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SPANISH VERB

cantar

to sing

  • #210 most used
  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: cantando
  • Past participle: cantado

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use cantar

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

  1. Present

    Mi tía canta en el coro de la iglesia.

    My aunt sings in the church choir.

  2. Past

    Cantamos las mañanitas a las seis de la mañana.

    We sang Las Mañanitas at six in the morning.

  3. Imperfect

    Mi papá cantaba en la regadera todas las mañanas.

    My dad sang in the shower every morning.

  4. Future

    En la boda cantará un mariachi.

    A mariachi band will sing at the wedding.

  5. Conditional

    Yo cantaría, pero me da pena.

    I would sing, but I'm embarrassed.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Quieren que cantes algo en la fiesta.

    They want you to sing something at the party.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Me pidieron que cantara un bolero.

    They asked me to sing a bolero.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Canta con nosotros, no seas tímido!

    Sing with us, don't be shy!

Where you hear cantar

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

Spanish · Beginner Level 1

  • Canto todas las noches. I sing every night.
  • Anoche cantamos mucho. Last night we sang a lot.
  • Vamos a cantar las mañanitas. We're going to sing the birthday song.

Spanish · Beginner Level 2

  • Canto con mis amigos. I sing with my friends.
  • Ayer cantamos en la casa. Yesterday we sang at home.
  • Mañana vamos a cantar juntos. Tomorrow we're going to sing together.
27
Happy Birthday!

Beginner Level 1 · cantar · cantas · canta

Needs a subscription 26
Everybody Was Dancing

Beginner Level 2 · cantando

Needs a subscription 19
Friends?

Beginner Level 3 · canto · cantas

Needs a subscription 24
The Posada

Beginner Level 3 · cantan · todos cantan

Needs a subscription 9
Just a Coffee

Intermediate Level 1 · cantes

Needs a subscription 9
Even If You Step on My Feet

Intermediate Level 3 · aunque cantes mal

Needs a subscription 18
It Gives Me Goose Bumps

Advanced Level 1 · cantaba

Needs a subscription 23
Midnight Mass

Advanced Level 1 · cantamos · se canta más fuerte

Needs a subscription 6
In Honour of a Nun

Advanced Level 2 · cántale · canto fatal

Needs a subscription 9
We Laugh at Everything

Advanced Level 2 · Os han cantado.

Needs a subscription 7
The More I Think About It

Advanced Level 3 · cuanto más canto · que cante usted mucho tiempo

Needs a subscription 19
Your Last Night of Freedom

Advanced Level 3 · cantar

Needs a subscription

And 2 more lessons.

Verbs like this one

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