destacar Imperfect Conjugation
destacar — to highlight
The imperfect of destacar is regular: destacaba, destacabas, destacaba, destacábamos, destacabais, destacaban.
destacar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use this to describe someone who used to stand out in the past or to provide background info about what was being highlighted during an event.
Notes on destacar in the Imperfect
As an -ar verb, destacar is completely regular in the imperfect, using the -aba endings.
Example Sentences
De niño, él siempre destacaba en los deportes.
As a child, he always stood out in sports.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros destacábamos los errores en cada revisión.
We used to highlight the errors in every review.
nosotros
Las luces destacaban sobre el mar oscuro.
The lights stood out against the dark sea.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Confusing 'destacaba' (used to stand out) with 'destacó' (stood out once).
Correct: destacaba vs destacó
Why: Use imperfect for habits or descriptions and preterite for specific completed events.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: destaco
The present tense of destacar is completely regular: destaco, destacas, destaca, destacamos, destacáis, destacan.
Preterite
yo: destaqué
The preterite of destacar is regular except for the 'yo' form, which changes to 'destaqué'.
Future
yo: destacaré
The future of destacar is regular: destacaré, destacarás, destacará, destacaremos, destacaréis, destacarán.
Conditional
yo: destacaría
The conditional of destacar is regular: destacaría, destacarías, destacaría, destacaríamos, destacaríais, destacarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: destaque
The present subjunctive of destacar features a 'c' to 'qu' spelling change: destaque, destaques, destaque, destaquemos, destaquéis, destaquen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: destacara
The imperfect subjunctive of destacar is based on the preterite stem: destacara, destacaras, destacara, destacáramos, destacarais, destacaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: destaca
The imperative of destacar uses 'destaca' (tú) and 'destaque' (usted).
Negative Imperative
yo: no destaques
The negative imperative of destacar always uses the 'qu' spelling change: no destaques, no destaque, no destaquemos, no destaquéis, no destaquen.