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SPANISH VERB

contratar

to hire

  • #448 most used
  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: contratando
  • Past participle: contratado

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use contratar

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

  1. Present

    La empresa contrata a veinte personas cada verano.

    The company hires twenty people every summer.

  2. Past

    Contratamos a un fotógrafo para la boda.

    We hired a photographer for the wedding.

  3. Imperfect

    Antes el hotel contrataba solo gente del pueblo.

    The hotel used to hire only people from the village.

  4. Future

    ¿Contratarán a alguien más para la cocina?

    Will they hire someone else for the kitchen?

  5. Conditional

    Yo contrataría a una persona con más experiencia.

    I'd hire someone with more experience.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Espero que te contraten después de la entrevista.

    I hope they hire you after the interview.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Mi padre quería que contratáramos un abogado.

    My father wanted us to hire a lawyer.

  8. Imperative

    Contrate un seguro antes de viajar, se lo recomiendo.

    Take out insurance before you travel, I recommend it.

Good to know

  • "Contratar un seguro" or "contratar internet" is to take out insurance or sign up for internet.

Verbs like this one

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