Spanish Verb Mostrar Conjugation, Usage, and Examples

The Spanish verb mostrar means to show. A similar verb in Spanish is enseñar (to teach or show). The following are some examples of how the verb mostrar can be used:

• Mostrar can mean to make something visible, to demonstrate or exhibit: El vendedor muestra sus productos (The salesman shows his products).
• Mostrar can be used to talk about teaching someone how to do something: Ella me mostró cómo hacer la tarea (She showed me how to do the homework).
• Mostrar can also mean to express an emotion, such as to show anger: Carlos mostró su enojo durante la discusión (Carlos showed his anger during the argument).

Another interesting detail is that from the verb mostrar we get the noun muestra, which means a sample or sometimes a sign, as in una muestra de sangre (a blood sample) or una muestra de esperanza (a sign of hope).

Mostrar is a stem-changing -ar verb. That means that in some of its conjugations, there is a change in the verb stem. In this case, the vowel "o" changes to "ue" when in a stressed syllable, as in yo muestro (I show). Other similar stem-changing verbs are sonar, probar, and contar. In this article you will see the conjugations of mostrar in the present, past, conditional, and future indicative mood, the present and past subjunctive mood, the imperative mood, and other verb forms.

Present Indicative

Notice the stem change "o" to "ue" in several of the present indicative conjugations.

Preterite Indicative

The preterite is one of two forms of the past that exist in Spanish. It is used to describe completed actions in the past.

Imperfect Indicative

Another past tense in Spanish is the imperfect tense, which is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, and can be translated to English as "was showing" or "used to show."

Future Indicative

Periphrastic Future Indicative 

Present Progressive/Gerund Form

The gerund or present participle is what is known as the -ing form in English. It can be used as an adverb or to form progressive verb tenses like the present progressive.

Past Participle

The past participle can sometimes be used as an adjective or to form perfect tenses, like the present perfect and pluperfect.

Conditional Indicative

The conditional tense is used to talk about possibilities, and is usually translated to English as "would + verb."

Present Subjunctive

The present subjunctive is used in sentences with two clauses, and it expresses desire, doubt, denial, emotion, negation, possibility, or other subjective situations. Notice the stem change "o" to "ue" in some of the present subjunctive conjugations.

Imperfect Subjunctive

The imperfect subjunctive can be conjugated in two different ways:

Option 1

Option 2

Imperative

To give orders or commands you need the imperative mood. Below you can find both affirmative and negative commands. Notice the stem change "o" to "ue" in some of the commands.

Positive Commands

Negative Commands