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SPANISH VERB

cerrar

to close

  • #97 most used
  • Irregular -ar verb
  • Gerund: cerrando
  • Past participle: cerrado

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use cerrar

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

  1. Present

    La farmacia cierra a las nueve de la noche.

    The pharmacy closes at nine at night.

  2. Past

    Cerré la ventana porque entraba mucho polvo.

    I closed the window because a lot of dust was coming in.

  3. Imperfect

    Antes las tiendas cerraban a la hora de la comida.

    Shops used to close at lunchtime.

  4. Future

    El museo cerrará por obras todo el mes.

    The museum will close for renovations all month.

  5. Conditional

    Yo cerraría la cuenta de ese banco ya.

    I would close that bank account right away.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Quiero que cierres bien la puerta al salir.

    I want you to close the door properly when you leave.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Si cerraran la calle, llegaríamos tardísimo.

    If they closed the street, we'd arrive really late.

  8. Imperative

    Cierra los ojos y pide un deseo.

    Close your eyes and make a wish.

Good to know

  • "Cerrar con llave" is to lock: "¿Cerraste con llave la puerta?"

Where you hear cerrar

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

Spanish · Beginner Level 3

  • Cierro la puerta a las once. I close the door at eleven.
  • Cerré la ventana por los mosquitos. I closed the window because of the mosquitoes.
  • Voy a cerrar la cocina. I'm going to close the kitchen.

Spanish · Intermediate Level 1

  • Cierro la puerta de la calle a las diez. I close the street door at ten.
  • Cerré la ventana porque hacía frío. I closed the window because it was cold.
  • Voy a cerrar la puerta con llave. I'm going to lock the door.
2
You Have to Lie Diagonally

Beginner Level 3 · cerrar · hay que cerrar la ventana

Free 7
The Vaccination Day

Intermediate Level 1 · cierra los ojos

Needs a subscription 14
It's Not Goodbye

Intermediate Level 1 · cierra con llave

Needs a subscription 5
Don't Touch Anything

Advanced Level 1 · cerrad

Needs a subscription 26
It's Not Wrong, It's Different

Advanced Level 1 · no cierra

Needs a subscription 4
Stranded

Advanced Level 2 · a punto de cerrar

Needs a subscription 10
On the House

Advanced Level 2 · no cierro ninguna

Needs a subscription 18
Like the Lottery

Advanced Level 3 · cerrado

Needs a subscription 19
Your Last Night of Freedom

Advanced Level 3 · cuando cierren

Needs a subscription 25
If We Won

Fluency Level 2 · Yo cerraría el bar

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

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