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SPANISH VERB

separar

to separate

  • #438 most used
  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: separando
  • Past participle: separado

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use separar

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

  1. Present

    En casa separamos el plástico del papel.

    At home we separate plastic from paper.

  2. Past

    La maestra separó a los dos niños que peleaban.

    The teacher separated the two boys who were fighting.

  3. Imperfect

    Un río separaba los dos pueblos.

    A river separated the two villages.

  4. Future

    Separaré las claras de las yemas para el pastel.

    I'll separate the whites from the yolks for the cake.

  5. Conditional

    Yo separaría la ropa blanca de la de color.

    I'd separate the whites from the colours.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Es mejor que separes las cuentas del negocio y las tuyas.

    It's better to keep the business accounts and yours separate.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Nos pidieron que separáramos la basura orgánica.

    They asked us to separate the organic waste.

  8. Imperative

    Separa las monedas por tamaño, por favor.

    Separate the coins by size, please.

Good to know

  • "Separarse" is for a couple splitting up: mis padres se separaron.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -ar verb.