Detén la música.

the music

Breakdown of Detén la música.

• detener: to stop something

Questions & Answers about Detén la música.

What kind of form is detén?

Detén is the affirmative informal singular command of detener.

So it is the form you use when you are telling one person you address as tú to stop something.

• detener = to stop
• detén = stop! (to one person, informal)

In this sentence, Detén la música, the speaker is giving a direct command.

Why is it detén and not detiene?

Because Spanish commands do not always use the normal present-tense tú form.

For the verb detener, the normal tú present form is:

• tú detienes = you stop

But the affirmative tú command is:

• detén = stop!

This verb is irregular because detener belongs to the tener family:

• tener → ten
• detener → detén

So detén is something you need to learn as a special command form.

Why does detén have an accent mark?

The accent mark shows where the stress goes: de-TÉN.

Without the accent, Spanish spelling rules would normally make you stress it differently. Since the stress falls on the last syllable, the written accent is needed.

So:

• detén = correct
• stress: de-TÉN