distraer — Spanish conjugation

to distract

Frequency#840IrregularReflexivedistraerse — to distract oneself

Indicative

Present (Presente) Irregular

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
yodistraigoI distract
distraesyou distract
vosdistraésyou distract
él/ella/Ud.distraehe/she/it distracts
nosotrosdistraemoswe distract
vosotrosdistraéisyou (pl.) distract
ellos/ellas/Uds.distraenthey distract

Preterite (Pretérito indefinido) Irregular

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
yodistrajeI distracted
distrajisteyou distracted
vosdistrajisteyou distracted
él/ella/Ud.distrajohe/she/it distracted
nosotrosdistrajimoswe distracted
vosotrosdistrajisteisyou (pl.) distracted
ellos/ellas/Uds.distrajeronthey distracted

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
yodistraía
distraías
vosdistraías
él/ella/Ud.distraía
nosotrosdistraíamos
vosotrosdistraíais
ellos/ellas/Uds.distraían

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
yodistraeríaI would distract
distraeríasyou would distract
vosdistraeríasyou would distract
él/ella/Ud.distraeríahe/she/it would distract
nosotrosdistraeríamoswe would distract
vosotrosdistraeríaisyou (pl.) would distract
ellos/ellas/Uds.distraeríanthey would distract

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
yodistraeréI will distract
distraerásyou will distract
vosdistraerásyou will distract
él/ella/Ud.distraeráhe/she/it will distract
nosotrosdistraeremoswe will distract
vosotrosdistraeréisyou (pl.) will distract
ellos/ellas/Uds.distraeránthey will distract

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 distraídoI have distracted
has distraídoyou have distracted
voshas distraídoyou have distracted
él/ella/Ud.ha distraídohe/she/it has distracted
nosotroshemos distraídowe have distracted
vosotroshabéis distraídoyou (pl.) have distracted
ellos/ellas/Uds.han distraídothey have distracted

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 distraídoI had distracted
habías distraídoyou had distracted
voshabías distraídoyou had distracted
él/ella/Ud.había distraídohe/she/it had distracted
nosotroshabíamos distraídowe had distracted
vosotroshabíais distraídoyou (pl.) had distracted
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían distraídothey had distracted

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 distraído
habrías distraído
voshabrías distraído
él/ella/Ud.habría distraído
nosotroshabríamos distraído
vosotroshabríais distraído
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrían distraído

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 distraídoI will have distracted
habrás distraídoyou will have distracted
voshabrás distraídoyou will have distracted
él/ella/Ud.habrá distraídohe/she/it will have distracted
nosotroshabremos distraídowe will have distracted
vosotroshabréis distraídoyou (pl.) will have distracted
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán distraídothey will have distracted

Subjunctive

Present subjunctive (Subjuntivo presente) Irregular

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
yodistraiga
distraigas
vosdistraigas
él/ella/Ud.distraiga
nosotrosdistraigamos
vosotrosdistraigáis
ellos/ellas/Uds.distraigan

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra) (Subjuntivo imperfecto (-ra)) Irregular

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
yodistrajera
distrajeras
vosdistrajeras
él/ella/Ud.distrajera
nosotrosdistrajéramos
vosotrosdistrajerais
ellos/ellas/Uds.distrajeran

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
yodistrajese
distrajeses
vosdistrajeses
él/ella/Ud.distrajese
nosotrosdistrajésemos
vosotrosdistrajeseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.distrajesen

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 distraído
hayas distraído
voshayas distraído
él/ella/Ud.haya distraído
nosotroshayamos distraído
vosotroshayáis distraído
ellos/ellas/Uds.hayan distraído

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 distraído
hubieras distraído
voshubieras distraído
él/ella/Ud.hubiera distraído
nosotroshubiéramos distraído
vosotroshubierais distraído
ellos/ellas/Uds.hubieran distraído

Other forms

Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo afirmativo) Irregular

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
distrae
vosdistraé
él/ella/Ud.distraiga
nosotrosdistraigamos
vosotrosdistraed
ustedesdistraigan

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 distraigas
vosno distraigas
él/ella/Ud.no distraiga
nosotrosno distraigamos
vosotrosno distraigáis
ustedesno distraigan

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 distrayendo
estás distrayendo
vosestás distrayendo
él/ella/Ud.está distrayendo
nosotrosestamos distrayendo
vosotrosestáis distrayendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.están distrayendo

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 distrayendo
estuviste distrayendo
vosestuviste distrayendo
él/ella/Ud.estuvo distrayendo
nosotrosestuvimos distrayendo
vosotrosestuvisteis distrayendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.estuvieron distrayendo

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 distrayendo
estabas distrayendo
vosestabas distrayendo
él/ella/Ud.estaba distrayendo
nosotrosestábamos distrayendo
vosotrosestabais distrayendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.estaban distrayendo

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 distrayendo
estarías distrayendo
vosestarías distrayendo
él/ella/Ud.estaría distrayendo
nosotrosestaríamos distrayendo
vosotrosestaríais distrayendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarían distrayendo

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 distrayendo
estarás distrayendo
vosestarás distrayendo
él/ella/Ud.estará distrayendo
nosotrosestaremos distrayendo
vosotrosestaréis distrayendo
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarán distrayendo