Despilfarrar Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb despilfarrar means to squander, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Despilfarrar is a regular -ar verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of despilfarrar 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, in the present tense you say Yo despilfarro el dinero — "I squander the money" — and in the preterite you say Yo despilfarré su fortuna — "I squandered his fortune". 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: despilfarrar
- English: to squander
- Verb type: regular -ar verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: despilfarrando
- Past participle: despilfarrado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + despilfarrado)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for despilfarrar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for despilfarrar. 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.
Gerund: despilfarrando · Past participle: despilfarrado
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | despilfarro |
| tú | despilfarras |
| él/ella/Ud. | despilfarra |
| nosotros/as | despilfarramos |
| vosotros/as | despilfarráis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | despilfarran |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | despilfarré |
| tú | despilfarraste |
| él/ella/Ud. | despilfarró |
| nosotros/as | despilfarramos |
| vosotros/as | despilfarrasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | despilfarraron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | despilfarraba |
| tú | despilfarrabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | despilfarraba |
| nosotros/as | despilfarrábamos |
| vosotros/as | despilfarrabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | despilfarraban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | despilfarraré |
| tú | despilfarrarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | despilfarrará |
| nosotros/as | despilfarraremos |
| vosotros/as | despilfarraréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | despilfarrarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | despilfarraría |
| tú | despilfarrarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | despilfarraría |
| nosotros/as | despilfarraríamos |
| vosotros/as | despilfarraríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | despilfarrarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he despilfarrado |
| tú | has despilfarrado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha despilfarrado |
| nosotros/as | hemos despilfarrado |
| vosotros/as | habéis despilfarrado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han despilfarrado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había despilfarrado |
| tú | habías despilfarrado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había despilfarrado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos despilfarrado |
| vosotros/as | habíais despilfarrado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían despilfarrado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré despilfarrado |
| tú | habrás despilfarrado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá despilfarrado |
| nosotros/as | habremos despilfarrado |
| vosotros/as | habréis despilfarrado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán despilfarrado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría despilfarrado |
| tú | habrías despilfarrado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría despilfarrado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos despilfarrado |
| vosotros/as | habríais despilfarrado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían despilfarrado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | despilfarre |
| tú | despilfarres |
| él/ella/Ud. | despilfarre |
| nosotros/as | despilfarremos |
| vosotros/as | despilfarréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | despilfarren |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | despilfarrara |
| tú | despilfarraras |
| él/ella/Ud. | despilfarrara |
| nosotros/as | despilfarráramos |
| vosotros/as | despilfarrarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | despilfarraran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | despilfarra |
| él/ella/Ud. | despilfarre |
| nosotros/as | despilfarremos |
| vosotros/as | despilfarrad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | despilfarren |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | despilfarres |
| él/ella/Ud. | despilfarre |
| nosotros/as | despilfarremos |
| vosotros/as | despilfarréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | despilfarren |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | despilfarrando | with estar for the progressive: estoy despilfarrando |
| Past participle | despilfarrado | with haber for the perfect tenses: he despilfarrado |
How to use each tense
Present indicative
Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. It is the tense you will use most often in everyday conversation, for habits with words like todos los días and for statements that are true in general. For despilfarrar, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo despilfarro su fortuna — "I squander his fortune". Learn the present indicative 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 in the past — things that started and ended, often with time words like ayer, anoche or la semana pasada. The preterite moves a story forward, one completed event at a time. For despilfarrar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Yo despilfarré en tonterías — "I squandered on silly things". 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 words like antes, de niño or mientras. It describes how things used to be, not one finished event. For despilfarrar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo despilfarraba el dinero — "I used to squander the money". 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. It talks about what will happen, not what is happening now. For despilfarrar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Yo despilfarraré su fortuna — "I will squander his fortune". 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 in si clauses. It softens a request and describes imagined situations. For despilfarrar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo despilfarraría en tonterías — "I would squander on silly things". 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. It connects the past with the present moment. For despilfarrar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo he despilfarrado el dinero — "I have squandered the money". 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. It is the past of the past, and it usually appears with antes de or ya. For despilfarrar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo había despilfarrado su fortuna — "I had squandered his fortune". 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, often with para mañana or para el viernes. For despilfarrar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habré despilfarrado en tonterías — "I will have squandered on silly things". 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. It looks back at a past that never happened. For despilfarrar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría despilfarrado el dinero — "I would have squandered the money". 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. The subjunctive does not state a fact; it states an attitude towards the action. For despilfarrar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él despilfarre su fortuna — "I hope he squanders his fortune". 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 despilfarrar, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo despilfarrara en tonterías, todo cambiaría — "If I squandered on silly things, everything would change". Learn the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) 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. It tells someone to do something, and it has no yo form. For despilfarrar, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Despilfarre el dinero — "Let him squander the money". Learn the imperative (affirmative) 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. It uses the subjunctive forms, so it looks different from the affirmative commands. For despilfarrar, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No despilfarres su fortuna — "Don't squander his fortune". Learn the imperative (negative) 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 despilfarrar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.
- Yo despilfarro en tonterías — "I squander on silly things"
- Él despilfarra el dinero — "He squanders the money"
- Yo despilfarré su fortuna — "I squandered his fortune"
- Yo despilfarraba en tonterías — "I used to squander on silly things"
- Tú despilfarrarás el dinero — "You will squander the money"
- Yo despilfarraría su fortuna — "I would squander his fortune"
- Él ha despilfarrado en tonterías — "He has squandered on silly things"
- Espero que él despilfarre el dinero — "I hope he squanders the money"
- Yo había despilfarrado su fortuna — "I had squandered his fortune"
- Ellos despilfarraban en tonterías — "They used to squander on silly things"
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Ellos despilfarra el dinero — Right: Ellos despilfarran el dinero — Ellos needs the ellos form despilfarran. The singular despilfarra belongs with él, ella or a singular noun.
- Wrong: Ayer, yo despilfarro — Right: Ayer, yo despilfarré — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to despilfarré.
- Wrong: De niño, yo despilfarré todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo despilfarraba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (despilfarraba), not the preterite. The preterite (despilfarré) is for one finished action.
- Wrong: Yo soy despilfarrado su fortuna. — Right: Yo he despilfarrado su fortuna. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he despilfarrado, has despilfarrado, ha despilfarrado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
- Wrong: Espero que él despilfarra el dinero. — Right: Espero que él despilfarre el dinero. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: despilfarre. The indicative despilfarra is wrong here.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on despilfarrar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el dinero. (present tense) A. despilfarro B. despilfarraríamos C. han despilfarrado D. despilfarraríais
Complete the sentence: Él ___ el dinero. (preterite) A. habríamos despilfarrado B. despilfarrasteis C. despilfarró D. he despilfarrado
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ el dinero. (imperfect) A. despilfarrábamos B. despilfarrarías C. despilfarraron D. habrían despilfarrado
Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el dinero. (future) A. has despilfarrado B. habían despilfarrado C. habrán despilfarrado D. despilfarrarás
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el dinero. (conditional) A. despilfarrasteis B. despilfarraba C. despilfarraría D. despilfarré
Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ el dinero. (present subjunctive) A. despilfarrarais B. habríamos despilfarrado C. despilfarre D. despilfarrábamos
Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ el dinero, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. despilfarrara B. despilfarraba C. despilfarrarás D. despilfarren
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ el dinero. (present perfect) A. despilfarras B. hemos despilfarrado C. habrá despilfarrado D. despilfarrasteis
Complete the command: No ___ el dinero. (negative imperative, tú) A. despilfarremos B. despilfarres C. despilfarren D. despilfarre
Which is the gerund of despilfarrar, used with estar for the progressive? A. despilfarrando B. despilfarraba C. despilfarraré D. despilfarré
Answer key
- despilfarro — The yo present tense of despilfarrar is despilfarro.
- despilfarró — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of despilfarrar is despilfarró.
- despilfarrábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of despilfarrar is despilfarrábamos.
- despilfarrarás — The tú future of despilfarrar is despilfarrarás.
- despilfarraría — The yo conditional of despilfarrar is despilfarraría.
- despilfarre — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of despilfarrar is despilfarre.
- despilfarrara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of despilfarrar is despilfarrara.
- hemos despilfarrado — The nosotros/as present perfect of despilfarrar is hemos despilfarrado.
- despilfarres — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: despilfarres.
- despilfarrando — The gerund of despilfarrar is despilfarrando: estoy despilfarrando. The participle despilfarrado is used with haber instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does despilfarrar mean in English?
Despilfarrar means to squander. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo despilfarro el dinero. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.
Is despilfarrar regular?
Yes. Despilfarrar is a regular -ar verb: despilfarro, despilfarras, despilfarra. The only thing to learn is the pattern of endings, which is the same for every regular -ar verb.
What is the gerund and the past participle of despilfarrar?
The gerund is despilfarrando, used with estar for the progressive: estoy despilfarrando. The past participle is despilfarrado, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he despilfarrado.
How do I say “I squander” in the past?
It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo despilfarré su fortuna. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo despilfarraba en tonterías. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he despilfarrado el dinero.
How do I practise despilfarrar?
Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the despilfarrar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related links
- Despilfarrar in the present tense — the full present-tense table for despilfarrar.
- Despilfarrar examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for despilfarrar.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Legar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with despilfarrar.
- Actualizar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with despilfarrar.
- Programar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with despilfarrar.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.
- Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.