Desterrar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of desterrar — "to exile" 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 desterrar 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. 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. To see it in a real sentence: Yo destierro al poeta de su país — "I banish the poet from his country".
Present tense conjugation table: desterrar
Every person of desterrar in the present tense. The gerund is desterrando and the past participle is desterrado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | destierro |
| tú | destierras |
| él/ella/Ud. | destierra |
| nosotros/as | desterramos |
| vosotros/as | desterráis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | destierran |
How the present of desterrar is formed
The present of desterrar is built from the stem desterr- plus the present endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar 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 | destierro |
| tú | -as | destierras |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | destierra |
| nosotros/as | -amos | desterramos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | desterráis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | destierran |
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.
The gerund of desterrar is desterrando and the past participle is desterrado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of desterrar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and desterrar 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.
Habits and routines
The present describes things that happen regularly, as a habit or routine.
"Cada día, yo destierro al poeta de su país" — "Every day, I banish the poet from his country"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo destierra al rey tras la revolución" — "My friend banishes the king after the revolution"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo destierro al enemigo de la ciudad" — "Right now, I banish the enemy from the city"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros desterramos los malos recuerdos de su mente" — "Tomorrow, we banish the bad memories from his mind"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos destierran al traidor de la corte" — "They banish the traitor from the court"
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: {'pre_es': 'Cada día, ', 'pre_en': 'Every day, '}yo destierro al poeta de su país — "I banish the poet from his country"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo desterré al poeta de su país — "I banished the poet from his country"
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: {}tú destierras al rey tras la revolución — "You banish the king after the revolution"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú desterrabas al rey tras la revolución — "You used to banish the king after the revolution"
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: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él destierra al enemigo de la ciudad — "He banishes the enemy from the city"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él desterrará al enemigo de la ciudad — "He will banish the enemy from the city"
Examples: desterrar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show desterrar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo destierro al poeta de su país — "I banish the poet from his country"
- Tú destierras al rey tras la revolución — "You banish the king after the revolution"
- Él destierra al enemigo de la ciudad — "He banishes the enemy from the city"
- Nosotros desterramos los malos recuerdos de su mente — "We banish the bad memories from his mind"
- Vosotros desterráis al traidor de la corte — "You banish the traitor from the court"
- Ellos destierran al poeta de su país — "They banish the poet from his country"
- Yo destierro al rey tras la revolución — "I banish the king after the revolution"
Common mistakes with desterrar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with desterrar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo desterro al poeta de su país.
✓ Correct: Yo destierro al poeta de su país.
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.
✗ *Tú destierra al rey tras la revolución.
✓ Correct: Tú destierras al rey tras la revolución.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes destierras, él takes destierra.
✗ *Cada día, yo desterré al enemigo de la ciudad
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo destierro al enemigo de la ciudad
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros desterrais los malos recuerdos de su mente.
✓ Correct: Vosotros desterráis los malos recuerdos de su mente.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: desterráis, not desterrais.
Quiz: desterrar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of desterrar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of desterrar for tú? A. destierras B. destierro C. destierra D. desterramos
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
Complete the sentence: Él ______ al rey tras la revolución — "He banishes the king after the revolution" (present) A. destierras B. desterramos C. destierra D. destierro
Which is the correct present form of desterrar for nosotros? A. destierras B. destierra C. destierran D. desterramos
Which sentence uses desterrar correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo desterramos al enemigo de la ciudad B. Mi amigo destierra al enemigo de la ciudad C. Mi amigo destierras al enemigo de la ciudad D. Mi amigo desterraba al enemigo de la ciudad
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ los malos recuerdos de su mente — "You banish the bad memories from his mind" (present) A. destierra B. desterráis C. destierro D. destierras
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ al traidor de la corte — "They banish the traitor from the court" (present) A. destierran B. destierro C. destierras D. destierra
What is the gerund of desterrar? A. destierro B. desterré C. desterrando D. desterrado
Answer key
- destierras — The tú form in the present is destierras.
- destierro — The present form for yo is destierro.
- destierra — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is destierra.
- desterramos — The nosotros form in the present is desterramos.
- Mi amigo destierra al enemigo de la ciudad — Mi amigo destierra al enemigo de la ciudad is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- desterráis — The present form for vosotros/as is desterráis.
- destierran — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is destierran.
- desterrando — The gerund is desterrando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle desterrado.
Frequently asked questions
Is desterrar regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: 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. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of desterrar?
The gerund is desterrando and the past participle is desterrado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I banish" in the present tense?
Say destierro. For example: Yo destierro al poeta de su país — "I banish the poet from his country".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of desterrar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo destierro al poeta de su país — "I banish the poet from his country". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo desterré al poeta de su país — "Yesterday, I banished the poet from his country". Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once.
Related links
- Full conjugation of desterrar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- desterrar 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.