Skip to content
fluentbyear

SPANISH VERB

despedir

to fire; to see off

  • #449 most used
  • Irregular -ir verb
  • Gerund: despidiendo
  • Past participle: despedido

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I fire
  2. tú you fire
  3. usted, él, ella he/she fires
  4. nosotros we fire
  5. vosotros Spain you all fire
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they fire

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I fired
  2. tú you fired
  3. usted, él, ella he/she fired
  4. nosotros we fired
  5. vosotros Spain you all fired
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they fired

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to fire
  2. tú you used to fire
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to fire
  4. nosotros we used to fire
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to fire
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to fire

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will fire
  2. tú you will fire
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will fire
  4. nosotros we will fire
  5. vosotros Spain you all will fire
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will fire

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would fire
  2. tú you would fire
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would fire
  4. nosotros we would fire
  5. vosotros Spain you all would fire
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would fire

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I fire
  2. tú (that) you fire
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she fire
  4. nosotros (that) we fire
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all fire
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they fire

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I fired
  2. tú (if) you fired
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she fired
  4. nosotros (if) we fired
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all fired
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they fired

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú fire!
  2. usted fire! (formal)
  3. nosotros fire! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain fire! (all of you)
  5. ustedes fire! (all of you)

How to use despedir

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Esa empresa despide gente cada diciembre.

    That company lays people off every December.

  2. Past

    Lo despidieron por llegar tarde todos los días.

    They fired him for arriving late every day.

  3. Imperfect

    Mi madre nos despedía desde la ventana cada mañana.

    My mother used to see us off from the window every morning.

  4. Future

    Mañana despediremos a Ana en el aeropuerto.

    Tomorrow we'll see Ana off at the airport.

  5. Conditional

    Yo no despediría a nadie sin hablar antes con él.

    I wouldn't fire anyone without talking to him first.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Tengo miedo de que me despidan este mes.

    I'm afraid they'll fire me this month.

  7. Past subjunctive

    No esperaba que despidieran al mejor vendedor.

    I didn't expect them to fire the best salesman.

  8. Imperative

    Despide a tu abuela con un beso grande.

    See your grandma off with a big kiss.

Good to know

  • "Despedirse de" is to say goodbye to someone: me despedí de todos.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -ir verb.