Distraerse Conjugation in Spanish

Learning to conjugate distraerse — «to get distracted» — opens up a whole set of sentences you will use every day. It is a irregular -er verb, reflexive verb, and this page covers it completely: thirteen tenses, the gerund distrayendo and the past participle distraído, example sentences in every tense, the common mistakes and a quiz with an answer key. A good first sentence to learn is «Me distraigo todos los días» — I get distracted every day. Once you can say that, the rest of the table falls into place person by person.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: distraerse
  • English: to get distracted
  • Verb type: irregular -er verb, reflexive
  • Ending: -er
  • Gerund: distrayendo
  • Past participle: distraído
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + distraído)
  • Reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nos, os, se — one before every conjugated form, matching the person.
  • Irregular in: present indicative, preterite, present subjunctive, imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), gerund, past participle, present perfect, pluperfect, future perfect, conditional perfect, imperative — affirmative, imperative — negative.

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

distraerse is reflexive: Me distraigo todos los días; te distraes todos los días. Without the pronoun, the verb means doing the action to someone else rather than to yourself, so keep the pronoun with the form.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for distraerse. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.

Gerund: distrayendo · Past participle: distraído

Present Indicative

Person Pronoun Form
yo me distraigo
tú te distraes
él/ella/Ud. se distrae
nosotros/as nos distraemos
vosotros/as os distraéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se distraen

Use the present of distraerse for things that happen regularly and for things that are true in general. The yo form distraigo is the anchor of the table: the other persons follow the regular -er endings from it. When you talk about yourself right now, this is the form you need. This is one of the tenses where distraerse does not follow the regular pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.

Preterite

Person Pronoun Form
yo me distraje
tú te distrajiste
él/ella/Ud. se distrajo
nosotros/as nos distrajimos
vosotros/as os distrajisteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se distrajeron

Use the preterite of distraerse for a single finished event: something that happened once and is over. The yo form is distraje. If you can put a finished time expression with it — ayer, la semana pasada, anoche — the preterite is usually right. This is one of the tenses where distraerse does not follow the regular pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.

Imperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me distraía
tú te distraías
él/ella/Ud. se distraía
nosotros/as nos distraíamos
vosotros/as os distraíais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se distraían

Use the imperfect of distraerse for what used to happen and for what was going on when something else happened. The yo form is distraía. If the action has no clear beginning or end in the story, the imperfect is the right choice.

Future

Person Pronoun Form
yo me distraeré
tú te distraerás
él/ella/Ud. se distraerá
nosotros/as nos distraeremos
vosotros/as os distraeréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se distraerán

Use the future of distraerse for plans, promises and predictions. The yo form is distraeré, built on the infinitive plus the future endings. For a firm plan, the future sounds more formal than ir a + infinitive; for a casual plan, either works.

Conditional

Person Pronoun Form
yo me distraería
tú te distraerías
él/ella/Ud. se distraería
nosotros/as nos distraeríamos
vosotros/as os distraeríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se distraerían

Use the conditional of distraerse for hypothetical situations and for softening requests. The yo form is distraería. It appears after si-clauses with the imperfect subjunctive and on its own for polite suggestions.

Present Perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me he distraído
tú te has distraído
él/ella/Ud. se ha distraído
nosotros/as nos hemos distraído
vosotros/as os habéis distraído
ellos/ellas/Uds. se han distraído

Use the present perfect of distraerse for recent events with present relevance. The yo form is he distraído — haber in the present plus distraído. Time expressions like hoy, esta semana and últimamente are its natural partners. This is one of the tenses where distraerse does not follow the regular pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.

Pluperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me había distraído
tú te habías distraído
él/ella/Ud. se había distraído
nosotros/as nos habíamos distraído
vosotros/as os habíais distraído
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habían distraído

Use the pluperfect of distraerse when you need two layers of past: one event already finished before another past event began. The yo form is había distraído. It is the tense of «had already done». This is one of the tenses where distraerse does not follow the regular pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.

Future Perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habré distraído
tú te habrás distraído
él/ella/Ud. se habrá distraído
nosotros/as nos habremos distraído
vosotros/as os habréis distraído
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrán distraído

Use the future perfect of distraerse to say that something will be finished by a future moment. The yo form is habré distraído. It pairs naturally with deadlines: para mañana, para el viernes, para entonces. This is one of the tenses where distraerse does not follow the regular pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.

Conditional Perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habría distraído
tú te habrías distraído
él/ella/Ud. se habría distraído
nosotros/as nos habríamos distraído
vosotros/as os habríais distraído
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrían distraído

Use the conditional perfect of distraerse for the past that did not happen: what would have been done with more time or a different choice. The yo form is habría distraído. It follows si-clauses with the pluperfect subjunctive. This is one of the tenses where distraerse does not follow the regular pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.

Present Subjunctive

Person Pronoun Form
yo me distraiga
tú te distraigas
él/ella/Ud. se distraiga
nosotros/as nos distraigamos
vosotros/as os distraigáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se distraigan

Use the present subjunctive of distraerse when the main clause expresses a wish, a doubt, an emotion or an impersonal judgement. The yo form is distraiga. After espero que, ojalá que and no creo que, the subjunctive is required, not optional. This is one of the tenses where distraerse does not follow the regular pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)

Person Pronoun Form
yo me distrajera
tú te distrajeras
él/ella/Ud. se distrajera
nosotros/as nos distrajéramos
vosotros/as os distrajerais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se distrajeran

Use the imperfect subjunctive of distraerse after past-tense wishes and doubts, and in si-clauses that set up a hypothetical present. The yo form is distrajera. It is built on the third-person plural preterite stem, which is why it looks different from the present subjunctive. This is one of the tenses where distraerse does not follow the regular pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.

Imperative — Affirmative

Person Pronoun Form
tú te distrae
él/ella/Ud. se distraiga
nosotros/as nos distraigamos
vosotros/as os distraed
ellos/ellas/Uds. se distraigan

There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.

In real speech the reflexive pronoun attaches to the end of an affirmative command; the table shows the pronoun and the form separately so you can see both parts.

Use the affirmative imperative of distraerse to tell someone to do something: instructions, invitations and requests. The tú form is distrae. For a polite command, use the usted form distraiga instead of the tú form. This is one of the tenses where distraerse does not follow the regular pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.

Imperative — Negative

Person Pronoun Form
tú te distraigas
él/ella/Ud. se distraiga
nosotros/as nos distraigamos
vosotros/as os distraigáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se distraigan

There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.

In real speech the reflexive pronoun attaches to the end of an affirmative command; the table shows the pronoun and the form separately so you can see both parts.

Use the negative imperative of distraerse to forbid or to warn: «¡No distraigas!». The tú form is distraigas, taken from the present subjunctive. The word no always comes first, and the form never changes for emphasis. This is one of the tenses where distraerse does not follow the regular pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.

Example sentences

  1. Me distraigo todos los días. — I get distracted every day.
  2. Ayer me distraje por la tarde. — Yesterday I got distracted in the afternoon.
  3. Antes, me distraía todos los días. — In the past, I used to get distracted every day.
  4. Mañana me distraeré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will get distracted without fail.
  5. Si tuviera más tiempo, me distraería ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would get distracted right now.
  6. Hoy me he distraído dos veces. — Today I have got distracted twice.
  7. Espero que te distraigas pronto. — I hope You get distracted soon.
  8. Si me distrajera, todo sería distinto. — If I got distracted, everything would be different.
  9. Ahora mismo me estoy distrayendo. — Right now I am getting distracted.
  10. ¡No te distraigas! — Don't get distracted!

Common mistakes

1. Forgetting the reflexive pronoun

Wrong: yo distraigo todos los días.

Right: me distraigo todos los días.

distraerse is reflexive: the pronoun me belongs before every conjugated form. Without it, you are using the non-reflexive verb, which means something different — doing the action to someone else instead of to yourself.

2. Treating distraerse as fully regular in the present

Wrong: Yo distrao.

Right: Yo distraigo.

distraerse is irregular in the present tense, so the regular pattern does not apply. The yo form is distraigo — learn it as a separate word rather than building it from the infinitive.

3. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer me distraía.

Right: Ayer me distraje.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, distraje. The imperfect distraía describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.

4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que te distraes.

Right: Espero que te distraigas.

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: distraigas, not the indicative distraes. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.

5. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No te distrae.

Right: No te distraigas.

Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no distraigas. The affirmative distrae can never follow no.

6. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He distrayendo.

Right: He distraído.

The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he distraído. The gerund distrayendo goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy distrayendo»), never with haber.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the vosotros/as form of distraerse in the present indicative?

- (a) distraigo
- (b) distraes
- (c) distrae
- (d) distraéis

2. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of distraerse in the preterite?

- (a) distrajo
- (b) distraje
- (c) distrajiste
- (d) distrajeron

3. What is the yo form of distraerse in the imperfect?

- (a) distraíamos
- (b) distraía
- (c) distraías
- (d) distraía

4. What is the tú form of distraerse in the future?

- (a) distraeremos
- (b) distraeré
- (c) distraerá
- (d) distraerás

5. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of distraerse in the conditional?

- (a) distraerías
- (b) distraeríamos
- (c) distraería
- (d) distraería

6. What is the nosotros/as form of distraerse in the present perfect?

- (a) hemos distraído
- (b) he distraído
- (c) ha distraído
- (d) has distraído

7. What is the vosotros/as form of distraerse in the present subjunctive?

- (a) distraigáis
- (b) distraiga
- (c) distraiga
- (d) distraigas

8. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of distraerse in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)?

- (a) distrajera
- (b) distrajeran
- (c) distrajeras
- (d) distrajera

9. What is the gerund of distraerse?

- (a) distraigo
- (b) distraído
- (c) distrayendo
- (d) distraerse

10. What is the past participle of distraerse?

- (a) distraerse
- (b) distraído
- (c) distraje
- (d) distrayendo

Answer key

1. (d) — In the present indicative, the vosotros/as form of distraerse is distraéis. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (d) — In the preterite, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of distraerse is distrajeron. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (b) — In the imperfect, the yo form of distraerse is distraía. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (d) — In the future, the tú form of distraerse is distraerás. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (c) — In the conditional, the él/ella/Ud. form of distraerse is distraería. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (a) — In the present perfect, the nosotros/as form of distraerse is hemos distraído. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (a) — In the present subjunctive, the vosotros/as form of distraerse is distraigáis. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (b) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of distraerse is distrajeran. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (c) — The gerund of distraerse is distrayendo. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy distrayendo». 10. (b) — The past participle of distraerse is distraído. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he distraído».

Frequently asked questions

Is distraerse regular or irregular?

No — distraerse is irregular. The tenses that break the regular pattern are: present indicative, preterite, present subjunctive, imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), gerund, past participle, present perfect, pluperfect, future perfect, conditional perfect, imperative — affirmative, imperative — negative. Learn those forms as a set, and use the regular pattern for the rest.

What are the gerund and past participle of distraerse?

The gerund is distrayendo and the past participle is distraído. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy distrayendo») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he distraído»).

How do I say «I get distracted» in Spanish?

Say «Me distraigo todos los días». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.

What is the difference between the preterite and the imperfect of distraerse?

Use the preterite (distraje) for a single finished event and the imperfect (distraía) for habits and background. «Ayer yo distraje» reports something that happened and ended; «Antes, yo distraía» describes what used to happen.

When do I use the subjunctive with distraerse?

Use the subjunctive after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions — for example «Espero que tú distraigas». The trigger sits in the main clause; once it is there, the subjunctive form is required, not a stylistic choice.

What does the -se in distraerse mean?

The -se marks distraerse as reflexive: the action comes back to the subject. You always pair the form with its pronoun — me, te, se, nos, os, se — placed before the conjugated verb. Dropping the pronoun changes the meaning, so treat the pronoun as part of the verb.

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