Detener Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Detener means “to stop, to detain”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Detener means to stop or to detain, and it covers stopping a car or a process, and the police detaining or arresting someone. It follows the pattern of tener, with the present detengo, the preterite detuve and the future detendré, so it is one of the irregular verbs that rewards careful study. This page shows detener in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct present-tense form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo detengo el coche en el control.” — I stop the car at the checkpoint.
Detener in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how detener is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.
In the present: everyday use
These sentences use detener in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Detengo el coche en el control.” — I stop the car at the checkpoint.
“¿Tú detienes al ladrón en la calle?” — Do you stop the thief in the street?
“Detiene la obra por la lluvia.” — He/she stops the building work because of the rain.
“Detenemos el tráfico en la avenida.” — We stop the traffic on the avenue.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show detener in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo detuve el coche en el control.” — Yesterday, I stopped the car at the checkpoint. (preterite)
“Él detenía al ladrón en la calle todos los días.” — He used to stop the thief in the street every day. (imperfect)
Plans and things already done
These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of detener stays the same.
“Nosotros detendremos la obra por la lluvia mañana.” — We will stop the building work because of the rain tomorrow. (future)
“¿Tú has detenido el tráfico en la avenida?” — Have you stopped the traffic on the avenue? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Detenéis el coche en el control.” — You stop the car at the checkpoint.
“Detienen al ladrón en la calle.” — They stop the thief in the street.
“Detengo la obra por la lluvia.” — I stop the building work because of the rain.
“Detiene el tráfico en la avenida.” — He/she stops the traffic on the avenue.
Detener in context
Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how detener appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú detienes el coche en el control?” — Do you stop the car at the checkpoint?
Carlos: “Sí, yo detengo el coche en el control.” — Yes, I stop the car at the checkpoint.
Lucía: “Nosotros detenemos al ladrón en la calle.” — We stop the thief in the street.
Carlos: “Y ellos detienen la obra por la lluvia.” — And they stop the building work because of the rain.
Lucía: “Vosotros detenéis el tráfico en la avenida.” — You stop the traffic on the avenue.
Carlos: “Sí, y él detiene al ladrón en la calle.” — Yes, and he stops the thief in the street.
A short paragraph
Lucía detiene el coche en el control, y Carlos detiene al ladrón en la calle. Nosotros detenemos la obra por la lluvia, y ellos detienen el tráfico en la avenida. Yo detengo la obra por la lluvia, y mi padre detiene el tráfico en la avenida. Detener is part of everyday life, because to stop, to detain is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with detener
These are the errors learners actually make with detener. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo detiene el coche en el control.” Right: “Yo detengo el coche en el control.” Why: The person matters: detiene is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is detengo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
Wrong: “Yo deteno al ladrón en la calle.” Right: “Yo detengo al ladrón en la calle.” Why: Detener is a stem-changing verb (e → ie), so the stem changes in the present singular and third-person plural. The nosotros form keeps the original stem.
Wrong: “Treating detener and parar as identical in every context.” Right: “Detener means to stop, to detain, while parar means to stop.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: detener fits sentences such as Detengo el coche en el control, while parar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy detenido al ladrón en la calle.” Right: “Yo he detenido al ladrón en la calle.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he detenido, has detenido, ha detenido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo detuve la obra por la lluvia todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo detenía la obra por la lluvia todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (detenía), not the preterite. The preterite (detuve) is for one finished action.
Quiz: detener in use
Ten questions on detener in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ el coche en el control.” (The car at the checkpoint.)
- (a) detenéis
- (b) detengo
- (c) detienes
Answer: detenéis — The vosotros/as form of detener in the present is detenéis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ al ladrón en la calle.” (The thief in the street.)
- (a) detengo
- (b) detienes
- (c) detienen
Answer: detienen — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of detener in the present is detienen.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ el coche en el control.” (The car at the checkpoint.)
- (a) detuvo
- (b) detuve
- (c) detuviste
Answer: detuve — The yo form of detener in the preterite is detuve.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ al ladrón en la calle.” (The thief in the street.)
- (a) detenía
- (b) detenías
- (c) deteníamos
Answer: detenía — The él/ella/Ud. form of detener in the imperfect is detenía.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ la obra por la lluvia.” (The building work because of the rain.)
- (a) detendré
- (b) detendrás
- (c) detendremos
Answer: detendremos — The nosotros/as form of detener in the future is detendremos.
6. What does detener mean in English?
- (a) to go back, to reverse
- (b) to stop, to detain
- (c) to stop
Answer: to stop, to detain — Detener means “to stop, to detain”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo detengo el coche en el control.
- (b) Ellos detiene el coche en el control.
- (c) Yo detengo al ladrón en la calle ayer.
Answer: Yo detengo el coche en el control. — “Yo detengo el coche en el control.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I stop the car at the checkpoint.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo detienen el coche en el control.
- (b) Yo detuve el coche en el control.
- (c) Yo detengo el coche en el control.
Answer: Yo detengo el coche en el control. — “Yo detengo el coche en el control.” is the correct translation. The second option uses the wrong person's form, and the third uses the preterite.
9. What is the nosotros form of detener in the present tense?
- (a) detienes
- (b) detenemos
- (c) detengo
Answer: detenemos — The nosotros form is detenemos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo detuve el coche en el control.
- (b) Nosotros detendremos el coche en el control mañana.
- (c) Yo detengo el coche en el control.
Answer: Yo detengo el coche en el control. — “Yo detengo el coche en el control.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I stop' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo detengo el coche en el control'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo detengo el coche en el control todos los días'.
How do you say 'I stop' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo detuve al ladrón en la calle'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo detenía al ladrón en la calle todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo he detenido al ladrón en la calle'.
What is the difference between detener and parar?
Detener means to stop, to detain, while parar means to stop. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use detener when you mean to stop, to detain, as in Detengo el coche en el control.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of detener — every tense of detener in one place.
- Detener in the preterite tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on detener and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of detener until they are automatic.