despreciar — Spanish conjugation
to despise, to scorn
Indicative
Present (Presente) Regular
The present tense is the most versatile tense in Spanish. It covers actions happening right now, habitual actions, and even near-future plans. One form does the work of three English constructions.
Ella habla inglés — She speaks / is speaking English
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | desprecio | I despise |
| tú | desprecias | you despise |
| vos | despreciás | you despise |
| él/ella/Ud. | desprecia | he/she/it despises |
| nosotros | despreciamos | we despise |
| vosotros | despreciáis | you (pl.) despise |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | desprecian | they despise |
Preterite (Pretérito indefinido) Regular
Used for completed past actions with a defined endpoint — a single event, a series of events, or an action that interrupted another. Common with time expressions like ayer, el lunes, una vez.
Ella habló de ti ayer — She spoke about you yesterday
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | desprecié | I despised |
| tú | despreciaste | you despised |
| vos | despreciaste | you despised |
| él/ella/Ud. | despreció | he/she/it despised |
| nosotros | despreciamos | we despised |
| vosotros | despreciasteis | you (pl.) despised |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | despreciaron | they despised |
Imperfect (Pretérito imperfecto) Regular
Describes ongoing or habitual past states — what things were like, background context, what used to happen. Contrasts with the preterite which marks completed events.
Cuando era niño vivía en Valencia — When I was a child I lived in Valencia
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | despreciaba |
| tú | despreciabas |
| vos | despreciabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | despreciaba |
| nosotros | despreciábamos |
| vosotros | despreciabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | despreciaban |
Conditional (Condicional) Regular
Expresses hypothetical actions, polite requests, and what would happen under certain conditions. Also used for reported speech about the future from a past perspective.
¿Podrías ayudarme? — Could you help me?
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | despreciaría | I would despise |
| tú | despreciarías | you would despise |
| vos | despreciarías | you would despise |
| él/ella/Ud. | despreciaría | he/she/it would despise |
| nosotros | despreciaríamos | we would despise |
| vosotros | despreciaríais | you (pl.) would despise |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | despreciarían | they would despise |
Future (Futuro) Regular
Expresses future actions, predictions, and probability about the present. Formed with the full infinitive as stem for most verbs. In spoken Spanish, ir a + infinitive is often preferred for near future.
Ella hablará en conferencia mañana — She will speak at the conference tomorrow
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | despreciaré | I will despise |
| tú | despreciarás | you will despise |
| vos | despreciarás | you will despise |
| él/ella/Ud. | despreciará | he/she/it will despise |
| nosotros | despreciaremos | we will despise |
| vosotros | despreciaréis | you (pl.) will despise |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | despreciarán | they will despise |
Present perfect (Pretérito perfecto) Regular
A compound past tense linking a past action to the present moment — something that has happened and still feels recent or relevant. More common in Spain than Latin America where preterite is preferred.
Hoy he hablado con el jefe — Today I have spoken with the boss
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | he despreciado | I have despised |
| tú | has despreciado | you have despised |
| vos | has despreciado | you have despised |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha despreciado | he/she/it has despised |
| nosotros | hemos despreciado | we have despised |
| vosotros | habéis despreciado | you (pl.) have despised |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han despreciado | they have despised |
Pluperfect (Pretérito pluscuamperfecto) Regular
The past of the past — describes an action that was already completed before another past event happened. Always implies a reference point in the past.
Ya había hablado cuando llegaste — She had already spoken when you arrived
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | había despreciado | I had despised |
| tú | habías despreciado | you had despised |
| vos | habías despreciado | you had despised |
| él/ella/Ud. | había despreciado | he/she/it had despised |
| nosotros | habíamos despreciado | we had despised |
| vosotros | habíais despreciado | you (pl.) had despised |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían despreciado | they had despised |
Conditional perfect (Condicional perfecto) Regular
Expresses what would have happened — actions that were possible but did not occur, or regrets about the past. Formed with conditional of haber + past participle.
Habría hablado, pero no me dejaron — I would have spoken, but they did not let me
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | habría despreciado |
| tú | habrías despreciado |
| vos | habrías despreciado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría despreciado |
| nosotros | habríamos despreciado |
| vosotros | habríais despreciado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían despreciado |
Future perfect (Futuro perfecto) Regular
Describes an action that will have been completed by a certain point in the future, or expresses probability about a recent past action.
Para el lunes habré terminado — By Monday I will have finished
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | habré despreciado | I will have despised |
| tú | habrás despreciado | you will have despised |
| vos | habrás despreciado | you will have despised |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá despreciado | he/she/it will have despised |
| nosotros | habremos despreciado | we will have despised |
| vosotros | habréis despreciado | you (pl.) will have despised |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán despreciado | they will have despised |
Subjunctive
Present subjunctive (Subjuntivo presente) Regular
Used in subordinate clauses after expressions of desire, doubt, emotion, necessity, or impersonal statements. Triggered by a change of subject between the main and subordinate clause.
Espero que hable — I hope she speaks
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | desprecie |
| tú | desprecies |
| vos | desprecies |
| él/ella/Ud. | desprecie |
| nosotros | despreciemos |
| vosotros | despreciéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | desprecien |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra) (Subjuntivo imperfecto (-ra)) Regular
The past subjunctive used after past main verbs, in if-clauses with conditional, and for polite softening. The -ra form is more common in everyday speech than the -se form.
Si pudiera, lo haría — If I could, I would do it
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | despreciara |
| tú | despreciaras |
| vos | despreciaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | despreciara |
| nosotros | despreciáramos |
| vosotros | despreciarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | despreciaran |
Imperfect subjunctive (-se) (Subjuntivo imperfecto (-se)) Regular
The alternative past subjunctive form. Interchangeable with -ra in most contexts but slightly more literary or formal. Both forms are grammatically correct in all regions.
Si pudiese, lo haría — If I could, I would do it
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | despreciase |
| tú | despreciases |
| vos | despreciases |
| él/ella/Ud. | despreciase |
| nosotros | despreciásemos |
| vosotros | despreciaseis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | despreciasen |
Perfect subjunctive (Pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) Regular
A compound subjunctive that expresses completed actions in a subjunctive context — used after present or future main verbs expressing doubt, emotion or desire.
Dudo que ya haya llegado — I doubt she has already arrived
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | haya despreciado |
| tú | hayas despreciado |
| vos | hayas despreciado |
| él/ella/Ud. | haya despreciado |
| nosotros | hayamos despreciado |
| vosotros | hayáis despreciado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | hayan despreciado |
Pluperfect subjunctive (Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) Regular
Expresses what had happened in hypothetical or unreal past contexts — the subjunctive equivalent of the pluperfect. Common in contrary-to-fact past conditions.
Si hubiera hablado, lo habrían creído — If she had spoken, they would have believed her
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | hubiera despreciado |
| tú | hubieras despreciado |
| vos | hubieras despreciado |
| él/ella/Ud. | hubiera despreciado |
| nosotros | hubiéramos despreciado |
| vosotros | hubierais despreciado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | hubieran despreciado |
Other forms
Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo afirmativo) Regular
Direct commands and instructions. The imperative only exists for tú, usted, nosotros, vosotros and ustedes — yo has no command form. Affirmative and negative forms use different conjugations.
Habla más despacio — Speak more slowly
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| tú | desprecia |
| vos | despreciá |
| él/ella/Ud. | desprecie |
| nosotros | despreciemos |
| vosotros | despreciad |
| ustedes | desprecien |
Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Regular
Negative commands use the subjunctive forms for all persons. Formed with no + present subjunctive. This applies to all persons including tú where the affirmative uses a different form.
No hables tan rápido — Do not speak so fast
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| tú | no desprecies |
| vos | no desprecies |
| él/ella/Ud. | no desprecie |
| nosotros | no despreciemos |
| vosotros | no despreciéis |
| ustedes | no desprecien |
Present progressive (Presente progresivo) Regular
Emphasises that an action is happening right now at this very moment. Less common than in English since the present tense already covers ongoing actions in Spanish.
Estoy hablando contigo — I am speaking with you
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | estoy despreciando |
| tú | estás despreciando |
| vos | estás despreciando |
| él/ella/Ud. | está despreciando |
| nosotros | estamos despreciando |
| vosotros | estáis despreciando |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | están despreciando |
Preterite progressive (Pretérito indefinido progresivo) Regular
Describes an action that was in progress throughout a completed past period. Uses the preterite of estar + gerund to emphasise the ongoing nature within a defined timeframe.
Estuvo hablando toda la tarde — He was talking all afternoon
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | estuve despreciando |
| tú | estuviste despreciando |
| vos | estuviste despreciando |
| él/ella/Ud. | estuvo despreciando |
| nosotros | estuvimos despreciando |
| vosotros | estuvisteis despreciando |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | estuvieron despreciando |
Imperfect progressive (Pretérito imperfecto progresivo) Regular
Emphasises an ongoing background action using the imperfect of estar + gerund. Layered on top of the imperfect which already conveys continuity — used for extra emphasis on the progressive nature.
Estaba hablando cuando entró — I was speaking when he came in
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | estaba despreciando |
| tú | estabas despreciando |
| vos | estabas despreciando |
| él/ella/Ud. | estaba despreciando |
| nosotros | estábamos despreciando |
| vosotros | estabais despreciando |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | estaban despreciando |
Conditional progressive (Condicional progresivo) Regular
Expresses what would be in progress under hypothetical conditions. Uses the conditional of estar + gerund. Less common but used for emphasis on the ongoing nature of a hypothetical action.
Estaría hablando ahora si pudiera — I would be speaking now if I could
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | estaría despreciando |
| tú | estarías despreciando |
| vos | estarías despreciando |
| él/ella/Ud. | estaría despreciando |
| nosotros | estaríamos despreciando |
| vosotros | estaríais despreciando |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | estarían despreciando |
Future progressive (Futuro progresivo) Regular
Describes an action that will be in progress at a future point, or expresses probability about an ongoing present action. Uses the future of estar + gerund.
Mañana a esta hora estaré viajando — At this time tomorrow I will be travelling
| Pronoun | Spanish |
|---|---|
| yo | estaré despreciando |
| tú | estarás despreciando |
| vos | estarás despreciando |
| él/ella/Ud. | estará despreciando |
| nosotros | estaremos despreciando |
| vosotros | estaréis despreciando |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | estarán despreciando |