Present
Presente · now, habits and facts
- yo I turn
- tú you turn
- usted, él, ella he/she turns
- nosotros we turn
- vosotros Spain you all turn
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they turn
SPANISH VERB
cumplir
to turn (an age)
- #82 most used
- Regular -ir verb
- Gerund: cumpliendo
- Past participle: cumplido
Conjugation
Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.
Past
Pretérito indefinido · finished actions
- yo I turned
- tú you turned
- usted, él, ella he/she turned
- nosotros we turned
- vosotros Spain you all turned
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they turned
Imperfect
Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”
- yo I used to turn
- tú you used to turn
- usted, él, ella he/she used to turn
- nosotros we used to turn
- vosotros Spain you all used to turn
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to turn
Future
Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common
- yo I will turn
- tú you will turn
- usted, él, ella he/she will turn
- nosotros we will turn
- vosotros Spain you all will turn
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they will turn
Conditional
Condicional · “would”
- yo I would turn
- tú you would turn
- usted, él, ella he/she would turn
- nosotros we would turn
- vosotros Spain you all would turn
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they would turn
Present subjunctive
Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”
- yo (that) I turn
- tú (that) you turn
- usted, él, ella (that) he/she turn
- nosotros (that) we turn
- vosotros Spain (that) you all turn
- ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they turn
Past subjunctive
Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”
- yo (if) I turned
- tú (if) you turned
- usted, él, ella (if) he/she turned
- nosotros (if) we turned
- vosotros Spain (if) you all turned
- ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they turned
Imperative
Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)
- tú turn!
- usted turn! (formal)
- nosotros turn! (let’s)
- vosotros Spain turn! (all of you)
- ustedes turn! (all of you)
How to use cumplir
One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.
-
Present
Mi hijo cumple cinco años el domingo.
My son turns five on Sunday.
-
Past
Ayer cumplí treinta y tomamos pastel en la oficina.
Yesterday I turned thirty and we had cake at the office.
-
Imperfect
Cuando cumplía años, mi mamá hacía mole.
When it was my birthday, my mom made mole.
-
Future
Mi abuela cumplirá noventa años en marzo.
My grandmother will turn ninety in March.
-
Conditional
Si viviera, mi papá cumpliría setenta hoy.
If he were alive, my dad would turn seventy today.
-
Present subjunctive
¡Que cumplas muchos más, felicidades!
Many happy returns, congratulations!
-
Past subjunctive
Esperaban a que cumpliera dieciocho para viajar sola.
They waited until I turned eighteen to let me travel alone.
-
Imperative
Cumple lo que prometiste, nada más.
Just keep what you promised, that's all.
Good to know
- Cumplir años is to have a birthday; cumplir una promesa is to keep it.
Where you hear cumplir
The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.
Spanish · Beginner Level 1
- Hoy cumplo veintisiete años. Today I turn twenty-seven.
- El martes cumplí treinta años. On Tuesday I turned thirty.
- El domingo voy a cumplir ochenta años. On Sunday I'm going to turn eighty.
Spanish · Intermediate Level 2
- Sarah siempre cumple. Sarah always keeps her word.
- Dijo que sería enfermera, y cumplió. She said she would be a nurse, and she did it.
- Voy a cumplir mi promesa. I'm going to keep my promise.
26
Can You Hear Me?
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14
Beginner Level 1 · cumplo · cumple
She Said She Would
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2
Intermediate Level 2 · Cumplió.
You Said You'd Come Back
Free
19
Advanced Level 3 · He cumplido.
Your Last Night of Freedom
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7
Advanced Level 3 · cumple las fechas de entrega
Many Happy Returns
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Fluency Level 1 · cumplía
Verbs like this one
The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -ir verb.