The Imperfect Tense of detener is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Detenía el coche en cada semáforo. (I used to stop the car at every traffic light.)

Detener follows the standard conjugation pattern for verbs ending in -er in the Imperfect Tense, with the ending -ía for the first person singular.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Detener (to stop) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The imperfect tense of detener is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, as well as descriptions and states of being.

Stopping or halting an action: For example, Detenía el coche en cada semáforo. (I used to stop the car at every traffic light.)

Arresting or detaining someone: For example, La policía detenía a los sospechosos. (The police were detaining the suspects.)

Preventing or hindering something: For example, Las lluvias detenían la construcción. (The rains were preventing the construction.)

Holding back or restraining: For example, Detenía su ira con dificultad. (He was holding back his anger with difficulty.)

Slowing down or delaying: For example, El tráfico detenía nuestro viaje. (The traffic was delaying our trip.)

Stopping or pausing an action temporarily: For example, Detenía su lectura para tomar un descanso. (She was stopping her reading to take a break.)

Examples

Examples of Detener in the Imperfect Tense

Yo detenía el coche cada vez que veía un animal en la carretera. (I used to stop the car whenever I saw an animal on the road.)

Ella detenía su trabajo para tomar un descanso cada dos horas. (She would stop her work to take a break every two hours.)

Nosotros deteníamos nuestras actividades cuando sonaba la alarma de incendio. (We would stop our activities when the fire alarm went off.)

Tú detenías el reloj cuando terminabas de correr. (You would stop the watch when you finished running.)

Vosotros deteníais la música cuando alguien llamaba a la puerta. (You all used to stop the music when someone knocked on the door.)

Ellos detenían el juego cada vez que alguien se lastimaba. (They would stop the game whenever someone got hurt.)

Ustedes detenían el auto en cada semáforo rojo. (You all would stop the car at every red light.)

Ella detenía su lectura para tomar notas importantes. (She would stop her reading to take important notes.)

Yo detenía mi entrenamiento cuando me sentía agotado. (I would stop my training when I felt exhausted.)

Tú detenías la película cada vez que necesitabas ir al baño. (You would stop the movie whenever you needed to go to the bathroom.)

Vosotros deteníais vuestras tareas para cenar juntos. (You all used to stop your tasks to have dinner together.)

Ellos detenían su conversación cuando alguien entraba a la habitación. (They would stop their conversation when someone entered the room.)

Nosotros deteníamos nuestro viaje para admirar el paisaje. (We would stop our trip to admire the scenery.)

Ustedes detenían su trabajo para tomar un café. (You all would stop your work to have a coffee.)

Ella detenía su rutina de ejercicios cuando se sentía enferma. (She would stop her exercise routine when she felt sick.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Detener (to stop) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Imperfect tense is also known as the Past Imperfect, Descriptive Past, Past Progressive, or Imperfect Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Imperfecto, Copretérito, Imperfecto de Indicativo, or Pasado Descriptivo in Spanish.