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SPANISH VERB

contar

to tell (a story)

  • #37 most used
  • Irregular -ar verb
  • Gerund: contando
  • Past participle: contado

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use contar

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

  1. Present

    Mi abuela cuenta historias de la Revolución.

    My grandmother tells stories about the Revolution.

  2. Past

    ¿Ya le contaste a tu mamá la noticia?

    Did you already tell your mom the news?

  3. Imperfect

    Mi papá nos contaba un cuento cada noche.

    My dad used to tell us a story every night.

  4. Future

    Te contaré todo cuando nos veamos el sábado.

    I'll tell you everything when we meet on Saturday.

  5. Conditional

    Yo no le contaría nada todavía, espera.

    I wouldn't tell him anything yet, wait.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Quiero que me cuentes cómo te fue en Puebla.

    I want you to tell me how it went in Puebla.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Si me contaras tu secreto, no lo repetiría.

    If you told me your secret, I wouldn't repeat it.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Cuéntame qué pasó en la fiesta!

    Tell me what happened at the party!

Good to know

  • "Contar" is also to count: "Cuenta hasta diez."
  • "Contar con" is to count on someone: "Cuenta conmigo."

Where you hear contar

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

Spanish · Beginner Level 3

  • Te cuento una historia. I'll tell you a story.
  • Camila me contó su historia. Camila told me her story.
  • Te voy a contar todo. I'm going to tell you everything.

Spanish · Intermediate Level 1

  • Siempre me cuentas todo. You always tell me everything.
  • Le conté todo a Elena. I told Elena everything.
  • Me vas a contar todo, ¿verdad? You're going to tell me everything, right?
17
The Lights Go Out

Beginner Level 3 · me contaba

Needs a subscription 20
The Whole Trip

Beginner Level 3 · me contó

Needs a subscription 1
Welcome Home

Intermediate Level 1 · cuentas · que me cuentes

Free 26
Whatever You Decide

Intermediate Level 1 · que le contara

Needs a subscription 30
Here I Am

Intermediate Level 1 · que me contaras

Needs a subscription 23
What's Needed Is

Intermediate Level 3 · ¿Cuenta?

Needs a subscription 8
Cool, Mate

Advanced Level 1 · y nos cuentas

Needs a subscription 10
With a Lot of Style

Advanced Level 1 · cuéntanos

Needs a subscription 13
It Was Written in Oaxaca

Advanced Level 1 · contaba historias

Needs a subscription 28
Can You Keep a Secret?

Advanced Level 1 · ella no cuenta

Needs a subscription 29
Will You Marry Me?

Advanced Level 1 · le conté

Needs a subscription 5
If You Tell Me to Breathe

Advanced Level 2 · contará

Needs a subscription

And 2 more lessons.

Verbs like this one

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