Present
Presente · now, habits and facts
- yo I fit
- tú you fit
- usted, él, ella he/she fits
- nosotros we fit
- vosotros Spain you all fit
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they fit
SPANISH VERB
caber
to fit
- #230 most used
- Irregular -er verb
- Gerund: cabiendo
- Past participle: cabido
Conjugation
Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.
Past
Pretérito indefinido · finished actions
- yo I fitted
- tú you fitted
- usted, él, ella he/she fitted
- nosotros we fitted
- vosotros Spain you all fitted
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they fitted
Imperfect
Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”
- yo I used to fit
- tú you used to fit
- usted, él, ella he/she used to fit
- nosotros we used to fit
- vosotros Spain you all used to fit
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to fit
Future
Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common
- yo I will fit
- tú you will fit
- usted, él, ella he/she will fit
- nosotros we will fit
- vosotros Spain you all will fit
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they will fit
Conditional
Condicional · “would”
- yo I would fit
- tú you would fit
- usted, él, ella he/she would fit
- nosotros we would fit
- vosotros Spain you all would fit
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they would fit
Present subjunctive
Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”
- yo (that) I fit
- tú (that) you fit
- usted, él, ella (that) he/she fit
- nosotros (that) we fit
- vosotros Spain (that) you all fit
- ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they fit
Past subjunctive
Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”
- yo (if) I fitted
- tú (if) you fitted
- usted, él, ella (if) he/she fitted
- nosotros (if) we fitted
- vosotros Spain (if) you all fitted
- ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they fitted
Imperative
Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)
- tú fit!
- usted fit! (formal)
- nosotros fit! (let’s)
- vosotros Spain fit! (all of you)
- ustedes fit! (all of you)
How to use caber
One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.
-
Present
¿Crees que quepo en el asiento de atrás?
Do you think I fit in the back seat?
-
Past
Al final todo cupo en la cajuela.
In the end everything fit in the trunk.
-
Imperfect
En ese cuarto apenas cabía la cama.
The bed barely fit in that room.
-
Future
Ese refrigerador no cabrá por la puerta.
That fridge won't fit through the door.
-
Conditional
Con otra maleta, no cabríamos en el taxi.
With another suitcase, we wouldn't fit in the taxi.
-
Present subjunctive
Dudo que quepan diez personas en esa mesa.
I doubt ten people fit at that table.
-
Past subjunctive
Si cupiera, me llevaría la lámpara en el avión.
If it fit, I'd take the lamp on the plane.
-
Imperative
Cabe como puedas, ya no hay más espacio.
Fit in however you can, there's no more room.
Good to know
- "No cabe duda" is "there's no doubt". "Caber" is for things fitting into a space; clothes that fit you "quedan".
Where you hear caber
The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.
Spanish · Intermediate Level 1
- El sillón no cabe por la puerta. The sofa doesn't fit through the door.
- Todo cupo en la camioneta. Everything fit in the van.
- No va a caber en el carro. It isn't going to fit in the car.
Spanish · Advanced Level 1
- Todavía caben dos sillas en el patio. There's still room for two chairs in the patio.
- Nos cupo todo en una maleta. We managed to fit everything in one suitcase.
- La bufanda cabrá en mi bolso. The scarf will fit in my bag.
Verbs like this one
The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -er verb.