How to conjugate Contar in Spanish
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Indicative tenses of Contar
- Contar in the Indicative Present
- Contar in the Indicative Preterite
- Contar in the Indicative Imperfect
- Contar in the Indicative Future
- Contar in the Indicative Conditional
- Contar in the Indicative Present Perfect
- Contar in the Indicative Past Perfect
- Contar in the Indicative Future Perfect
- Contar in the Indicative Conditional Perfect
- Subjunctive tenses of Contar
- Contar in the Subjunctive Present
- Contar in the Subjunctive Imperfect
- Contar in the Subjunctive Future
- Contar in the Subjunctive Present Perfect
- Contar in the Subjunctive Past Perfect
- Contar in the Subjunctive Future Perfect
- Imperative tenses of Contar
- Contar in the Imperative Affirmative
- Contar in the Imperative Negative
- Example sentences and usage
Introduction
Contar is the Spanish verb for to count, to tell. It is an irregular verb. Read on below to see how it is conjugated in the 16 major Spanish tenses!
| Spanish | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | contar | to count, to tell |
| Past participle | contado | counted |
| Gerund | contando | counting |
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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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | cuento | I count |
| Tú | cuentas | you count |
| Ella / Él / Usted | cuenta | s/he count, you (formal) count |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | contamos | we count |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | contáis | you (plural) count |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | cuentan | they count, you (plural formal) count |
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | conté | I counted |
| Tú | contaste | you counted |
| Ella / Él / Usted | contó | s/he counted, you (formal) counted |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | contamos | we counted |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | contasteis | you (plural) counted |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | contaron | they counted, you (plural formal) counted |
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | contaba | I used to count |
| Tú | contabas | you used to count |
| Ella / Él / Usted | contaba | s/he used to count, you (formal) used to count |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | contábamos | we used to count |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | contabais | you (plural) used to count |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | contaban | they used to count, you (plural formal) used to count |
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | contaré | I will count |
| Tú | contarás | you will count |
| Ella / Él / Usted | contará | s/he will count, you (formal) will count |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | contaremos | we will count |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | contaréis | you (plural) will count |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | contarán | they will count, you (plural formal) will count |
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | contaría | I would count |
| Tú | contarías | you would count |
| Ella / Él / Usted | contaría | s/he would count, you (formal) would count |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | contaríamos | we would count |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | contaríais | you (plural) would count |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | contarían | they would count, you (plural formal) would count |
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | he contado | I have counted |
| Tú | has contado | you have counted |
| Ella / Él / Usted | ha contado | s/he has counted, you (formal) have counted |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hemos contado | we have counted |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habéis contado | you (plural) have counted |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | han contado | they have counted, you (plural formal) have counted |
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | había contado | I had counted |
| Tú | habías contado | you had counted |
| Ella / Él / Usted | había contado | s/he had counted, you (formal) had counted |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habíamos contado | we had counted |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habíais contado | you (plural) had counted |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habían contado | they had counted, you (plural formal) had counted |
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habré contado | I will have counted |
| Tú | habrás contado | you will have counted |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habrá contado | s/he will have counted, you (formal) will have counted |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habremos contado | we will have counted |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habréis contado | you (plural) will have counted |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrán contado | they will have counted, you (plural formal) will have counted |
Contar in the Indicative Conditional Perfect
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of contar is used to talk about something that would have happened in the future but didn’t due to another action. For example, "habría contado los animales", meaning "I would have counted the animals".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habría contado | I would have counted |
| Tú | habrías contado | you would have counted |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habría contado | s/he would have counted, you (formal) would have counted |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habríamos contado | we would have counted |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habríais contado | you (plural) would have counted |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrían contado | they would have counted, you (plural formal) would have counted |
Want a better way to learn conjugations?
Ella Verbs guides you through 30 levels of bite sized lessons and verb drills, helping you to master the 16 main Spanish tenses from our verb library of over 1,000 verbs.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | cuente | I count |
| Tú | cuentes | you count |
| Ella / Él / Usted | cuente | s/he count, you (formal) count |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | contemos | we count |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | contéis | you (plural) count |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | cuenten | they count, you (plural formal) count |
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | contara | I counted |
| Tú | contaras | you counted |
| Ella / Él / Usted | contara | s/he counted, you (formal) counted |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | contáramos | we counted |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | contarais | you (plural) counted |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | contaran | they counted, you (plural formal) counted |
Contar in the Subjunctive Future
The Subjunctive Future is used For example, "contare", meaning "I will count".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | contare | I will count |
| Tú | contares | you will count |
| Ella / Él / Usted | contare | s/he will count, you (formal) will count |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | contáremos | we will count |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | contareis | you (plural) will count |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | contaren | they will count, you (plural formal) will count |
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | haya contado | I have counted |
| Tú | hayas contado | you have counted |
| Ella / Él / Usted | haya contado | s/he has counted, you (formal) have counted |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hayamos contado | we have counted |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hayáis contado | you (plural) have counted |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hayan contado | they have counted, you (plural formal) have counted |
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera contado | I had counted |
| Tú | hubieras contado | you had counted |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiera contado | s/he had counted, you (formal) had counted |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéramos contado | we had counted |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubierais contado | you (plural) had counted |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieran contado | they had counted, you (plural formal) had counted |
Contar in the Subjunctive Future Perfect
The Subjunctive Future Perfect is used For example, "hubiere contado", meaning "I will have counted".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiere contado | I will have counted |
| Tú | hubieres contado | you will have counted |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiere contado | s/he will have counted, you (formal) will have counted |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéremos contado | we will have counted |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubiereis contado | you (plural) will have counted |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieren contado | they will have counted, you (plural formal) will have counted |
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!".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | cuenta | (to you) count! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | cuente | (to you formal) count! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | contemos | (to we) count! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | contad | (to you plural) count! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | cuenten | (to you plural formal) count! |
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!".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no cuentes | (to you) don't count! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no cuente | (to you formal) don't count! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no contemos | (to we) don't count! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no contéis | (to you plural) don't count! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no cuenten | (to you plural formal) don't count! |
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.
Want to explore other verb conjugations?
Why not check out escribir – to write or see the complete list of verbs here.
Back to topWant a better way to learn conjugations?
Ella Verbs guides you through 30 levels of bite sized lessons and verb drills, helping you to master the 16 main Spanish tenses from our verb library of over 1,000 verbs.
