Ella Verbscontraer to contract Irregular Verb
At a glance: Contraer (to contract) is a irregular verb in Spanish. In the present tense: contraigo, contraes, contrae, contraemos, contraéis, contraen. Yo adds ig (contraigo); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the preterite (contraje), subjunctive, gerund (contrayendo) and past participle (contraído).

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The Indicative Present of contraer 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, “contraigo”, meaning “I contract”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | contraigo | I contract |
| Tú | contraes | you contract |
| Ella / Él / Usted | contrae | s/he contracts |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | contraemos | we contract |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | contraéis | you (plural) contract |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | contraen | they contract |
How it’s built: Yo adds ig (contraigo); the other forms are regular.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Preterite of contraer is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “contraje”, meaning “I contracted”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | contraje | I contracted |
| Tú | contrajiste | you contracted |
| Ella / Él / Usted | contrajo | s/he contracted |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | contrajimos | we contracted |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | contrajisteis | you (plural) contracted |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | contrajeron | they contracted |
How it’s built: Irregular stem contraj- plus the endings -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron; ellas/ellos drops the i (contrajeron).
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Imperfect of contraer is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “contraía”, meaning “I used to contract”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | contraía | I used to contract |
| Tú | contraías | you used to contract |
| Ella / Él / Usted | contraía | s/he used to contract |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | contraíamos | we used to contract |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | contraíais | you (plural) used to contract |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | contraían | they used to contract |
How it’s built: Regular: stem contra- plus the -er endings.
The Indicative Present Continuous of contraer is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy contrayendo”, meaning “I am contracting”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estoy contrayendo | I am contracting |
| Tú | estás contrayendo | you are contracting |
| Ella / Él / Usted | está contrayendo | s/he is contracting |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estamos contrayendo | we are contracting |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estáis contrayendo | you (plural) are contracting |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | están contrayendo | they are contracting |
How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the irregular gerund contrayendo.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Informal Future of contraer is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a contraer”, meaning “I am going to contract”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | voy a contraer | I am going to contract |
| Tú | vas a contraer | you are going to contract |
| Ella / Él / Usted | va a contraer | s/he is going to contract |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | vamos a contraer | we are going to contract |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | vais a contraer | you (plural) are going to contract |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | van a contraer | they are going to contract |
How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive contraer.
The Indicative Future of contraer is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “contraeré”, meaning “I will contract”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | contraeré | I will contract |
| Tú | contraerás | you will contract |
| Ella / Él / Usted | contraerá | s/he will contract |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | contraeremos | we will contract |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | contraeréis | you (plural) will contract |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | contraerán | they will contract |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive contraer plus the future endings.
The Indicative Conditional of contraer is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “contraería”, meaning “I would contract”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | contraería | I would contract |
| Tú | contraerías | you would contract |
| Ella / Él / Usted | contraería | s/he would contract |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | contraeríamos | we would contract |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | contraeríais | you (plural) would contract |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | contraerían | they would contract |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive contraer plus the conditional endings.
The Indicative Present Perfect of contraer 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 contraído”, meaning “I have contracted”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | he contraído | I have contracted |
| Tú | has contraído | you have contracted |
| Ella / Él / Usted | ha contraído | s/he has contracted |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hemos contraído | we have contracted |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habéis contraído | you (plural) have contracted |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | han contraído | they have contracted |
How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the irregular past participle contraído.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Past Perfect of contraer is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había contraído”, meaning “I had contracted”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | había contraído | I had contracted |
| Tú | habías contraído | you had contracted |
| Ella / Él / Usted | había contraído | s/he had contracted |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habíamos contraído | we had contracted |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habíais contraído | you (plural) had contracted |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habían contraído | they had contracted |
How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the irregular past participle contraído.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Future Perfect of contraer is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré contraído”, meaning “I will have contracted”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habré contraído | I will have contracted |
| Tú | habrás contraído | you will have contracted |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habrá contraído | s/he will have contracted |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habremos contraído | we will have contracted |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habréis contraído | you (plural) will have contracted |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrán contraído | they will have contracted |
How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the irregular past participle contraído.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of contraer is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría contraído”, meaning “I would have contracted”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habría contraído | I would have contracted |
| Tú | habrías contraído | you would have contracted |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habría contraído | s/he would have contracted |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habríamos contraído | we would have contracted |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habríais contraído | you (plural) would have contracted |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrían contraído | they would have contracted |
How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the irregular past participle contraído.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
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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, “contraiga”, meaning “I contract”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | contraiga | I contract |
| Tú | contraigas | you contract |
| Ella / Él / Usted | contraiga | s/he contracts |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | contraigamos | we contract |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | contraigáis | you (plural) contract |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | contraigan | they contract |
How it’s built: Every form follows the yo present, contraigo (contraiga, contraigas, contraiga, contraigamos, contraigáis, contraigan).
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
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, “contrajera”, meaning “I contracted”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | contrajera | I contracted |
| Tú | contrajeras | you contracted |
| Ella / Él / Usted | contrajera | s/he contracted |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | contrajéramos | we contracted |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | contrajerais | you (plural) contracted |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | contrajeran | they contracted |
How it’s built: Built on the irregular ellas/ellos preterite, contrajeron: drop -ron and add the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (contrajéramos).
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, “contrajere”, meaning “I will contract”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | contrajere | I will contract |
| Tú | contrajeres | you will contract |
| Ella / Él / Usted | contrajere | s/he will contract |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | contrajéremos | we will contract |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | contrajereis | you (plural) will contract |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | contrajeren | they will contract |
How it’s built: Built on the irregular ellas/ellos preterite, contrajeron: drop -ron and add the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (contrajéremos).
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
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 contraído”, meaning “I have contracted”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | haya contraído | I have contracted |
| Tú | hayas contraído | you have contracted |
| Ella / Él / Usted | haya contraído | s/he has contracted |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hayamos contraído | we have contracted |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hayáis contraído | you (plural) have contracted |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hayan contraído | they have contracted |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the irregular past participle contraído.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
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 contraído”, meaning “I had contracted”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera contraído | I had contracted |
| Tú | hubieras contraído | you had contracted |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiera contraído | s/he had contracted |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéramos contraído | we had contracted |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubierais contraído | you (plural) had contracted |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieran contraído | they had contracted |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the irregular past participle contraído.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
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 contraído”, meaning “I will have contracted”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiere contraído | I will have contracted |
| Tú | hubieres contraído | you will have contracted |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiere contraído | s/he will have contracted |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéremos contraído | we will have contracted |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubiereis contraído | you (plural) will have contracted |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieren contraído | they will have contracted |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the irregular past participle contraído.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “contraiga”, meaning “(to you formal) contract!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | contrae | (to you) contract! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | contraiga | (to you formal) contract! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | contraigamos | let's contract! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | contraed | (to you plural) contract! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | contraigan | (to you plural formal) contract! |
How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present (contrae); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (contraiga, contraigamos, contraigan); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (contraed).
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, “no contraiga”, meaning “(to you formal) don't contract!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no contraigas | (to you) don't contract! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no contraiga | (to you formal) don't contract! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no contraigamos | let's not contract! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no contraigáis | (to you plural) don't contract! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no contraigan | (to you plural formal) don't contract! |
How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no contraigas, no contraiga, no contraigamos, no contraigáis, no contraigan.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
Contraer is an irregular Spanish verb. In the present tense: yo adds ig (contraigo); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the preterite (contraje), subjunctive, gerund (contrayendo) and past participle (contraído).
In the present tense (presente), contraer is conjugated as: yo contraigo, tú contraes, él/ella/usted contrae, nosotros contraemos, vosotros contraéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes contraen. 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.
In the preterite (pretérito indefinido), contraer is conjugated as: yo contraje, tú contrajiste, él/ella/usted contrajo, nosotros contrajimos, vosotros contrajisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes contrajeron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.
In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), contraer is conjugated as: yo contraía, tú contraías, él/ella/usted contraía, nosotros contraíamos, vosotros contraíais, ellos/ellas/ustedes contraían. The imperfect is used To describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do.
In the future tense (futuro simple), contraer is conjugated as: yo contraeré, tú contraerás, él/ella/usted contraerá, nosotros contraeremos, vosotros contraeréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes contraerán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.
In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), contraer is conjugated as: yo contraiga, tú contraigas, él/ella/usted contraiga, nosotros contraigamos, vosotros contraigáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes contraigan. 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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