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SPANISH VERB

callar

to be quiet

  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: callando
  • Past participle: callado

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I am quiet
  2. tú you are quiet
  3. usted, él, ella he/she is quiet
  4. nosotros we are quiet
  5. vosotros Spain you all are quiet
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they are quiet

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I was quiet
  2. tú you were quiet
  3. usted, él, ella he/she was quiet
  4. nosotros we were quiet
  5. vosotros Spain you all were quiet
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they were quiet

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to be quiet
  2. tú you used to be quiet
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to be quiet
  4. nosotros we used to be quiet
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to be quiet
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to be quiet

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will be quiet
  2. tú you will be quiet
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will be quiet
  4. nosotros we will be quiet
  5. vosotros Spain you all will be quiet
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will be quiet

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would be quiet
  2. tú you would be quiet
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would be quiet
  4. nosotros we would be quiet
  5. vosotros Spain you all would be quiet
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would be quiet

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I be quiet
  2. tú (that) you be quiet
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she be quiet
  4. nosotros (that) we be quiet
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all be quiet
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they be quiet

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I were quiet
  2. tú (if) you were quiet
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she were quiet
  4. nosotros (if) we were quiet
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all were quiet
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they were quiet

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú be quiet!
  2. usted be quiet! (formal)
  3. nosotros be quiet! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain be quiet! (all of you)
  5. ustedes be quiet! (all of you)

How to use callar

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Cuando empieza la película, todo el mundo se calla.

    When the film starts, everybody goes quiet.

  2. Past

    Me callé para no estropearle la sorpresa a Marta.

    I kept quiet so as not to spoil Marta's surprise.

  3. Imperfect

    Mi abuelo callaba siempre que hablaban de política.

    My grandfather always kept quiet when they talked politics.

  4. Future

    ¿Te callarás un momento y me dejarás explicarlo?

    Will you be quiet a moment and let me explain?

  5. Conditional

    Yo me callaría, que el jefe está de mal humor.

    I'd keep quiet, the boss is in a bad mood.

  6. Present subjunctive

    El profesor quiere que nos callemos durante el examen.

    The teacher wants us to be quiet during the exam.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Le pedí que se callara, pero siguió hablando.

    I asked him to be quiet, but he kept talking.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Calla, calla, que viene la sorpresa ahora!

    Hush, hush, the surprise is coming now!

Good to know

  • "Callarse" is the everyday reflexive: cállate, be quiet; "callar" alone is also to keep something to yourself.

Where you hear callar

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Spanish · Advanced Level 1

  • Me callo cuando empieza el sorteo. I go quiet when the draw starts.
  • Nadie se calló en toda la noche. Nobody was quiet all night.
  • Os vais a tener que callar en la sala. You're going to have to be quiet in the reading room.
21
If We Won

Advanced Level 1 · ¡Callad!

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Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -ar verb.