What does caber mean in English?

Caber means "to fit" in English.

How do you conjugate caber in Spanish?

Caber is conjugated across all Spanish tenses including present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, subjunctive, and more. Each tense has specific conjugations for yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros, and ellos/ustedes. You can see complete conjugation tables with audio pronunciations on this page.

What are common idiomatic expressions with caber?

Common idiomatic expressions using caber include: "no caber en sí de gozo" (to be beside oneself with joy), "no cabe duda" (there is no doubt). These expressions are frequently used in everyday Spanish conversation.

How do you use caber in a sentence?

Example: "No cupo en la caja." which means "It didn't fit in the box." in English.

Caber

to fit

🎯

Infinitive (infinitivo)

Base form of the verb

caber

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

cabiendo

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

cabido

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	quepo I fit	I fit
tú	cabes you fit	you fit
él/ella/usted	cabe he/she/you fits	he/she/you fits
nosotros	cabemos we fit	we fit
vosotros	cabéis you all fit	you all fit
ellos/ustedes	caben they/you all fit	they/you all fit

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	cabía I used to fit	I used to fit
tú	cabías you used to fit	you used to fit
él/ella/usted	cabía he/she/you used to fit	he/she/you used to fit
nosotros	cabíamos we used to fit	we used to fit
vosotros	cabíais you all used to fit	you all used to fit
ellos/ustedes	cabían they/you all used to fit	they/you all used to fit

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	cabí I fited	I fited
tú	cabiste you fited	you fited
él/ella/usted	cabió he/she/you fited	he/she/you fited
nosotros	cabimos we fited	we fited
vosotros	cabisteis you all fited	you all fited
ellos/ustedes	cabieron they/you all fited	they/you all fited

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	caberé I will fit	I will fit
tú	caberás you will fit	you will fit
él/ella/usted	caberá he/she/you will fit	he/she/you will fit
nosotros	caberemos we will fit	we will fit
vosotros	caberéis you all will fit	you all will fit
ellos/ustedes	caberán they/you all will fit	they/you all will fit

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	cabería I would fit	I would fit
tú	caberías you would fit	you would fit
él/ella/usted	cabería he/she/you would fit	he/she/you would fit
nosotros	caberíamos we would fit	we would fit
vosotros	caberíais you all would fit	you all would fit
ellos/ustedes	caberían they/you all would fit	they/you all would fit

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	quepa that I fit	that I fit
tú	quepas that you fit	that you fit
él/ella/usted	quepa that he/she/you fit	that he/she/you fit
nosotros	quepamos that we fit	that we fit
vosotros	quepáis that you all fit	that you all fit
ellos/ustedes	quepan that they/you all fit	that they/you all fit

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	cabiera or cabiese that I fited	that I fited
tú	cabieras or cabieses that you fited	that you fited
él/ella/usted	cabiera or cabiese that he/she/you fited	that he/she/you fited
nosotros	cabiéramos or cabiésemos that we fited	that we fited
vosotros	cabierais or cabieseis that you all fited	that you all fited
ellos/ustedes	cabieran or cabiesen that they/you all fited	that they/you all fited

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	he cabido I have fited	I have fited
tú	has cabido you have fited	you have fited
él/ella/usted	ha cabido he/she/you have fited	he/she/you have fited
nosotros	hemos cabido we have fited	we have fited
vosotros	habéis cabido you all have fited	you all have fited
ellos/ustedes	han cabido they/you all have fited	they/you all have fited

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	había cabido I had fited	I had fited
tú	habías cabido you had fited	you had fited
él/ella/usted	había cabido he/she/you had fited	he/she/you had fited
nosotros	habíamos cabido we had fited	we had fited
vosotros	habíais cabido you all had fited	you all had fited
ellos/ustedes	habían cabido they/you all had fited	they/you all had fited

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	hube cabido I had fited	I had fited
tú	hubiste cabido you had fited	you had fited
él/ella/usted	hubo cabido he/she/you had fited	he/she/you had fited
nosotros	hubimos cabido we had fited	we had fited
vosotros	hubisteis cabido you all had fited	you all had fited
ellos/ustedes	hubieron cabido they/you all had fited	they/you all had fited

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	habré cabido I will have fited	I will have fited
tú	habrás cabido you will have fited	you will have fited
él/ella/usted	habrá cabido he/she/you will have fited	he/she/you will have fited
nosotros	habremos cabido we will have fited	we will have fited
vosotros	habréis cabido you all will have fited	you all will have fited
ellos/ustedes	habrán cabido they/you all will have fited	they/you all will have fited

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	habría cabido I would have fited	I would have fited
tú	habrías cabido you would have fited	you would have fited
él/ella/usted	habría cabido he/she/you would have fited	he/she/you would have fited
nosotros	habríamos cabido we would have fited	we would have fited
vosotros	habríais cabido you all would have fited	you all would have fited
ellos/ustedes	habrían cabido they/you all would have fited	they/you all would have fited

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	haya cabido that I have fited	that I have fited
tú	hayas cabido that you have fited	that you have fited
él/ella/usted	haya cabido that he/she/you have fited	that he/she/you have fited
nosotros	hayamos cabido that we have fited	that we have fited
vosotros	hayáis cabido that you all have fited	that you all have fited
ellos/ustedes	hayan cabido that they/you all have fited	that they/you all have fited

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	hubiera cabido that I had fited	that I had fited
tú	hubieras cabido that you had fited	that you had fited
él/ella/usted	hubiera cabido that he/she/you had fited	that he/she/you had fited
nosotros	hubiéramos cabido that we had fited	that we had fited
vosotros	hubierais cabido that you all had fited	that you all had fited
ellos/ustedes	hubieran cabido that they/you all had fited	that they/you all had fited

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	cabe	fit! (you)
usted	quepa	fit! (you formal)
nosotros	quepamos	let's fit!
vosotros	cabed	fit! (you all)
ustedes	quepan	fit! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no quepas	don't fit! (you)
usted	no quepa	don't fit! (you formal)
nosotros	no quepamos	let's not fit!
vosotros	no quepáis	don't fit! (you all)
ustedes	no quepan	don't fit! (you all)

More About "caber"

Idiomatic Expressions

no caber en sí de gozo

to be beside oneself with joy

💡 Expressing extreme happiness

no cabe duda

there is no doubt

💡 Common expression for certainty

Examples in Context

No cupo en la caja.

It didn't fit in the box.

Preterite

No quepo en este asiento.

I don't fit in this seat.

Present

No ha cabido todo.

Not everything has fit.

Present Perfect

Cabrán cinco personas.

Five people will fit.

Future

Usage Notes

•Caber is highly irregular
•Present: quepo, cabes, cabe
•Preterite: cupe, cupiste, cupo
•Future: cabré, cabrás, cabrá
•Main meaning: to fit, to have room for

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Caber

Simple Tenses

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