Destacar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of destacar — "to stand out, to highlight" in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for destacar with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Destacar means to stand out or to highlight, and it covers standing out in a team for your effort, highlighting a price on a poster and highlighting the importance of a subject. It is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e, so the preterite is destaqué. To see it in a real sentence: Él destaca en el equipo por su esfuerzo. — "He/she stands out in the team for his effort." Work through the table below, then the formation notes, the usage rules and the contrast with the preterite, and test yourself at the end.

Present tense conjugation table: destacar

Every person of destacar in the present tense. The gerund is destacando and the past participle is destacado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo destaco
tú destacas
él/ella/Ud. destaca
nosotros/as destacamos
vosotros/as destacáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. destacan

How the present indicative of destacar is formed

The present indicative of destacar is built from the stem destac- plus the present endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.

Person Ending Form
yo -o destaco
tú -as destacas
él/ella/Ud. -a destaca
nosotros/as -amos destacamos
vosotros/as -áis destacáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an destacan

destacar is a spelling-change verb: c becomes qu before e. That is why the written form changes in some persons — the sound stays the same, and only the spelling adapts. In this tense, watch the first-person form destaco in particular.

The gerund of destacar is destacando and the past participle is destacado. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.

When to use the present tense of destacar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and destacar appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.

Habits and routines

The present tense describes things you do regularly. If you do it every day, every week or every morning, the present is the tense to use. For destacar, this use looks like this: "Yo destaco en el equipo por su esfuerzo." — "I stand out in the team for his effort." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

General facts

The present tense states facts that are generally true, not tied to one moment. It is the tense for definitions and permanent situations. For destacar, this use looks like this: "Él destaca el precio en el cartel." — "He/she stands out the price on the poster." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

What is happening now

The present tense also covers what is happening at this moment, especially with verbs that describe an action in progress. For destacar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros destacamos la importancia del tema." — "We stand out the importance of the subject." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Timetables and schedules

The present tense is used for fixed plans and timetables, such as trains, classes and opening times, even when they refer to the future. For destacar, this use looks like this: "Ellos destacan entre los alumnos de la clase." — "They stand out among the students in the class." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Instructions and requests

The present tense appears in instructions and polite requests, where it sounds softer than a direct command. For destacar, this use looks like this: "Tú destacas en el equipo por su esfuerzo." — "You stand out in the team for his effort." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

The present tense vs the preterite

Learners often mix up the present and the preterite with destacar. The rule is simple: the present is for habits, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite is for one finished action in the past. The three pairs below show the same idea in both tenses, so you can feel the difference.

Pair 1: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Yo destaco en el equipo por su esfuerzo." — "I stand out in the team for his effort."
  • Preterite: "Yo destaqué en el equipo por su esfuerzo." — "I stood out in the team for his effort." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 2: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Él destaca el precio en el cartel." — "He/she stands out the price on the poster."
  • Preterite: "Él destacó el precio en el cartel." — "He/she stood out the price on the poster." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 3: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Nosotros destacamos la importancia del tema." — "We stand out the importance of the subject."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros destacamos la importancia del tema." — "We stood out the importance of the subject." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Example sentences in the present tense

Eight natural sentences with destacar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo destaco en el equipo por su esfuerzo. — I stand out in the team for his effort.
  2. Tú destacas el precio en el cartel. — You stand out the price on the poster.
  3. Él destaca la importancia del tema. — He/she stands out the importance of the subject.
  4. Nosotros destacamos entre los alumnos de la clase. — We stand out among the students in the class.
  5. Vosotros destacáis en el equipo por su esfuerzo. — You all stand out in the team for his effort.
  6. Ellos destacan el precio en el cartel. — They stand out the price on the poster.
  7. Yo destaco la importancia del tema. — I stand out the importance of the subject.
  8. Él destaca entre los alumnos de la clase. — He/she stands out among the students in the class.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros destacais el precio en el cartel. — Right: Vosotros destacáis el precio en el cartel. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: destacáis, not destacais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo destaco la importancia del tema. — Right: Ayer, yo destaqué la importancia del tema. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (destaqué), not the present (destaco). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo destaca en el equipo por su esfuerzo. — Right: Yo destaco en el equipo por su esfuerzo. — The person matters: destaca is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is destaco.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy destacado el precio en el cartel. — Right: Yo he destacado el precio en el cartel. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he destacado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

Eight questions on the present tense of destacar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ en el equipo por su esfuerzo. (present tense) A. destaco B. destacas C. destaca D. destacamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el precio en el cartel. (present tense) A. destacas B. destaco C. destaca D. destacamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ la importancia del tema. (present tense) A. destaca B. destaco C. destacas D. destacamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ entre los alumnos de la clase. (present tense) A. destacamos B. destaco C. destacas D. destaca

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ en el equipo por su esfuerzo. (present tense) A. destacáis B. destaco C. destacas D. destaca

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ el precio en el cartel. (present tense) A. destacan B. destaco C. destacas D. destaca

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la importancia del tema. (present tense) A. destaco B. destacas C. destaca D. destacamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ entre los alumnos de la clase. (present tense) A. destaca B. destaco C. destacas D. destacamos

Answer key

  1. destaco — The yo present form of destacar is destaco. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. destacas — The tu present form of destacar is destacas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. destaca — The el present form of destacar is destaca. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. destacamos — The nosotros present form of destacar is destacamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. destacáis — The vosotros present form of destacar is destacáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. destacan — The ellos present form of destacar is destacan. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. destaco — The yo present form of destacar is destaco. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. destaca — The el present form of destacar is destaca. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of destacar?

Use the present tense of destacar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo destaco en el equipo por su esfuerzo. — "I stand out in the team for his effort." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of destacar formed?

Take the stem destac- and add the present endings for -ar verbs. The full table is at the top of this page. Remember the spelling change: c becomes qu before e.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of destacar?

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo destaco el precio en el cartel. with Yo destaqué el precio en el cartel. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of destacar?

Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the destacar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Destacar conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.

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