Introduction

sobresalir means “to stand out”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to stand out” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows sobresalir in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo sobresalgo en el equipo por la mañana.” — “I stand out in the team.”

sobresalir in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how sobresalir is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.

In the present: everyday use

These sentences use {verb} in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.

  1. “Yo sobresalgo en el equipo cada día.” — “I stand out in the team.”
  2. “Tú sobresales en el equipo cada día.” — “you stand out in the team.”
  3. “Él sobresale en el equipo siempre.” — “He stands out in the team.”
  4. “Nosotros sobresalimos en el equipo todos los días.” — “We stand out in the team.”

Talking about the past

The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show {verb} in the past, so you can talk about what already happened. 5. “Yo sobresalí en el equipo ayer.” — “I stood out in the team.” (preterite) 6. “Él sobresalió en el equipo ayer.” — “He stood out in the team.” (preterite) 7. “Yo sobresalía en el equipo cuando era joven.” — “I used to stand out in the team.” (imperfect)

Plans and things already done

These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of {verb} stays the same. 8. “Nosotros sobresaldremos en el equipo mañana.” — “We will stand out in the team.” (future) 9. “Tú has sobresalido en el equipo hoy.” — “you have stood out in the team.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo sobresalga en el equipo.” — “I hope that I stand out in the team.” (present-subjunctive)

More everyday uses

Two more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action. 11. “Vosotros sobresalís en el equipo cada semana.” — “You stand out in the team.” 12. “Ellos sobresalen en el equipo normalmente.” — “They stand out in the team.”

sobresalir in context

Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how sobresalir appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.

Dialogue at work during a coffee break

Marta: “¿Tú sobresales en el equipo?” — Do you stand out in the team?

Carlos: “Sí, yo sobresalgo en el equipo cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I stand out in the team every day. It is part of my routine.

Marta: “¿Y ayer? ¿También sobresales en el equipo?” — And yesterday? Did you stand out in the team too?

Carlos: “Sí, ayer yo sobresalí en el equipo. Mañana nosotros sobresaldremos en el equipo otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I stood out in the team. Tomorrow we will stand out in the team again.

A short paragraph

Él sobresale en el equipo cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how sobresalir works in real Spanish: who does it, when, and with what. Around it you can build a whole paragraph: what happened yesterday, what is happening now, and what will happen tomorrow, all with the same verb. When you write your own paragraph, start with the present — yo sobresalgo en el equipo — then add one past sentence and one future sentence, and you have practised three tenses with one verb. That is the fastest way to make sobresalir yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

Common mistakes

Using the unchanged stem

Learners often write sobresalo for the yo form, keeping the infinitive stem unchanged. The correct form is sobresalgo. Because sobresalir changes its stem vowel, the change appears in the stressed syllables of the present: say the correct form out loud a few times — yo sobresalgo en el equipo — until the changed stem feels natural.

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is sobresalí, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — sobresali — is a spelling error, and in speech the stress lands in the wrong place. Preterite yo forms that end in a vowel carry that accent, so check it every time you write the preterite of sobresalir.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For sobresalir, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: sobresalimos. Only the context tells you which tense is meant, so pay attention to the time words around it — cada día points to the present, ayer points to the preterite. Do not invent a different form for one of the tenses.

Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses

Spanish perfect tenses always use haber, never ser: yo he sobresalido en el equipo. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy sobresalido is not the present perfect of sobresalir — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing sobresalir with equivaler

sobresalir and equivaler look similar, and learners mix them up. They are different verbs with different meanings, so check which one the sentence needs before you conjugate. If you can substitute the English meaning of sobresalir — stand out — the sentence needs sobresalir; if it needs the meaning of equivaler, use that verb instead.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the best answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the yo form of sobresalir in the present?

  • A. sobresales
  • B. sobresale
  • C. sobresalimos
  • D. sobresalgo

2. What is the tu form of sobresalir in the preterite?

  • A. sobresalimos
  • B. sobresaliste
  • C. sobresalí
  • D. sobresalió

3. What is the el form of sobresalir in the imperfect?

  • A. sobresalías
  • B. sobresalíamos
  • C. sobresalíais
  • D. sobresalía

4. What is the nosotros form of sobresalir in the future?

  • A. sobresaldrá
  • B. sobresaldremos
  • C. sobresaldré
  • D. sobresaldrás

5. What is the vosotros form of sobresalir in the present perfect?

  • A. he sobresalido
  • B. has sobresalido
  • C. ha sobresalido
  • D. habéis sobresalido

6. What is the ellos form of sobresalir in the present subjunctive?

  • A. sobresalga
  • B. sobresalgan
  • C. sobresalga
  • D. sobresalgas

7. What is the yo form of sobresalir in the preterite?

  • A. sobresaliste
  • B. sobresalió
  • C. sobresalimos
  • D. sobresalí

8. What is the tu form of sobresalir in the imperfect?

  • A. sobresalíamos
  • B. sobresalías
  • C. sobresalía
  • D. sobresalía

9. What is the el form of sobresalir in the future?

  • A. sobresaldré
  • B. sobresaldrás
  • C. sobresaldremos
  • D. sobresaldrá

10. What is the nosotros form of sobresalir in the conditional?

  • A. sobresaldría
  • B. sobresaldríamos
  • C. sobresaldría
  • D. sobresaldrías

Answer key

  1. sobresalgo — The present table gives yo = sobresalgo.
  2. sobresaliste — The preterite table gives tu = sobresaliste.
  3. sobresalía — The imperfect table gives el = sobresalía.
  4. sobresaldremos — The future table gives nosotros = sobresaldremos.
  5. habéis sobresalido — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis sobresalido.
  6. sobresalgan — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = sobresalgan.
  7. sobresalí — The preterite table gives yo = sobresalí.
  8. sobresalías — The imperfect table gives tu = sobresalías.
  9. sobresaldrá — The future table gives el = sobresaldrá.
  10. sobresaldríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = sobresaldríamos.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use sobresalir in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo sobresalgo en el equipo.” — “I stand out in the team.” Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

What is the most useful form of sobresalir to learn first?

Learn the present yo form sobresalgo first, then the preterite yo form sobresalí and the participle sobresalido. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund sobresaliendo next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is sobresalir reflexive?

No — sobresalir is not reflexive. It takes a direct object, not a reflexive pronoun: yo sobresalgo en el equipo. Do not add me or se to it unless the sentence genuinely needs a pronoun for another reason.

Where can I see the full conjugation of sobresalir?

On the main conjugation page for sobresalir, which has every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, plus notes, examples and a quiz. The present-tense page covers one tense in depth if that is what you need right now.

Related links