distar — Spanish conjugation

to be distant (in space or time)

Frequency#108Regular

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
yodistoI am distant
distasyou are distant
vosdistásyou are distant
él/ella/Ud.distahe/she/it is distant
nosotrosdistamoswe are distant
vosotrosdistáisyou (pl.) are distant
ellos/ellas/Uds.distanthey are distant

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
yodistéI was distant
distasteyou were distant
vosdistasteyou were distant
él/ella/Ud.distóhe/she/it was distant
nosotrosdistamoswe were distant
vosotrosdistasteisyou (pl.) were distant
ellos/ellas/Uds.distaronthey were distant

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

PronounSpanish
yodistaba
distabas
vosdistabas
él/ella/Ud.distaba
nosotrosdistábamos
vosotrosdistabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.distaban

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?

PronounSpanishEnglish
yodistaríaI would be distant
distaríasyou would be distant
vosdistaríasyou would be distant
él/ella/Ud.distaríahe/she/it would be distant
nosotrosdistaríamoswe would be distant
vosotrosdistaríaisyou (pl.) would be distant
ellos/ellas/Uds.distaríanthey would be distant

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
yodistaréI will be distant
distarásyou will be distant
vosdistarásyou will be distant
él/ella/Ud.distaráhe/she/it will be distant
nosotrosdistaremoswe will be distant
vosotrosdistaréisyou (pl.) will be distant
ellos/ellas/Uds.distaránthey will be distant

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohe distadoI have been distant
has distadoyou have been distant
voshas distadoyou have been distant
él/ella/Ud.ha distadohe/she/it has been distant
nosotroshemos distadowe have been distant
vosotroshabéis distadoyou (pl.) have been distant
ellos/ellas/Uds.han distadothey have been distant

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohabía distadoI had been distant
habías distadoyou had been distant
voshabías distadoyou had been distant
él/ella/Ud.había distadohe/she/it had been distant
nosotroshabíamos distadowe had been distant
vosotroshabíais distadoyou (pl.) had been distant
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían distadothey had been distant

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

PronounSpanish
yohabría distado
habrías distado
voshabrías distado
él/ella/Ud.habría distado
nosotroshabríamos distado
vosotroshabríais distado
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrían distado

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohabré distadoI will have been distant
habrás distadoyou will have been distant
voshabrás distadoyou will have been distant
él/ella/Ud.habrá distadohe/she/it will have been distant
nosotroshabremos distadowe will have been distant
vosotroshabréis distadoyou (pl.) will have been distant
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán distadothey will have been distant

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

PronounSpanish
yodiste
distes
vosdistes
él/ella/Ud.diste
nosotrosdistemos
vosotrosdistéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.disten

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

PronounSpanish
yodistara
distaras
vosdistaras
él/ella/Ud.distara
nosotrosdistáramos
vosotrosdistarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.distaran

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

PronounSpanish
yodistase
distases
vosdistases
él/ella/Ud.distase
nosotrosdistásemos
vosotrosdistaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.distasen

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

PronounSpanish
yohaya distado
hayas distado
voshayas distado
él/ella/Ud.haya distado
nosotroshayamos distado
vosotroshayáis distado
ellos/ellas/Uds.hayan distado

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

PronounSpanish
yohubiera distado
hubieras distado
voshubieras distado
él/ella/Ud.hubiera distado
nosotroshubiéramos distado
vosotroshubierais distado
ellos/ellas/Uds.hubieran distado

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

PronounSpanish
dista
vosdistá
él/ella/Ud.diste
nosotrosdistemos
vosotrosdistad
ustedesdisten

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

PronounSpanish
no distes
vosno distes
él/ella/Ud.no diste
nosotrosno distemos
vosotrosno distéis
ustedesno disten

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

PronounSpanish
yoestoy distando
estás distando
vosestás distando
él/ella/Ud.está distando
nosotrosestamos distando
vosotrosestáis distando
ellos/ellas/Uds.están distando

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

PronounSpanish
yoestuve distando
estuviste distando
vosestuviste distando
él/ella/Ud.estuvo distando
nosotrosestuvimos distando
vosotrosestuvisteis distando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estuvieron distando

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

PronounSpanish
yoestaba distando
estabas distando
vosestabas distando
él/ella/Ud.estaba distando
nosotrosestábamos distando
vosotrosestabais distando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estaban distando

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

PronounSpanish
yoestaría distando
estarías distando
vosestarías distando
él/ella/Ud.estaría distando
nosotrosestaríamos distando
vosotrosestaríais distando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarían distando

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

PronounSpanish
yoestaré distando
estarás distando
vosestarás distando
él/ella/Ud.estará distando
nosotrosestaremos distando
vosotrosestaréis distando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarán distando