Present
Presente · now, habits and facts
- yo I answer
- tú you answer
- usted, él, ella he/she answers
- nosotros we answer
- vosotros Spain you all answer
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they answer
SPANISH VERB
contestar
to answer
- #291 most used
- Regular -ar verb
- Gerund: contestando
- Past participle: contestado
Conjugation
Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.
Past
Pretérito indefinido · finished actions
- yo I answered
- tú you answered
- usted, él, ella he/she answered
- nosotros we answered
- vosotros Spain you all answered
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they answered
Imperfect
Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”
- yo I used to answer
- tú you used to answer
- usted, él, ella he/she used to answer
- nosotros we used to answer
- vosotros Spain you all used to answer
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to answer
Future
Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common
- yo I will answer
- tú you will answer
- usted, él, ella he/she will answer
- nosotros we will answer
- vosotros Spain you all will answer
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they will answer
Conditional
Condicional · “would”
- yo I would answer
- tú you would answer
- usted, él, ella he/she would answer
- nosotros we would answer
- vosotros Spain you all would answer
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they would answer
Present subjunctive
Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”
- yo (that) I answer
- tú (that) you answer
- usted, él, ella (that) he/she answer
- nosotros (that) we answer
- vosotros Spain (that) you all answer
- ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they answer
Past subjunctive
Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”
- yo (if) I answered
- tú (if) you answered
- usted, él, ella (if) he/she answered
- nosotros (if) we answered
- vosotros Spain (if) you all answered
- ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they answered
Imperative
Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)
- tú answer!
- usted answer! (formal)
- nosotros answer! (let’s)
- vosotros Spain answer! (all of you)
- ustedes answer! (all of you)
How to use contestar
One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.
-
Present
Mi hermano nunca contesta el celular.
My brother never answers his cell phone.
-
Past
Contesté todas las preguntas del examen a tiempo.
I answered all the exam questions on time.
-
Imperfect
De niño yo contestaba mal a mis papás.
As a kid I used to talk back to my parents.
-
Future
Te contestaré el correo mañana a primera hora.
I'll answer your email first thing tomorrow.
-
Conditional
Yo contestaría con calma, no te enojes.
I'd answer calmly, don't get angry.
-
Present subjunctive
Quiero que contestes cuando te hablo.
I want you to answer when I'm talking to you.
-
Past subjunctive
Si contestaras el teléfono, sabrías la noticia.
If you answered the phone, you'd know the news.
-
Imperative
Contesta, es tu mamá otra vez.
Pick up, it's your mom again.
Good to know
- "Contestar el teléfono" is to answer the phone; "responder" is to reply.
Where you hear contestar
The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.
Spanish · Beginner Level 3
- Adentro, contestan con otra canción. Inside, they answer with another song.
- Le hablé a mi mamá, pero no contestó. I called my mom, but she didn't answer.
- Te contestaré esta noche. I'll answer you tonight.
Spanish · Intermediate Level 1
- Yo contesto el teléfono. I answer the phone.
- Nadie contestó. Nobody answered.
- ¿Vas a contestar? Are you going to answer?
24
The Posada
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2
Beginner Level 3 · contestan
The First Day
Free
15
Intermediate Level 1 · que conteste
What Did They Say?
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18
Intermediate Level 2 · contestaste · ¿Qué le contestaste?
Old Friends
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13
Intermediate Level 2 · me contestaste
It Was Written in Oaxaca
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26
Advanced Level 1 · Nunca fue contestada. · contestadas
It's Not Wrong, It's Different
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Advanced Level 1 · contestó
Verbs like this one
The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -ar verb.