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How to conjugate Contar in Spanish

To count, to tell Irregular Verb Top 100

Introduction

Contar is the Spanish verb for "to count, to tell". It is an irregular verb, and one of the most popular 100 Spanish verbs. Read on below to see how it is conjugated in the 18 major Spanish tenses!

Similar verbs to contar include: decir, largar.

ItemSpanishEnglish
Infinitivecontarto count, to tell
Past participlecontadocounted
Gerundcontandocounting

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Indicative Tenses of Contar

Contar in the Indicative Present

The Indicative Present of contar 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, "cuento los animales", meaning "I count the animals".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yocuento I count
cuentas you count
Ella / Él / Ustedcuenta s/he counts, you (formal) count
Nosotras / Nosotroscontamoswe count
Vosotras / Vosotroscontáisyou (plural) count
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescuentan they count,

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Contar in the Indicative Preterite

The Indicative Preterite of contar is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, "conté los animales", meaning "I counted the animals".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocontéI counted
contasteyou counted
Ella / Él / Ustedcontós/he counted, you (formal) counted
Nosotras / Nosotroscontamoswe counted
Vosotras / Vosotroscontasteisyou (plural) counted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescontaronthey counted,

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Contar in the Indicative Imperfect

The Indicative Imperfect of contar is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, "contaba los animales", meaning "I used to count the animals".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocontabaI used to count
contabasyou used to count
Ella / Él / Ustedcontabas/he used to count, you (formal) used to count
Nosotras / Nosotroscontábamoswe used to count
Vosotras / Vosotroscontabaisyou (plural) used to count
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescontabanthey used to count,

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Contar in the Indicative Present Continuous

The Indicative Present Continuous of contar is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, "estoy contando los animales", meaning "I am counting the animals".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yoestoy contandoI am counting
estás contandoyou are counting
Ella / Él / Ustedestá contandos/he is counting, you (formal) are counting
Nosotras / Nosotrosestamos contandowe are counting
Vosotras / Vosotrosestáis contandoyou (plural) are counting
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestán contandothey are counting,

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Contar in the Indicative Informal Future

The Indicative Informal Future of contar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, "voy a contar los animales", meaning "I am going to count the animals".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yovoy a contarI am going to count
vas a contaryou are going to count
Ella / Él / Ustedva a contars/he is going to count, you (formal) are going to count
Nosotras / Nosotrosvamos a contarwe are going to count
Vosotras / Vosotrosvais a contaryou (plural) are going to count
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesvan a contarthey are going to count,

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Contar in the Indicative Future

The Indicative Future of contar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, "contaré los animales", meaning "I will count the animals".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocontaréI will count
contarásyou will count
Ella / Él / Ustedcontarás/he will count, you (formal) will count
Nosotras / Nosotroscontaremoswe will count
Vosotras / Vosotroscontaréisyou (plural) will count
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescontaránthey will count,

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Contar in the Indicative Conditional

The Indicative Conditional of contar is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, "contaría los animales", meaning "I would count the animals".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocontaríaI would count
contaríasyou would count
Ella / Él / Ustedcontarías/he would count, you (formal) would count
Nosotras / Nosotroscontaríamoswe would count
Vosotras / Vosotroscontaríaisyou (plural) would count
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescontaríanthey would count,

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Contar in the Indicative Present Perfect

The Indicative Present Perfect of contar 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 contado los animales", meaning "I have counted the animals".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohe contadoI have counted
has contadoyou have counted
Ella / Él / Ustedha contados/he has counted, you (formal) have counted
Nosotras / Nosotroshemos contadowe have counted
Vosotras / Vosotroshabéis contadoyou (plural) have counted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshan contadothey have counted,

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Contar in the Indicative Past Perfect

The Indicative Past Perfect of contar is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, "había contado los animales", meaning "I had counted the animals".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabía contadoI had counted
habías contadoyou had counted
Ella / Él / Ustedhabía contados/he had counted, you (formal) had counted
Nosotras / Nosotroshabíamos contadowe had counted
Vosotras / Vosotroshabíais contadoyou (plural) had counted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabían contadothey had counted,

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Contar in the Indicative Future Perfect

The Indicative Future Perfect of contar is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, "habré contado los animales", meaning "I will have counted the animals".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabré contadoI will have counted
habrás contadoyou will have counted
Ella / Él / Ustedhabrá contados/he will have counted, you (formal) will have counted
Nosotras / Nosotroshabremos contadowe will have counted
Vosotras / Vosotroshabréis contadoyou (plural) will have counted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrán contadothey will have counted,

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Contar in the Indicative Conditional Perfect

The Indicative Conditional Perfect of contar is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, "habría contado los animales", meaning "I would have counted the animals".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabría contadoI would have counted
habrías contadoyou would have counted
Ella / Él / Ustedhabría contados/he would have counted, you (formal) would have counted
Nosotras / Nosotroshabríamos contadowe would have counted
Vosotras / Vosotroshabríais contadoyou (plural) would have counted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrían contadothey would have counted,

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Subjunctive Tenses of Contar

Contar 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, "cuente", meaning "I count".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yocuente I count
cuentes you count
Ella / Él / Ustedcuente s/he counts, you (formal) count
Nosotras / Nosotroscontemoswe count
Vosotras / Vosotroscontéisyou (plural) count
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescuenten they count,

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Contar 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, "contara", meaning "I counted".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocontaraI counted
contarasyou counted
Ella / Él / Ustedcontaras/he counted, you (formal) counted
Nosotras / Nosotroscontáramoswe counted
Vosotras / Vosotroscontaraisyou (plural) counted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescontaranthey counted,

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Contar 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, "contare", meaning "I will count".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YocontareI will count
contaresyou will count
Ella / Él / Ustedcontares/he will count, you (formal) will count
Nosotras / Nosotroscontáremoswe will count
Vosotras / Vosotroscontareisyou (plural) will count
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescontarenthey will count,

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Contar 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 contado", meaning "I have counted".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohaya contadoI have counted
hayas contadoyou have counted
Ella / Él / Ustedhaya contados/he has counted, you (formal) have counted
Nosotras / Nosotroshayamos contadowe have counted
Vosotras / Vosotroshayáis contadoyou (plural) have counted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshayan contadothey have counted,

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Contar 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 contado", meaning "I had counted".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiera contadoI had counted
hubieras contadoyou had counted
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiera contados/he had counted, you (formal) had counted
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéramos contadowe had counted
Vosotras / Vosotroshubierais contadoyou (plural) had counted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieran contadothey had counted,

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Contar 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 contado", meaning "I will have counted".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiere contadoI will have counted
hubieres contadoyou will have counted
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiere contados/he will have counted, you (formal) will have counted
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéremos contadowe will have counted
Vosotras / Vosotroshubiereis contadoyou (plural) will have counted
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieren contadothey will have counted,

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Imperative Tenses of Contar

Contar in the Imperative Affirmative

The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, "cuente", meaning "(to you formal) count!".

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
cuenta (to you) count!
Ella / Él / Ustedcuente (to you formal) count!
Nosotras / Nosotroscontemoslet's count!
Vosotras / Vosotroscontad(to you plural) count!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescuenten (to you plural formal) count!

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Contar in the Imperative Negative

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

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
no cuentes (to you) don't count!
Ella / Él / Ustedno cuente (to you formal) don't count!
Nosotras / Nosotrosno contemoslet's not count!
Vosotras / Vosotrosno contéis(to you plural) don't count!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesno cuenten (to you plural formal) don't count!

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Example sentences and usage

  • Él me contó la historia de su vida. He told me the story of his life.
  • Cuento con tu ayuda. I expect your help.
  • Cuento con que te unas a nosotros. I am counting on you to join us.

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Want to explore other verb conjugations?

Why not check out Contemplar – to contemplate or see the complete list of verbs here.


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