Manifestar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of manifestar — "to show, to express" 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 manifestar 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. Manifestar means to express or show something openly: manifestar su opinión, manifestar su apoyo. It is more formal than decir, and it is the verb for making feelings public. To see it in a real sentence: Yo manifiesto su opinión en la reunión — "I express his opinion in the meeting".
Present tense conjugation table: manifestar
Every person of manifestar in the present tense. The gerund is manifestando and the past participle is manifestado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | manifiesto |
| tú | manifiestas |
| él/ella/Ud. | manifiesta |
| nosotros/as | manifestamos |
| vosotros/as | manifestáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | manifiestan |
How the present of manifestar is formed
The present of manifestar is built from the stem manifest- 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 | manifiesto |
| tú | -as | manifiestas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | manifiesta |
| nosotros/as | -amos | manifestamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | manifestáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | manifiestan |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: manifiesto, manifiestas, manifiesta and manifiestan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: manifestamos, manifestáis.
The gerund of manifestar is manifestando and the past participle is manifestado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of manifestar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and manifestar 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 describes things that happen regularly, as a habit or routine.
"Cada día, yo manifiesto su opinión en la reunión" — "Every day, I express his opinion in the meeting"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo manifiesta su apoyo al equipo" — "My friend expresses his support for the team"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo manifiesto sus sentimientos en la carta" — "Right now, I express his feelings in the letter"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros manifestamos su desacuerdo con la decisión" — "Tomorrow, we express his disagreement with the decision"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos manifiestan interés por el arte" — "They express interest in art"
The present tense vs the closest tenses
Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion
The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.
- Present — habit or general fact: {'pre_es': 'Cada día, ', 'pre_en': 'Every day, '}yo manifiesto su opinión en la reunión — "I express his opinion in the meeting"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo manifesté su opinión en la reunión — "I expressed his opinion in the meeting"
Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add "used to" in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.
- Present — now: {}tú manifiestas su apoyo al equipo — "You express his support for the team"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú manifestabas su apoyo al equipo — "You used to express his support for the team"
Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen
The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.
- Present — now or a fixed plan: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él manifiesta sus sentimientos en la carta — "He expresses his feelings in the letter"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él manifestará sus sentimientos en la carta — "He will express his feelings in the letter"
Examples: manifestar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show manifestar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo manifiesto su opinión en la reunión — "I express his opinion in the meeting"
- Tú manifiestas su apoyo al equipo — "You express his support for the team"
- Él manifiesta sus sentimientos en la carta — "He expresses his feelings in the letter"
- Nosotros manifestamos su desacuerdo con la decisión — "We express his disagreement with the decision"
- Vosotros manifestáis interés por el arte — "You express interest in art"
- Ellos manifiestan su opinión en la reunión — "They express his opinion in the meeting"
- Yo manifiesto su apoyo al equipo — "I express his support for the team"
Common mistakes with manifestar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with manifestar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo manifesto su opinión en la reunión.
✓ Correct: Yo manifiesto su opinión en la reunión.
manifestar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is manifiesto, not manifesto.
✗ *Tú manifiesta su apoyo al equipo.
✓ Correct: Tú manifiestas su apoyo al equipo.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes manifiestas, él takes manifiesta.
✗ *Cada día, yo manifesté sus sentimientos en la carta
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo manifiesto sus sentimientos en la carta
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros manifestais su desacuerdo con la decisión.
✓ Correct: Vosotros manifestáis su desacuerdo con la decisión.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: manifestáis, not manifestais.
Quiz: manifestar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of manifestar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of manifestar for tú? A. manifiesta B. manifestamos C. manifiestas D. manifiesto
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ su opinión en la reunión — "I express his opinion in the meeting" (present) A. manifiestas B. manifiesta C. manifestamos D. manifiesto
Complete the sentence: Él ______ su apoyo al equipo — "He expresses his support for the team" (present) A. manifiesto B. manifiestas C. manifestamos D. manifiesta
Which is the correct present form of manifestar for nosotros? A. manifiestan B. manifestamos C. manifiestas D. manifiesta
Which sentence uses manifestar correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo manifiestas sus sentimientos en la carta B. Mi amigo manifestaba sus sentimientos en la carta C. Mi amigo manifestamos sus sentimientos en la carta D. Mi amigo manifiesta sus sentimientos en la carta
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ su desacuerdo con la decisión — "You express his disagreement with the decision" (present) A. manifestáis B. manifiesto C. manifiestas D. manifiesta
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ interés por el arte — "They express interest in art" (present) A. manifiestan B. manifiesto C. manifiestas D. manifiesta
What is the gerund of manifestar? A. manifestando B. manifestado C. manifiesto D. manifesté
Answer key
- manifiestas — The tú form in the present is manifiestas.
- manifiesto — The present form for yo is manifiesto.
- manifiesta — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is manifiesta.
- manifestamos — The nosotros form in the present is manifestamos.
- Mi amigo manifiesta sus sentimientos en la carta — Mi amigo manifiesta sus sentimientos en la carta is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- manifestáis — The present form for vosotros/as is manifestáis.
- manifiestan — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is manifiestan.
- manifestando — The gerund is manifestando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle manifestado.
Frequently asked questions
Is manifestar regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: manifiesto, manifiestas, manifiesta and manifiestan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: manifestamos, manifestáis. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of manifestar?
The gerund is manifestando and the past participle is manifestado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I express" in the present tense?
Say manifiesto. For example: Yo manifiesto su opinión en la reunión — "I express his opinion in the meeting".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of manifestar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo manifiesto su opinión en la reunión — "I express his opinion in the meeting". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo manifesté su opinión en la reunión — "Yesterday, I expressed his opinion in the meeting". Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once.
Related links
- Full conjugation of manifestar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- manifestar examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Present tense guide — how the present tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.