Desterrar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

desterrar means "to exile" in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Desterrar means to exile or banish someone: desterrar al poeta de su país. It is a formal, literary verb, and it also works figuratively: desterrar los malos recuerdos. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by use, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of desterrar; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the desterrar present tense page.

desterrar in everyday use: examples with translations

Everyday present uses

How the verb sounds in the present, the future and in hypotheticals — the forms you will use most often.

  1. Yo destierro al poeta de su país — "I banish the poet from his country"
  2. Mi amigo destierra al rey tras la revolución — "My friend banishes the king after the revolution"
  3. Mañana, tú desterrarás al enemigo de la ciudad — "Tomorrow, you will banish the enemy from the city"
  4. Yo desterraría los malos recuerdos de su mente si pudiera — "I would banish the bad memories from his mind if I could"

Talking about the past

The same verb in the past: one finished action, a habit, something that has just happened, and something that had already happened.

  1. Ayer, yo desterré al poeta de su país — "Yesterday, I banished the poet from his country"
  2. Antes, nosotros desterrábamos al rey tras la revolución — "Before, we used to banish the king after the revolution"
  3. Él ha desterrado al enemigo de la ciudad — "He has banished the enemy from the city"
  4. Yo ya había desterrado los malos recuerdos de su mente antes de salir — "I already had banished the bad memories from his mind before leaving"

Wishes, conditions and commands

The verb after espero que, in si clauses, as a command — and in the conditional perfect, for what would have happened.

  1. Espero que él destierre al poeta de su país — "I hope he banishes the poet from his country"
  2. Si yo desterrara al rey tras la revolución, todo cambiaría — "If I banished the king after the revolution, everything would change"
  3. Destierra al enemigo de la ciudad. — "Banish the enemy from the city."
  4. Yo habría desterrado los malos recuerdos de su mente con más tiempo — "I would have banished the bad memories from his mind with more time"

desterrar in conversation

Two short dialogues that use desterrar the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

Two friends talk about it.

  • Lucía: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Lucía: Yo destierro al poeta de su país — "I banish the poet from his country"
  • Marcos: Él destierra al rey tras la revolución — "He banishes the king after the revolution"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo desterré al enemigo de la ciudad — "Yesterday, I banished the enemy from the city"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú desterrarás los malos recuerdos de su mente — "Tomorrow, you will banish the bad memories from his mind"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Destierra al traidor de la corte. — "Banish the traitor from the court."
  • Lucía: Él ha desterrado al poeta de su país — "He has banished the poet from his country"
  • Marcos: Espero que él destierre al rey tras la revolución — "I hope he banishes the king after the revolution"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo desterraba al enemigo de la ciudad — "Before, I used to banish the enemy from the city"

Common mistakes with desterrar

The errors learners actually make with desterrar, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ *Yo desterro los malos recuerdos de su mente.

✓ Correct: Yo destierro los malos recuerdos de su mente.

desterrar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is destierro, not desterro.

✗ *Espero que él destierra los malos recuerdos de su mente

✓ Correct: Espero que él destierre los malos recuerdos de su mente

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él destierre los malos recuerdos de su mente — not the indicative Espero que él destierra los malos recuerdos de su mente.

✗ *Ayer, yo destierro al traidor de la corte

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo desterré al traidor de la corte

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo desterré al traidor de la corte.

✗ *De niño, yo desterré al poeta de su país todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo desterraba al poeta de su país todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo desterraba al poeta de su país todos los días.

✗ *Yo destierro enemigo de la ciudad.

✓ Correct: Yo destierro al enemigo de la ciudad.

desterrar takes al before this complement: Yo destierro al enemigo de la ciudad. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.

Quiz: desterrar in use

Ten questions on desterrar — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ al poeta de su país — "I banish the poet from his country" (present) A. destierro B. destierras C. destierra D. desterramos

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ al rey tras la revolución — "Yesterday, I banished the king after the revolution" (preterite) A. desterré B. desterraste C. desterró D. desterramos

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ al enemigo de la ciudad — "Before, we used to banish the enemy from the city" (imperfect) A. desterrabais B. desterrábamos C. desterraba D. desterrabas

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ los malos recuerdos de su mente — "Tomorrow, you will banish the bad memories from his mind" (future) A. desterrarás B. desterraré C. desterrará D. desterraremos

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ al traidor de la corte — "I would banish the traitor from the court" (conditional) A. desterraríamos B. desterraríais C. desterraría D. desterrarías

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ al poeta de su país — "He has banished the poet from his country" (present perfect) A. hemos desterrado B. ha desterrado C. he desterrado D. has desterrado

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ al rey tras la revolución — "I hope he banishes the king after the revolution" (present subjunctive) A. desterremos B. desterréis C. destierre D. destierres

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ al enemigo de la ciudad. — "Banish the enemy from the city." (affirmative imperative) A. desterrad B. destierra C. destierre D. desterremos

  9. Which is the gerund of desterrar, used with estar for the progressive? A. destierro B. desterré C. desterrando D. desterrado

  10. What does desterrar mean in English? A. to exile B. to enjoy C. to cross D. to draw

Answer key

  1. destierro — The present form for yo is destierro.
  2. desterré — The preterite form for yo is desterré.
  3. desterrábamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is desterrábamos.
  4. desterrarás — The future form for tú is desterrarás.
  5. desterraría — The conditional form for yo is desterraría.
  6. ha desterrado — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha desterrado.
  7. destierre — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is destierre.
  8. destierra — The affirmative imperative form is destierra.
  9. desterrando — The gerund of desterrar is desterrando: estoy desterrando. The participle desterrado is used with haber instead.
  10. to exile — desterrar means to exile.

Frequently asked questions

What does desterrar mean in English?

desterrar means to exile. For example: Yo destierro al poeta de su país — "I banish the poet from his country". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with desterrar?

desterrar takes al before this kind of complement, as in the examples above. Keep the preposition with the verb — dropping it is one of the most common learner errors with desterrar.

Is desterrar regular?

No. desterrar is a stem-changing -ar verb (e → ie). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: destierro, destierras, destierra and destierran — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: desterramos, desterráis.

How do I practise desterrar?

Start with the present tense table on the full conjugation page, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure, and come back to the sentences above until you can say them without looking.

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