Quick answer
mandar · mando, mandas, manda, mandamos, mandáis, mandan
to send, to order. Fully regular, so the endings carry over to every other -ar verb.
Conjugation
| Person | Present | Preterite | Imperfect | Future |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | mando | mandé | mandaba | mandaré |
| tú | mandas | mandaste | mandabas | mandarás |
| él / ella / usted | manda | mandó | mandaba | mandará |
| nosotros | mandamos | mandamos | mandábamos | mandaremos |
| vosotros | mandáis | mandasteis | mandabais | mandaréis |
| ellos / ustedes | mandan | mandaron | mandaban | mandarán |
Orange marks a form you cannot guess from the rules.
| Non-finite | Form |
|---|---|
| gerund | mandando |
| past participle | mandado |
| imperative (tú) | manda |
| subjunctive (yo) | mande |
Which form to learn first
te mando un mensaje. Everyday Spanish uses mandar far more often than enviar.
Where you will actually use it
Te mando un mensaje.I’ll text you.
Me mandó una foto.He sent me a photo.
Aquí manda ella.She’s the one in charge here.
Mandé la carta ayer.I posted the letter yesterday.
Nos mandaron esperar.They told us to wait.
¿Quién manda aquí?Who’s in charge here?
Typical mistakes
Mando a ti la foto.
Te mando la foto.
The person becomes a pronoun before the verb: te mando, le mando, nos manda.
Me mandó que esperar.
Me mandó esperar.
An order takes a bare infinitive, or que + subjunctive: me mandó que esperara.
Mando un correo formalmente al cliente.
Envío un correo al cliente.
Both mean send, but in formal writing enviar is the safer choice; mandar is the spoken one.
Check yourself
___ un mensaje esta tarde.