Manifestar Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb manifestar means to show, to express, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. 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. Like every Spanish verb, manifestar changes its ending for each person and tense, and this page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say Yo manifiesto su opinión en la reunión — "I express his opinion in the meeting". Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.

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.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: manifestar
  • English: to show, to express
  • Verb type: stem-changing -ar verb (e → ie)
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: manifestando
  • Past participle: manifestado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + manifestado)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for manifestar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for manifestar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem.

Present indicative

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | manifiesto | | tú | manifiestas | | él/ella/Ud. | manifiesta | | nosotros/as | manifestamos | | vosotros/as | manifestáis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | manifiestan |

Preterite

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | manifesté | | tú | manifestaste | | él/ella/Ud. | manifestó | | nosotros/as | manifestamos | | vosotros/as | manifestasteis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | manifestaron |

Imperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | manifestaba | | tú | manifestabas | | él/ella/Ud. | manifestaba | | nosotros/as | manifestábamos | | vosotros/as | manifestabais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | manifestaban |

Future

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | manifestaré | | tú | manifestarás | | él/ella/Ud. | manifestará | | nosotros/as | manifestaremos | | vosotros/as | manifestaréis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | manifestarán |

Conditional

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | manifestaría | | tú | manifestarías | | él/ella/Ud. | manifestaría | | nosotros/as | manifestaríamos | | vosotros/as | manifestaríais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | manifestarían |

Present perfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | he manifestado | | tú | has manifestado | | él/ella/Ud. | ha manifestado | | nosotros/as | hemos manifestado | | vosotros/as | habéis manifestado | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | han manifestado |

Pluperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | había manifestado | | tú | habías manifestado | | él/ella/Ud. | había manifestado | | nosotros/as | habíamos manifestado | | vosotros/as | habíais manifestado | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían manifestado |

Future perfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | habré manifestado | | tú | habrás manifestado | | él/ella/Ud. | habrá manifestado | | nosotros/as | habremos manifestado | | vosotros/as | habréis manifestado | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán manifestado |

Conditional perfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | habría manifestado | | tú | habrías manifestado | | él/ella/Ud. | habría manifestado | | nosotros/as | habríamos manifestado | | vosotros/as | habríais manifestado | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían manifestado |

Present subjunctive

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | manifieste | | tú | manifiestes | | él/ella/Ud. | manifieste | | nosotros/as | manifestemos | | vosotros/as | manifestéis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | manifiesten |

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | manifestara | | tú | manifestaras | | él/ella/Ud. | manifestara | | nosotros/as | manifestáramos | | vosotros/as | manifestarais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | manifestaran |

Imperative (affirmative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | manifiesta | | él/ella/Ud. | manifieste | | nosotros/as | manifestemos | | vosotros/as | manifestad | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | manifiesten |

Imperative (negative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | manifiestes | | él/ella/Ud. | manifieste | | nosotros/as | manifestemos | | vosotros/as | manifestéis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | manifiesten |

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund manifestando with estar for the progressive: está manifestando
Past participle manifestado with haber for the perfect tenses: he manifestado

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. 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. For manifestar, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo manifiesto su opinión en la reunión — "I express his opinion in the meeting".

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For manifestar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, yo manifesté su apoyo al equipo — "Yesterday, I expressed his support for the team".

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For manifestar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, yo manifestaba sus sentimientos en la carta — "As a child, I used to express his feelings in the letter".

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For manifestar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, yo manifestaré su desacuerdo con la decisión — "Tomorrow, I will express his disagreement with the decision".

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For manifestar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo manifestaría su opinión en la reunión si pudiera — "I would express his opinion in the meeting if I could".

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For manifestar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, yo he manifestado su apoyo al equipo — "Today, I have expressed his support for the team".

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For manifestar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo ya había manifestado sus sentimientos en la carta antes de salir — "I already had expressed his feelings in the letter before leaving".

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For manifestar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, yo habré manifestado su desacuerdo con la decisión — "By tomorrow, I will have expressed his disagreement with the decision".

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For manifestar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría manifestado su opinión en la reunión con más tiempo — "I would have expressed his opinion in the meeting with more time".

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. 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. For manifestar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él manifieste su apoyo al equipo — "I hope he expresses his support for the team".

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past. The -ra forms are shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For manifestar, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo manifestara sus sentimientos en la carta, todo cambiaría — "If I expressed his feelings in the letter, everything would change".

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. 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. For manifestar, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Manifiesta su desacuerdo con la decisión. — "Express his disagreement with the decision.".

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. 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. For manifestar, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No manifiestes su opinión en la reunión. — "Do not express his opinion in the meeting.".

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with manifestar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Yo manifiesto su opinión en la reunión — "I express his opinion in the meeting"
  2. Mi amigo manifiesta su apoyo al equipo — "My friend expresses his support for the team"
  3. Ayer, yo manifesté sus sentimientos en la carta — "Yesterday, I expressed his feelings in the letter"
  4. Antes, nosotros manifestábamos su desacuerdo con la decisión — "Before, we used to express his disagreement with the decision"
  5. Mañana, tú manifestarás interés por el arte — "Tomorrow, you will express interest in art"
  6. Yo manifestaría su opinión en la reunión si tuviera más tiempo — "I would express his opinion in the meeting if I had more time"
  7. Él ha manifestado su apoyo al equipo — "He has expressed his support for the team"
  8. Espero que él manifieste sus sentimientos en la carta — "I hope he expresses his feelings in the letter"
  9. Yo ya había manifestado su desacuerdo con la decisión antes de salir — "I already had expressed his disagreement with the decision before leaving"
  10. Ellos manifestaban interés por el arte cuando eran jóvenes — "They used to express interest in art when they were young"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo manifesto su apoyo al equipo. — Right: Yo manifiesto su apoyo al equipo. — 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.
  2. Wrong: Espero que él manifiesta su apoyo al equipo — Right: Espero que él manifieste su apoyo al equipo — After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él manifieste su apoyo al equipo — not the indicative Espero que él manifiesta su apoyo al equipo.
  3. Wrong: Ayer, yo manifiesto sus sentimientos en la carta — Right: Ayer, yo manifesté sus sentimientos en la carta — Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo manifesté sus sentimientos en la carta.
  4. Wrong: De niño, yo manifesté su desacuerdo con la decisión todos los días — Right: De niño, yo manifestaba su desacuerdo con la decisión todos los días — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo manifestaba su desacuerdo con la decisión todos los días.
  5. Wrong: Yo manifiesto en su opinión en la reunión. — Right: Yo manifiesto su opinión en la reunión. — manifestar takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo manifiesto su opinión en la reunión.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on manifestar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. 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

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ______ su apoyo al equipo — "He expressed his support for the team" (preterite) A. manifesté B. manifestaste C. manifestamos D. manifestó

  3. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ sus sentimientos en la carta — "We used to express his feelings in the letter" (imperfect) A. manifestaba B. manifestabas C. manifestabais D. manifestábamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú ______ su desacuerdo con la decisión — "You will express his disagreement with the decision" (future) A. manifestaré B. manifestará C. manifestaremos D. manifestarás

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ interés por el arte — "I would express interest in art" (conditional) A. manifestaríamos B. manifestaríais C. manifestaría D. manifestarías

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ su opinión en la reunión — "I hope he expresses his opinion in the meeting" (present subjunctive) A. manifestemos B. manifestéis C. manifieste D. manifiestes

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ______ su apoyo al equipo, todo cambiaría — "If I expressed his support for the team, everything would change" (imperfect subjunctive) A. manifestaras B. manifestáramos C. manifestarais D. manifestara

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ sus sentimientos en la carta — "We have expressed his feelings in the letter" (present perfect) A. he manifestado B. has manifestado C. ha manifestado D. hemos manifestado

  9. Complete the sentence: No ______ su desacuerdo con la decisión. — "Do not express his disagreement with the decision." (negative imperative) A. manifieste B. manifestemos C. manifestéis D. manifiestes

  10. Which is the gerund of manifestar, used with estar for the progressive? A. manifestando B. manifestado C. manifiesto D. manifesté

Answer key

  1. manifiesto — The present form for yo is manifiesto.
  2. manifestó — The preterite form for él/ella/Ud. is manifestó.
  3. manifestábamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is manifestábamos.
  4. manifestarás — The future form for tú is manifestarás.
  5. manifestaría — The conditional form for yo is manifestaría.
  6. manifieste — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is manifieste.
  7. manifestara — The imperfect subjunctive form for yo is manifestara.
  8. hemos manifestado — The present perfect form for nosotros/as is hemos manifestado.
  9. manifiestes — The negative imperative form is manifiestes.
  10. manifestando — The gerund of manifestar is manifestando: estoy manifestando. The participle manifestado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does manifestar mean in English?

manifestar means to show, to express. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo manifiesto su opinión en la reunión — "I express his opinion in the meeting". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is manifestar regular?

No. manifestar is a stem-changing -ar verb (e → ie). 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, which is the part learners most often get right by accident.

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 I say "I express" in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Ayer, yo manifesté su apoyo al equipo — "Yesterday, I expressed his support for the team". For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: De niño, yo manifestaba sus sentimientos en la carta — "As a child, I used to express his feelings in the letter". For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Hoy, yo he manifestado su apoyo al equipo — "Today, I have expressed his support for the team".

What is the difference between manifestar and expresar?

Expresar is the everyday verb for expressing an opinion or a feeling. Manifestar is more formal and suggests showing it openly and publicly. 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.

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