Desprender Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of desprender — “to detach, to give off” in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for desprender with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Desprender means to detach or to give off, for something coming loose, and also for a smell or heat coming from something. It is a fully regular -er verb with two everyday uses. To see it in a real sentence: Desprendo un olor fuerte en la cocina. — “I detach a strong smell in the kitchen.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of desprender will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: desprender
Every person of desprender in the present tense. The gerund is desprendiendo and the past participle is desprendido.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | desprendo |
| tú | desprendes |
| él/ella/Ud. | desprende |
| nosotros/as | desprendemos |
| vosotros/as | desprendéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | desprenden |
How the present indicative of desprender is formed
The present indicative of desprender is built from the stem plus the present indicative endings for -er verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -er ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.
| Person | Ending | Form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | desprendo |
| tú | -es | desprendes |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | desprende |
| nosotros/as | -emos | desprendemos |
| vosotros/as | -éis | desprendéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | desprenden |
Desprender is a regular -er verb in the present tense, so the table above is completely regular. The stem is desprend- and the endings are the normal -er endings, so once you know the pattern you can produce every form on this page.
The gerund of desprender is desprendiendo and the past participle is desprendido. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.
When to use the present tense of desprender
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and desprender appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.
Routines and habits
Use the present for things you do regularly, every day or every week. The present is the tense of routine, and desprender fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo desprendo un olor fuerte en la cocina todos los días.” — “I detach a strong smell in the kitchen every day.”
General facts
Use the present for facts that are true in general, not just today. When you state how something is, the present is the tense to use.
“Él desprende la etiqueta del frasco.” — “He/she detaches the label from the jar.”
What is happening right now
Use the present for what is happening at this moment. Spanish often uses the simple present where English uses the progressive, so desprendo can mean both “I detach” and “I am detaching”.
“Ahora mismo, yo desprendo calor en la chimenea.” — “Right now, I detach heat in the fireplace.”
Fixed plans in the near future
Use the present for a plan that is already fixed, such as something arranged for tomorrow. Spanish uses the present for near-future plans much more freely than English does.
“Mañana, yo desprendo la hoja del árbol en otoño.” — “Tomorrow, I will detach the leaf from the tree in autumn.”
Questions and negatives
Use the present to ask about habits and to say what does not happen. The question and the negative use exactly the same forms as the statement.
“¿Tú desprendes un olor fuerte en la cocina?” — “Do you detach a strong smell in the kitchen?”
The present tense vs the closest tenses
Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion
The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.
- Present — habit or general fact: Desprende la etiqueta del frasco. — “He/she detaches the label from the jar.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Desprendió la etiqueta del frasco. — the same idea, placed in the preterite.
Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add “used to” in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.
- Present — now: Desprenden calor en la chimenea. — “They detach heat in the fireplace.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Desprendían calor en la chimenea. — the same idea, placed in the imperfect.
Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen
The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.
- Present — now or a fixed plan: Desprendes la hoja del árbol en otoño. — “You detach the leaf from the tree in autumn.”
- Future — what will happen: Desprenderás la hoja del árbol en otoño. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: desprender in the present tense
Seven sentences that show desprender in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo desprendo un olor fuerte en la cocina. — “I detach a strong smell in the kitchen.”
- Tú desprendes la etiqueta del frasco. — “You detach the label from the jar.”
- Él desprende calor en la chimenea. — “He detaches heat in the fireplace.”
- Nosotros desprendemos la hoja del árbol en otoño. — “We detach the leaf from the tree in autumn.”
- Vosotros desprendéis un olor fuerte en la cocina. — “You (plural) detach a strong smell in the kitchen.”
- Ellos desprenden la etiqueta del frasco. — “They detach the label from the jar.”
- ¿Tú desprendes calor en la chimenea? — “Do you detach heat in the fireplace?”
Common mistakes with desprender in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with desprender in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo desprender un olor fuerte en la cocina. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo desprendo un olor fuerte en la cocina.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of desprender is desprendo, not the infinitive desprender.
✗ Vosotros desprendeis un olor fuerte en la cocina. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros desprendéis un olor fuerte en la cocina.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: desprendéis, not desprendeis. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo desprendo la etiqueta del frasco. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo desprendí la etiqueta del frasco.
The present and the preterite are different tenses: desprendo is happening now, while desprendí is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
✗ Treating desprender and soltar as identical in every context. (confusing desprender with soltar).
✓ Correct: Desprender means to detach, to give off, while soltar means to let go.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: desprender fits sentences such as Desprendo un olor fuerte en la cocina, while soltar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: desprender in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of desprender. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
1. Which is the correct present tense form of desprender for tú?
- a) desprendes
- b) desprendo
- c) desprende
- d) desprenden
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ un olor fuerte en la cocina. — “I detach a strong smell in the kitchen.”
- a) desprende
- b) desprendemos
- c) desprendes
- d) desprendo
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ la etiqueta del frasco. — “He/she detaches the label from the jar.” (present tense)
- a) desprendía
- b) desprenderá
- c) desprende
- d) desprendió
4. Which is the correct present tense form of desprender for nosotros?
- a) desprenden
- b) desprendemos
- c) desprendo
- d) desprende
5. Which sentence uses desprender correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él desprendió la etiqueta del frasco.
- b) Él desprende la etiqueta del frasco.
- c) Él desprenderá la etiqueta del frasco.
- d) Ellos desprende la etiqueta del frasco.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ calor en la chimenea. — “They detach heat in the fireplace.”
- a) desprendo
- b) desprende
- c) desprendemos
- d) desprenden
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ la hoja del árbol en otoño? — “Do you detach the leaf from the tree in autumn?”
- a) desprende
- b) desprenderás
- c) desprendes
- d) desprendo
8. What is the gerund of desprender?
- a) desprendí
- b) desprendiendo
- c) desprendido
- d) desprendo
Answer key
a) desprendes — The tú form is desprendes. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; desprendo is yo, desprende is él/ella and desprenden is ellos/ellas.
d) desprendo — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: desprendo. The other options are the wrong person.
c) desprende — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: desprende. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) desprendemos — Nosotros takes desprendemos. In the present the nosotros ending for -er verbs is -emos, attached to the stem.
b) Él desprende la etiqueta del frasco. — Él desprende la etiqueta del frasco. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) desprenden — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is desprenden.
c) desprendes — The question needs the tú form in the present: desprendes.
b) desprendiendo — The gerund is desprendiendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle desprendido.
Frequently asked questions
Is desprender regular in the present tense?
Yes. Desprender is a regular -er verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: desprendo, desprendes, desprende, desprendemos, desprendéis and desprenden.
What is the gerund and the past participle of desprender?
The gerund is desprendiendo and the past participle is desprendido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I detach” in Spanish?
Say desprendo. For example: Desprendo un olor fuerte en la cocina. — “I detach a strong smell in the kitchen.”
What is the difference between desprender and soltar?
Desprender means “to detach, to give off”, while soltar means “to let go”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use desprender when you mean “to detach, to give off” and soltar when you mean “to let go”. The full conjugation of desprender is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of desprender — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- desprender examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Present tense guide — how the present tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.
- Ceder conjugation — another -er verb to compare with desprender.
- Acometer conjugation — another -er verb to compare with desprender.
- Acoger conjugation — another -er verb to compare with desprender.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.