Desterrar Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb desterrar means to exile, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know 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. Like every Spanish verb, desterrar changes its ending for each person and tense, and this page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say Yo destierro al poeta de su país — "I banish the poet from his country". 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.

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.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: desterrar
  • English: to exile
  • Verb type: stem-changing -ar verb (e → ie)
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: desterrando
  • Past participle: desterrado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + desterrado)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for desterrar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for desterrar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem.

Present indicative

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | destierro | | tú | destierras | | él/ella/Ud. | destierra | | nosotros/as | desterramos | | vosotros/as | desterráis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | destierran |

Preterite

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | desterré | | tú | desterraste | | él/ella/Ud. | desterró | | nosotros/as | desterramos | | vosotros/as | desterrasteis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | desterraron |

Imperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | desterraba | | tú | desterrabas | | él/ella/Ud. | desterraba | | nosotros/as | desterrábamos | | vosotros/as | desterrabais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | desterraban |

Future

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | desterraré | | tú | desterrarás | | él/ella/Ud. | desterrará | | nosotros/as | desterraremos | | vosotros/as | desterraréis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | desterrarán |

Conditional

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | desterraría | | tú | desterrarías | | él/ella/Ud. | desterraría | | nosotros/as | desterraríamos | | vosotros/as | desterraríais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | desterrarían |

Present perfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | he desterrado | | tú | has desterrado | | él/ella/Ud. | ha desterrado | | nosotros/as | hemos desterrado | | vosotros/as | habéis desterrado | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | han desterrado |

Pluperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | había desterrado | | tú | habías desterrado | | él/ella/Ud. | había desterrado | | nosotros/as | habíamos desterrado | | vosotros/as | habíais desterrado | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían desterrado |

Future perfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | habré desterrado | | tú | habrás desterrado | | él/ella/Ud. | habrá desterrado | | nosotros/as | habremos desterrado | | vosotros/as | habréis desterrado | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán desterrado |

Conditional perfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | habría desterrado | | tú | habrías desterrado | | él/ella/Ud. | habría desterrado | | nosotros/as | habríamos desterrado | | vosotros/as | habríais desterrado | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían desterrado |

Present subjunctive

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | destierre | | tú | destierres | | él/ella/Ud. | destierre | | nosotros/as | desterremos | | vosotros/as | desterréis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | destierren |

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | desterrara | | tú | desterraras | | él/ella/Ud. | desterrara | | nosotros/as | desterráramos | | vosotros/as | desterrarais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | desterraran |

Imperative (affirmative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | destierra | | él/ella/Ud. | destierre | | nosotros/as | desterremos | | vosotros/as | desterrad | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | destierren |

Imperative (negative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | destierres | | él/ella/Ud. | destierre | | nosotros/as | desterremos | | vosotros/as | desterréis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | destierren |

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund desterrando with estar for the progressive: está desterrando
Past participle desterrado with haber for the perfect tenses: he desterrado

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. 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. For desterrar, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo destierro al poeta de su país — "I banish the poet from his country".

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For desterrar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, yo desterré al rey tras la revolución — "Yesterday, I banished the king after the revolution".

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For desterrar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, yo desterraba al enemigo de la ciudad — "As a child, I used to banish the enemy from the city".

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For desterrar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, yo desterraré los malos recuerdos de su mente — "Tomorrow, I will banish the bad memories from his mind".

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For desterrar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo desterraría al poeta de su país si pudiera — "I would banish the poet from his country if I could".

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For desterrar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, yo he desterrado al rey tras la revolución — "Today, I have banished the king after the revolution".

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For desterrar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo ya había desterrado al enemigo de la ciudad antes de salir — "I already had banished the enemy from the city before leaving".

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For desterrar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, yo habré desterrado los malos recuerdos de su mente — "By tomorrow, I will have banished the bad memories from his mind".

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For desterrar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría desterrado al poeta de su país con más tiempo — "I would have banished the poet from his country with more time".

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. 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. For desterrar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él destierre al rey tras la revolución — "I hope he banishes the king after the revolution".

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past. The -ra forms are shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For desterrar, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo desterrara al enemigo de la ciudad, todo cambiaría — "If I banished the enemy from the city, everything would change".

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. 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. For desterrar, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Destierra los malos recuerdos de su mente. — "Banish the bad memories from his mind.".

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. 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. For desterrar, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No destierres al poeta de su país. — "Do not banish the poet from his country.".

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with desterrar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  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. Ayer, yo desterré al enemigo de la ciudad — "Yesterday, I banished the enemy from the city"
  4. Antes, nosotros desterrábamos los malos recuerdos de su mente — "Before, we used to banish the bad memories from his mind"
  5. Mañana, tú desterrarás al traidor de la corte — "Tomorrow, you will banish the traitor from the court"
  6. Yo desterraría al poeta de su país si tuviera más tiempo — "I would banish the poet from his country if I had more time"
  7. Él ha desterrado al rey tras la revolución — "He has banished the king after the revolution"
  8. Espero que él destierre al enemigo de la ciudad — "I hope he banishes the enemy from the city"
  9. 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"
  10. Ellos desterraban al traidor de la corte cuando eran jóvenes — "They used to banish the traitor from the court when they were young"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo desterro al rey tras la revolución. — Right: Yo destierro al rey tras la revolución. — 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.
  2. Wrong: Espero que él destierra al rey tras la revolución — Right: Espero que él destierre al rey tras la revolución — After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él destierre al rey tras la revolución — not the indicative Espero que él destierra al rey tras la revolución.
  3. Wrong: Ayer, yo destierro al enemigo de la ciudad — Right: Ayer, yo desterré al enemigo de la ciudad — Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo desterré al enemigo de la ciudad.
  4. Wrong: De niño, yo desterré los malos recuerdos de su mente todos los días — Right: De niño, yo desterraba los malos recuerdos de su mente todos los días — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo desterraba los malos recuerdos de su mente todos los días.
  5. Wrong: Yo destierro poeta de su país. — Right: Yo destierro al poeta de su país. — desterrar takes al before this complement: Yo destierro al poeta de su país. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on desterrar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  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: Él ______ al rey tras la revolución — "He banished the king after the revolution" (preterite) A. desterraste B. desterramos C. desterró D. desterré

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

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú ______ los malos recuerdos de su mente — "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: Espero que él ______ al poeta de su país — "I hope he banishes the poet from his country" (present subjunctive) A. destierres B. desterremos C. desterréis D. destierre

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ______ al rey tras la revolución, todo cambiaría — "If I banished the king after the revolution, everything would change" (imperfect subjunctive) A. desterráramos B. desterrarais C. desterrara D. desterraras

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ al enemigo de la ciudad — "We have banished the enemy from the city" (present perfect) A. he desterrado B. has desterrado C. ha desterrado D. hemos desterrado

  9. Complete the sentence: No ______ los malos recuerdos de su mente. — "Do not banish the bad memories from his mind." (negative imperative) A. destierres B. destierre C. desterremos D. desterréis

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

Answer key

  1. destierro — The present form for yo is destierro.
  2. desterró — The preterite form for él/ella/Ud. is desterró.
  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. destierre — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is destierre.
  7. desterrara — The imperfect subjunctive form for yo is desterrara.
  8. hemos desterrado — The present perfect form for nosotros/as is hemos desterrado.
  9. destierres — The negative imperative form is destierres.
  10. desterrando — The gerund of desterrar is desterrando: estoy desterrando. The participle desterrado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does desterrar mean in English?

desterrar means to exile. It is used in everyday situations such as 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.

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. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem, which is the part learners most often get right by accident.

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 I say "I banish" in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Ayer, yo desterré al rey tras la revolución — "Yesterday, I banished the king after the revolution". For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: De niño, yo desterraba al enemigo de la ciudad — "As a child, I used to banish the enemy from the city". For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Hoy, yo he desterrado al rey tras la revolución — "Today, I have banished the king after the revolution".

What is the difference between desterrar and exiliar?

Exiliar is the near-synonym for sending someone into exile. Desterrar is the older, more literary verb, also used for banishing doubts and memories. 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.

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