Present
Presente · now, habits and facts
- yo I wake up
- tú you wake up
- usted, él, ella he/she wakes up
- nosotros we wake up
- vosotros Spain you all wake up
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they wake up
SPANISH VERB
despertar
to wake up
- #363 most used
- Irregular -ar verb
- Gerund: despertando
- Past participle: despertado
Conjugation
Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.
Past
Pretérito indefinido · finished actions
- yo I woke up
- tú you woke up
- usted, él, ella he/she woke up
- nosotros we woke up
- vosotros Spain you all woke up
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they woke up
Imperfect
Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”
- yo I used to wake up
- tú you used to wake up
- usted, él, ella he/she used to wake up
- nosotros we used to wake up
- vosotros Spain you all used to wake up
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to wake up
Future
Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common
- yo I will wake up
- tú you will wake up
- usted, él, ella he/she will wake up
- nosotros we will wake up
- vosotros Spain you all will wake up
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they will wake up
Conditional
Condicional · “would”
- yo I would wake up
- tú you would wake up
- usted, él, ella he/she would wake up
- nosotros we would wake up
- vosotros Spain you all would wake up
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they would wake up
Present subjunctive
Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”
- yo (that) I wake up
- tú (that) you wake up
- usted, él, ella (that) he/she wake up
- nosotros (that) we wake up
- vosotros Spain (that) you all wake up
- ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they wake up
Past subjunctive
Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”
- yo (if) I woke up
- tú (if) you woke up
- usted, él, ella (if) he/she woke up
- nosotros (if) we woke up
- vosotros Spain (if) you all woke up
- ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they woke up
Imperative
Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)
- tú wake up!
- usted wake up! (formal)
- nosotros wake up! (let’s)
- vosotros Spain wake up! (all of you)
- ustedes wake up! (all of you)
How to use despertar
One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.
-
Present
El gallo del vecino despierta a toda la cuadra.
The neighbor's rooster wakes up the whole block.
-
Past
¿Te desperté con mi llamada tan temprano?
Did I wake you with my call so early?
-
Imperfect
Mi mamá me despertaba con olor a café.
My mom used to wake me with the smell of coffee.
-
Future
Te despertaré a las cinco para ir al aeropuerto.
I'll wake you at five to go to the airport.
-
Conditional
Yo no lo despertaría, apenas se durmió.
I wouldn't wake him, he just fell asleep.
-
Present subjunctive
Habla bajito para que no despiertes al bebé.
Speak softly so you don't wake the baby.
-
Past subjunctive
Si me despertaras a tiempo, no llegaría tarde.
If you woke me on time, I wouldn't be late.
-
Imperative
¡Despierta a tu hermano, ya es tardísimo!
Wake your brother up, it's really late!
Good to know
- "Despertar" is to wake someone; "despertarse" is to wake up yourself.
Where you hear despertar
The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.
Spanish · Beginner Level 3
- Me despierto a las seis. I wake up at six.
- Desperté con el sol. I woke up with the sun.
- Te voy a despertar temprano. I'm going to wake you up early.
Spanish · Intermediate Level 1
- El sol me despierta temprano. The sun wakes me up early.
- El ruido me despertó anoche. The noise woke me last night.
- La luz te va a despertar. The light is going to wake you up.
21
Seven Colours
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16
Beginner Level 3 · ¡Despierta!
Even If It's Expensive
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17
Intermediate Level 1 · para que no me despierte
The Neighbours
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4
Intermediate Level 1 · te despertó
It's a Girl!
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22
Intermediate Level 2 · despertarte
Three Hundred Curves
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29
Intermediate Level 2 · despiértame
Will You Marry Me?
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Advanced Level 1 · despertémosla
Verbs like this one
The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -ar verb.