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SPANISH VERB

contar

to count

  • 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 count
  2. tú you count
  3. usted, él, ella he/she counts
  4. nosotros we count
  5. vosotros Spain you all count
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they count

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use contar

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

  1. Present

    Cuento las noches que faltan para el parto.

    I count the nights left until the birth.

  2. Past

    Conté las cajas dos veces: faltaba una.

    I counted the boxes twice: one was missing.

  3. Imperfect

    Mi abuelo contaba las monedas cada noche.

    My grandfather counted his coins every night.

  4. Future

    Contaremos los votos al cerrar las urnas.

    We'll count the votes when the polls close.

  5. Conditional

    Yo contaría el cambio antes de salir de la tienda.

    I'd count the change before leaving the shop.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Quiero que cuentes hasta diez antes de contestar.

    I want you to count to ten before answering.

  7. Past subjunctive

    La maestra pidió que contáramos en voz alta.

    The teacher asked us to count out loud.

  8. Imperative

    Cuenta los platos, que somos doce.

    Count the plates, there are twelve of us.

Good to know

  • "Contar hasta diez" is to count to ten; "contar con" is to count on someone; and "contar" is also to tell a story.

Where you hear contar

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

Spanish · Fluency Level 3

  • Yo cuento todos los partos en mi cuaderno. I count every birth in my notebook.
  • Conté los años que cargó el santo. Cuarenta y dos. I counted the years he carried the saint. Forty-two.
  • Esta noche voy a contar las cajas que me quedan. Tonight I'm going to count the boxes I've got left.

Verbs like this one

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