
manejar Present Conjugation
manejar — to drive
Habits, actions happening now, or general truths about driving.
manejar Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present tense for actions you do regularly (like driving to work), things happening right now, or general facts about driving.
Notes on manejar in the Present
Manejar is a regular -ar verb in the present indicative. It follows the standard pattern: manejo, manejas, maneja, manejamos, manejáis, manejan.
Example Sentences
Yo manejo a la oficina todos los días.
I drive to the office every day.
yo
¿Manejas tú el coche nuevo?
Do you drive the new car?
tú
Ella maneja muy bien.
She drives very well.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros manejamos despacio en la ciudad.
We drive slowly in the city.
nosotros
Ellos manejan el autobús escolar.
They drive the school bus.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the gerund 'manejando' for habitual actions: 'Yo manejando a la oficina'.
Correct: For habitual actions, use the present indicative: 'Yo manejo a la oficina'.
Why: The gerund ('-ando', '-iendo') is used for ongoing actions (like 'I am driving'), not for routines.
Mistake: Confusing the 'vosotros' form: 'Vosotros manejan'.
Correct: The correct 'vosotros' form is 'manejáis'.
Why: Spanish has specific verb endings for each pronoun, and 'vosotros' requires a unique ending.
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: manejé
Completed past actions: 'I drove', 'you drove' at a specific time.
Imperfect
yo: manejaba
Ongoing or habitual past actions: 'I used to drive', 'was driving'.
Future
yo: manejaré
Actions that will happen: 'I will drive', 'you will drive'.
Conditional
yo: manejaría
Hypotheticals ('would drive'), polite requests, or future-in-the-past.
Present Subjunctive
yo: maneje
Expressing wishes, doubts, or emotions about driving: 'I want you to drive...'.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: manejara
Past hypotheticals or wishes, like 'if I drove...' or 'I wish you would drive...'.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: maneja
Direct commands like 'drive!' or 'let's drive!' for manejar.
Negative Imperative
yo: no manejes
Negative commands like 'don't drive!' for manejar, using the present subjunctive.