Contar means to tell, to count. Learn five tenses, then practise each person.
Present: cuento, cuentas, cuenta, contamos, contáis, cuentan.
Contar in the present tense
Use the present for current states, habits and actions. The subject can be omitted when the verb makes it clear.
Vosotros is informal plural you in Spain. Ustedes uses the ellos/ellas form and is the usual plural you in Latin America.
Contar in the preterite tense
Use the preterite for a completed event in the past, viewed as a whole.
Contar in the imperfect tense
Use the imperfect for past habits, ongoing situations and background descriptions, without marking their endpoint.
Contar in the future tense
Use the simple future for what will happen. Spanish also uses this tense for a guess about the present.
Contar in the conditional tense
Use the conditional for what would happen, a polite request or a hypothetical situation.
Learning Learnt Mastered Struggling
Pick a word to hear it and see when it's due next.
All six persons. Blue, bold forms differ from regular endings, including spelling changes that preserve pronunciation.
| Person | Present | Preterite | Imperfect | Future | Conditional |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | cuento | conté | contaba | contaré | contaría |
| tú | cuentas | contaste | contabas | contarás | contarías |
| él / ella / usted | cuenta | contó | contaba | contará | contaría |
| nosotros / nosotras | contamos | contamos | contábamos | contaremos | contaríamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | contáis | contasteis | contabais | contaréis | contaríais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | cuentan | contaron | contaban | contarán | contarían |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | cuento | I tell |
| tú | cuentas | you tell |
| él / ella / usted | cuenta | he/she tells |
| nosotros / nosotras | contamos | we tell |
| vosotros / vosotras | contáis | you all (vosotros) tell |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | cuentan | they tell |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | conté | I told |
| tú | contaste | you told |
| él / ella / usted | contó | he/she told |
| nosotros / nosotras | contamos | we told |
| vosotros / vosotras | contasteis | you all (vosotros) told |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | contaron | they told |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | contaba | I used to tell |
| tú | contabas | you used to tell |
| él / ella / usted | contaba | he/she used to tell |
| nosotros / nosotras | contábamos | we used to tell |
| vosotros / vosotras | contabais | you all (vosotros) used to tell |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | contaban | they used to tell |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | contaré | I will tell |
| tú | contarás | you will tell |
| él / ella / usted | contará | he/she will tell |
| nosotros / nosotras | contaremos | we will tell |
| vosotros / vosotras | contaréis | you all (vosotros) will tell |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | contarán | they will tell |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | contaría | I would tell |
| tú | contarías | you would tell |
| él / ella / usted | contaría | he/she would tell |
| nosotros / nosotras | contaríamos | we would tell |
| vosotros / vosotras | contaríais | you all (vosotros) would tell |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | contarían | they would tell |
Contar differs from the regular endings in the present. Changed forms include present: cuento, cuentas, cuenta. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The present forms are cuento, cuentas, cuenta, contamos, contáis, cuentan, in the order yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros and ellos/ellas/ustedes.
conté, contaste, contó, contamos, contasteis, contaron. For example, conté means “I told”.
Contar differs from the regular endings in the present. Changed forms include present: cuento, cuentas, cuenta. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The preterite (conté) presents a completed event; the imperfect (contaba) gives a past habit or background situation. The English glosses are “I told” and “I used to tell”, but context determines the best translation.
The yo forms are contaré (“I will tell”) and contaría (“I would tell”). The full charts above include every person.
Contar means to tell, to count.
Updated · English prompts, Spanish answers.