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How to conjugate Caber in Spanish

caber to fit Irregular Verb

At a glance: Caber (to fit) is a widely used irregular verbs in Spanish. In the present tense: quepo, cabes, cabe, cabemos, cabéis, caben. Yo is irregular (quepo); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the preterite (cupe), future (cabré), conditional (cabría) and subjunctive.

Past participle
cabido fitted
Gerund
cabiendo fitting
Similar
encajar

Caber conjugation tables as a PDF

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Indicative tenses of Caber

Caber in the Indicative Present

The Indicative Present of caber is used to talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths. For example, “quepo”, meaning “I fit”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoquepoI fit
Túcabesyou fit
Ella / Él / Ustedcabes/he fits
Nosotras / Nosotroscabemoswe fit
Vosotras / Vosotroscabéisyou (plural) fit
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescabenthey fit

How it’s built: Yo is irregular (quepo); the other forms are regular.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Caber in the Indicative Preterite

The Indicative Preterite of caber is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “cupe”, meaning “I fitted”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocupeI fitted
Túcupisteyou fitted
Ella / Él / Ustedcupos/he fitted
Nosotras / Nosotroscupimoswe fitted
Vosotras / Vosotroscupisteisyou (plural) fitted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescupieronthey fitted

How it’s built: Irregular stem cup- plus the endings -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Caber in the Indicative Imperfect

The Indicative Imperfect of caber is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “cabía”, meaning “I used to fit”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocabíaI used to fit
Túcabíasyou used to fit
Ella / Él / Ustedcabías/he used to fit
Nosotras / Nosotroscabíamoswe used to fit
Vosotras / Vosotroscabíaisyou (plural) used to fit
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescabíanthey used to fit

How it’s built: Regular: stem cab- plus the -er endings.

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Caber in the Indicative Present Continuous

The Indicative Present Continuous of caber is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy cabiendo”, meaning “I am fitting”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yoestoy cabiendoI am fitting
Túestás cabiendoyou are fitting
Ella / Él / Ustedestá cabiendos/he is fitting
Nosotras / Nosotrosestamos cabiendowe are fitting
Vosotras / Vosotrosestáis cabiendoyou (plural) are fitting
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestán cabiendothey are fitting

How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund cabiendo.

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Caber in the Indicative Informal Future

The Indicative Informal Future of caber is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a caber”, meaning “I am going to fit”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yovoy a caberI am going to fit
Túvas a caberyou are going to fit
Ella / Él / Ustedva a cabers/he is going to fit
Nosotras / Nosotrosvamos a caberwe are going to fit
Vosotras / Vosotrosvais a caberyou (plural) are going to fit
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesvan a caberthey are going to fit

How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive caber.

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Caber in the Indicative Future

The Indicative Future of caber is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “cabré”, meaning “I will fit”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocabréI will fit
Túcabrásyou will fit
Ella / Él / Ustedcabrás/he will fit
Nosotras / Nosotroscabremoswe will fit
Vosotras / Vosotroscabréisyou (plural) will fit
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescabránthey will fit

How it’s built: Irregular stem cabr- instead of caber, plus the future endings.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Caber in the Indicative Conditional

The Indicative Conditional of caber is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “cabría”, meaning “I would fit”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocabríaI would fit
Túcabríasyou would fit
Ella / Él / Ustedcabrías/he would fit
Nosotras / Nosotroscabríamoswe would fit
Vosotras / Vosotroscabríaisyou (plural) would fit
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescabríanthey would fit

How it’s built: Irregular stem cabr- instead of caber, plus the conditional endings.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Caber in the Indicative Present Perfect

The Indicative Present Perfect of caber is used to describe actions that started recently (in the past) and are still happening now or things that have been done recently. For example, “he cabido”, meaning “I have fitted”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohe cabidoI have fitted
Túhas cabidoyou have fitted
Ella / Él / Ustedha cabidos/he has fitted
Nosotras / Nosotroshemos cabidowe have fitted
Vosotras / Vosotroshabéis cabidoyou (plural) have fitted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshan cabidothey have fitted

How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle cabido.

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Caber in the Indicative Past Perfect

The Indicative Past Perfect of caber is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había cabido”, meaning “I had fitted”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabía cabidoI had fitted
Túhabías cabidoyou had fitted
Ella / Él / Ustedhabía cabidos/he had fitted
Nosotras / Nosotroshabíamos cabidowe had fitted
Vosotras / Vosotroshabíais cabidoyou (plural) had fitted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabían cabidothey had fitted

How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle cabido.

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Caber in the Indicative Future Perfect

The Indicative Future Perfect of caber is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré cabido”, meaning “I will have fitted”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabré cabidoI will have fitted
Túhabrás cabidoyou will have fitted
Ella / Él / Ustedhabrá cabidos/he will have fitted
Nosotras / Nosotroshabremos cabidowe will have fitted
Vosotras / Vosotroshabréis cabidoyou (plural) will have fitted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrán cabidothey will have fitted

How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle cabido.

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Caber in the Indicative Conditional Perfect

The Indicative Conditional Perfect of caber is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría cabido”, meaning “I would have fitted”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabría cabidoI would have fitted
Túhabrías cabidoyou would have fitted
Ella / Él / Ustedhabría cabidos/he would have fitted
Nosotras / Nosotroshabríamos cabidowe would have fitted
Vosotras / Vosotroshabríais cabidoyou (plural) would have fitted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrían cabidothey would have fitted

How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the past participle cabido.

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Subjunctive tenses of Caber

Caber in the Subjunctive Present

The Subjunctive Present is used to talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about. For example, “quepa”, meaning “I fit”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoquepaI fit
Túquepasyou fit
Ella / Él / Ustedquepas/he fits
Nosotras / Nosotrosquepamoswe fit
Vosotras / Vosotrosquepáisyou (plural) fit
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesquepanthey fit

How it’s built: Every form follows the yo present, quepo (quepa, quepas, quepa, quepamos, quepáis, quepan).

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Caber in the Subjunctive Imperfect

The Subjunctive Imperfect is used to speak about unlikely or uncertain events in the past or to cast an opinion (emotional) about something that happened in the past. For example, “cupiera”, meaning “I fitted”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocupieraI fitted
Túcupierasyou fitted
Ella / Él / Ustedcupieras/he fitted
Nosotras / Nosotroscupiéramoswe fitted
Vosotras / Vosotroscupieraisyou (plural) fitted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescupieranthey fitted

How it’s built: Built on the irregular ellas/ellos preterite, cupieron: drop -ron and add the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (cupiéramos).

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Caber in the Subjunctive Future

The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, “cupiere”, meaning “I will fit”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocupiereI will fit
Túcupieresyou will fit
Ella / Él / Ustedcupieres/he will fit
Nosotras / Nosotroscupiéremoswe will fit
Vosotras / Vosotroscupiereisyou (plural) will fit
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescupierenthey will fit

How it’s built: Built on the irregular ellas/ellos preterite, cupieron: drop -ron and add the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (cupiéremos).

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Caber in the Subjunctive Present Perfect

The Subjunctive Present Perfect is used to describe past actions or events that are still connected to the present day and to speak about an action that will have happened by a certain time in the future. For example, “haya cabido”, meaning “I have fitted”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohaya cabidoI have fitted
Túhayas cabidoyou have fitted
Ella / Él / Ustedhaya cabidos/he has fitted
Nosotras / Nosotroshayamos cabidowe have fitted
Vosotras / Vosotroshayáis cabidoyou (plural) have fitted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshayan cabidothey have fitted

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle cabido.

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Caber in the Subjunctive Past Perfect

The Subjunctive Past Perfect is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that occurred before other actions/events in the past. For example, “hubiera cabido”, meaning “I had fitted”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiera cabidoI had fitted
Túhubieras cabidoyou had fitted
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiera cabidos/he had fitted
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéramos cabidowe had fitted
Vosotras / Vosotroshubierais cabidoyou (plural) had fitted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieran cabidothey had fitted

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle cabido.

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Caber in the Subjunctive Future Perfect

The Subjunctive Future Perfect is used to speak about something that will have happened if a hypothetical situations occurs in the future. For example, “hubiere cabido”, meaning “I will have fitted”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiere cabidoI will have fitted
Túhubieres cabidoyou will have fitted
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiere cabidos/he will have fitted
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéremos cabidowe will have fitted
Vosotras / Vosotroshubiereis cabidoyou (plural) will have fitted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieren cabidothey will have fitted

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle cabido.

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Imperative tenses of Caber

Caber in the Imperative Affirmative

The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “quepa”, meaning “(to you formal) fit!”.

In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
Túcabe(to you) fit!
Ella / Él / Ustedquepa(to you formal) fit!
Nosotras / Nosotrosquepamoslet's fit!
Vosotras / Vosotroscabed(to you plural) fit!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesquepan(to you plural formal) fit!

How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present (cabe); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (quepa, quepamos, quepan); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (cabed).

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Caber in the Imperative Negative

The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, “no quepa”, meaning “(to you formal) don't fit!”.

In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
Túno quepas(to you) don't fit!
Ella / Él / Ustedno quepa(to you formal) don't fit!
Nosotras / Nosotrosno quepamoslet's not fit!
Vosotras / Vosotrosno quepáis(to you plural) don't fit!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesno quepan(to you plural formal) don't fit!

How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no quepas, no quepa, no quepamos, no quepáis, no quepan.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Frequently asked questions about Caber

Is caber a regular or irregular verb?

Caber is an irregular Spanish verb. In the present tense: yo is irregular (quepo); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the preterite (cupe), future (cabré), conditional (cabría) and subjunctive.

How do you conjugate caber in the present tense (presente)?

In the present tense (presente), caber is conjugated as: yo quepo, tú cabes, él/ella/usted cabe, nosotros cabemos, vosotros cabéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes caben. The present tense is used To talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths.

How do you conjugate caber in the preterite (pretérito indefinido)?

In the preterite (pretérito indefinido), caber is conjugated as: yo cupe, tú cupiste, él/ella/usted cupo, nosotros cupimos, vosotros cupisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes cupieron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.

How do you conjugate caber in the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto)?

In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), caber is conjugated as: yo cabía, tú cabías, él/ella/usted cabía, nosotros cabíamos, vosotros cabíais, ellos/ellas/ustedes cabían. The imperfect is used To describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do.

How do you conjugate caber in the future tense (futuro simple)?

In the future tense (futuro simple), caber is conjugated as: yo cabré, tú cabrás, él/ella/usted cabrá, nosotros cabremos, vosotros cabréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes cabrán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.

How do you conjugate caber in the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente)?

In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), caber is conjugated as: yo quepa, tú quepas, él/ella/usted quepa, nosotros quepamos, vosotros quepáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes quepan. The present subjunctive is used To talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about.


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Want to explore other verb conjugations?

Why not check out Caer – to fall, to fall down or see the complete list of verbs here.


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