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SPANISH VERB

manchar

to stain, to get dirty

  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: manchando
  • Past participle: manchado

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I stain
  2. tú you stain
  3. usted, él, ella he/she stains
  4. nosotros we stain
  5. vosotros Spain you all stain
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they stain

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I stained
  2. tú you stained
  3. usted, él, ella he/she stained
  4. nosotros we stained
  5. vosotros Spain you all stained
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they stained

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to stain
  2. tú you used to stain
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to stain
  4. nosotros we used to stain
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to stain
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to stain

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will stain
  2. tú you will stain
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will stain
  4. nosotros we will stain
  5. vosotros Spain you all will stain
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will stain

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would stain
  2. tú you would stain
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would stain
  4. nosotros we would stain
  5. vosotros Spain you all would stain
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would stain

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I stain
  2. tú (that) you stain
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she stain
  4. nosotros (that) we stain
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all stain
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they stain

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I stained
  2. tú (if) you stained
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she stained
  4. nosotros (if) we stained
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all stained
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they stained

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú stain!
  2. usted stain! (formal)
  3. nosotros stain! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain stain! (all of you)
  5. ustedes stain! (all of you)

How to use manchar

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    El vino tinto mancha más que el blanco.

    Red wine stains more than white.

  2. Past

    El niño manchó el sofá nuevo de chocolate.

    The boy got chocolate on the new sofa.

  3. Imperfect

    Aquel bolígrafo manchaba todos los bolsillos.

    That pen stained every pocket.

  4. Future

    Con esa salsa te mancharás la camisa, ponte una servilleta.

    You'll stain your shirt with that sauce, put on a napkin.

  5. Conditional

    Una alfombra blanca se mancharía el primer día.

    A white rug would get stained the very first day.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Cuidado, que no se manchen las sábanas de aceite.

    Careful, don't let the sheets get oil on them.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Si el café manchara el vestido, lo lavaría enseguida.

    If the coffee stained the dress, I'd wash it straight away.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Mancha lo que quieras, para eso es la ropa vieja!

    Get as dirty as you like, that's what old clothes are for!

Good to know

  • "Mancharse" is to get yourself dirty: "Te has manchado la camisa." A stain is "una mancha".

Where you hear manchar

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Spanish · Fluency Level 2

  • El polvo de la obra lo mancha todo, hasta las macetas. The dust from the building work gets on everything, even the flowerpots.
  • Pablo me manchó la manga de pintura. Pablo got paint on my sleeve.
  • Ponte el mono, Pablo, que te vas a manchar. Put your overalls on, Pablo, or you'll get paint all over yourself.

Spanish · Fluency Level 3

  • La pintura blanca no mancha. Casi. White paint doesn't stain. Almost.
  • La gotera manchó el techo del tercero en julio. The leak stained the third floor's ceiling in July.
  • Con el rodillo no vas a manchar nada. With the roller you're not going to make a mess of anything.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -ar verb.