |
The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él despierte». The trigger is in the main clause; the subjunctive is the mood of uncertainty, desire and influence. Learn the yo form first — most of the table follows from it. This is one of the tenses where despertar does not follow the regular -ar pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | despertara |
| tú | despertaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | despertara |
| nosotros/as | despertáramos |
| vosotros/as | despertarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | despertaran |
The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él despertara, todo sería distinto». The table above shows the -ra forms, the ones you will hear most often. There is also a less common -se set built on the same stem.
Imperative — Affirmative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | despierta |
| él/ella/Ud. | despierte |
| nosotros/as | despertemos |
| vosotros/as | despertad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | despierten |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡Despierta!». There is no yo form — you cannot command yourself. The tú form is the one you will use with friends and family, and the usted form with people you address formally. This is one of the tenses where despertar does not follow the regular -ar pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Imperative — Negative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | despiertes |
| él/ella/Ud. | despierte |
| nosotros/as | despertemos |
| vosotros/as | despertéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | despierten |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No despiertes!». Unlike the affirmative imperative, the negative forms come from the present subjunctive, which is why they look different. Never use the affirmative form after no. This is one of the tenses where despertar does not follow the regular -ar pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Example sentences
- Yo despierto a los niños todos los días. — I wake the children every day.
- Mi hermana despierta a los niños mucho. — My sister wakes the children a lot.
- Ayer yo desperté a los niños por la tarde. — Yesterday I woke the children in the afternoon.
- De pequeño, yo despertaba a los niños muchas veces. — As a child, I used to wake the children often.
- Mañana yo despertaré a los niños sin falta. — Tomorrow I will wake the children without fail.
- Si tuviera más tiempo, yo despertaría a los niños ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would wake the children right now.
- Hoy yo he despertado a mi hermano dos veces. — Today I have woken my brother twice.
- Espero que él despierte a los niños pronto. — I hope he wakes the children soon.
- ¡Despierta a los niños a las siete! — Wake the children at seven!
- Ahora mismo estoy despertando a los niños. — Right now I am waking the children.
Common mistakes
1. Using the regular stem in the present
Wrong: desperto
Right: despierto
Despertar does not keep its infinitive stem here. The correct form is despierto; the regular-looking desperto is a form learners invent by applying the standard endings to the wrong stem.
2. Using the imperfect for a finished event
Wrong: Ayer yo despertaba a los niños.
Right: Ayer yo desperté a los niños.
Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, desperté. The imperfect despertaba describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.
3. Confusing it with a similar verb
Wrong: *Despierto a las siete.
Right: Me despierto a las siete.
Despierto a las siete means you wake someone else at seven. To say you wake up yourself, use the reflexive: me despierto.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
Wrong: Espero que tú despiertas a los niños.
Right: Espero que tú despiertes a los niños.
After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: despiertes, not the indicative despiertas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.
5. Using the affirmative imperative after no
Wrong: No despierta a los niños.
Right: No despiertes a los niños.
Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no despiertes. The affirmative despierta can never follow no.
Quiz
Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.
1. What is the yo form of despertar in the present tense?
- (a) despertamos
- (b) despierta
- (c) despiertas
- (d) despierto
2. What is the él/ella form of despertar in the preterite?
- (a) despertamos
- (b) despertaste
- (c) desperté
- (d) despertó
3. What is the nosotros form of despertar in the imperfect?
- (a) despertaba
- (b) despertabas
- (c) despertábamos
4. What is the tú form of despertar in the future tense?
- (a) despertaremos
- (b) despertará
- (c) despertarás
- (d) despertaré
5. What is the ellos form of despertar in the conditional?
- (a) despertaría
- (b) despertarían
- (c) despertarías
6. What is the yo form of despertar in the present perfect?
- (a) ha despertado
- (b) has despertado
- (c) he despertado
- (d) hemos despertado
7. After «Espero que…», what is the tú form of despertar?
- (a) despertemos
- (b) despierte
- (c) despiertes
8. What is the nosotros form of despertar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- (a) despertara
- (b) despertáramos
- (c) despertaras
9. What is the gerund of despertar?
- (a) despertado
- (b) despertando
- (c) despertar
- (d) despierto
10. What is the past participle of despertar?
- (a) despertado
- (b) despertando
- (c) despertar
- (d) desperté
Answer key
1. (d) despierto — In the present, the yo form of despertar is despierto. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
2. (d) despertó — In the preterite, the el form of despertar is despertó. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
3. (c) despertábamos — In the imperfect, the nosotros form of despertar is despertábamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
4. (c) despertarás — In the future, the tu form of despertar is despertarás. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
5. (b) despertarían — In the conditional, the ellos form of despertar is despertarían. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
6. (c) he despertado — In the present perfect, the yo form of despertar is he despertado. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
7. (c) despiertes — In the present subjunctive, the tu form of despertar is despiertes. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
8. (b) despertáramos — In the imperfect subjunctive, the nosotros form of despertar is despertáramos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
9. (b) despertando — The gerund of despertar is despertando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy despertando».
10. (a) despertado — The past participle of despertar is despertado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he despertado».
Frequently asked questions
Is despertar regular or irregular?
No — despertar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie). The stem vowel changes in the present tense, the present subjunctive and the imperative, and the tenses affected are: present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the original stem.
What are the gerund and past participle of despertar?
The gerund is despertando and the past participle is despertado. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy despertando») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he despertado»).
What is the difference between despertar and despertarse?
Despertar and despertarse are often confused. Despertarse is to wake up yourself; despertar is to wake someone else.
How do I say «I wake» in Spanish?
Say «Yo despierto». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.
Which forms of despertar change the stem?
The stem changes (e → ie) in the present tense, the present subjunctive and the imperative — everywhere except the nosotros and vosotros forms. The preterite, imperfect, future and conditional keep the infinitive stem, except where the verb has an extra preterite change.
Related links
- Practise this verb in one tense: despertar-present-tense
- More examples and a quiz: despertar-examples-and-quiz
- Browse all Spanish verbs: /spanish/
- Full list of irregular verbs: spanish-irregular-verbs
- Related verb: despertarse
- Related verb: levantarse
- Related verb: dormir
- Conjugate any verb: verb-conjugator
- Test yourself: verb-quiz