What does cerrar mean in English?

Cerrar means "to close" in English.

How do you conjugate cerrar in Spanish?

Cerrar 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 should I know about using cerrar?

Cerrar is a stem-changing verb (e→ie)

How do you use cerrar in a sentence?

Example: "Cerré la puerta." which means "I closed the door." in English.

What are synonyms for cerrar?

Spanish synonyms for cerrar include: clausurar. The exact synonym to use depends on the context and specific meaning intended.

Cerrar

to close

🎯

Infinitive (infinitivo)

Base form of the verb

cerrar

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

cerrando

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

cerrado

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	cierro I close	I close
tú	cierras you close	you close
él/ella/usted	cierra he/she/you closes	he/she/you closes
nosotros	cerramos we close	we close
vosotros	cerráis you all close	you all close
ellos/ustedes	cierran they/you all close	they/you all close

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	cerraba I used to close	I used to close
tú	cerrabas you used to close	you used to close
él/ella/usted	cerraba he/she/you used to close	he/she/you used to close
nosotros	cerrábamos we used to close	we used to close
vosotros	cerrabais you all used to close	you all used to close
ellos/ustedes	cerraban they/you all used to close	they/you all used to close

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	cerré I closed	I closed
tú	cerraste you closed	you closed
él/ella/usted	cerró he/she/you closed	he/she/you closed
nosotros	cerramos we closed	we closed
vosotros	cerrasteis you all closed	you all closed
ellos/ustedes	cerraron they/you all closed	they/you all closed

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	cerraré I will close	I will close
tú	cerrarás you will close	you will close
él/ella/usted	cerrará he/she/you will close	he/she/you will close
nosotros	cerraremos we will close	we will close
vosotros	cerraréis you all will close	you all will close
ellos/ustedes	cerrarán they/you all will close	they/you all will close

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	cerraría I would close	I would close
tú	cerrarías you would close	you would close
él/ella/usted	cerraría he/she/you would close	he/she/you would close
nosotros	cerraríamos we would close	we would close
vosotros	cerraríais you all would close	you all would close
ellos/ustedes	cerrarían they/you all would close	they/you all would close

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	cierre that I close	that I close
tú	cierres that you close	that you close
él/ella/usted	cierre that he/she/you close	that he/she/you close
nosotros	cerremos that we close	that we close
vosotros	cerréis that you all close	that you all close
ellos/ustedes	cierren that they/you all close	that they/you all close

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	cerrara or cerrase that I closed	that I closed
tú	cerraras or cerrases that you closed	that you closed
él/ella/usted	cerrara or cerrase that he/she/you closed	that he/she/you closed
nosotros	cerráramos or cerrásemos that we closed	that we closed
vosotros	cerrarais or cerraseis that you all closed	that you all closed
ellos/ustedes	cerraran or cerrasen that they/you all closed	that they/you all closed

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

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

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

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

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

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

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

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

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

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

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

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

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

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

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	cierra	close! (you)
usted	cierre	close! (you formal)
nosotros	cerremos	let's close!
vosotros	cerrad	close! (you all)
ustedes	cierren	close! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no cierres	don't close! (you)
usted	no cierre	don't close! (you formal)
nosotros	no cerremos	let's not close!
vosotros	no cerréis	don't close! (you all)
ustedes	no cierren	don't close! (you all)

More About "cerrar"

Examples in Context

Cerré la puerta.

I closed the door.

Preterite

Cierro la ventana.

I close the window.

Present

Han cerrado la tienda.

They have closed the store.

Present Perfect

Cerraré el negocio.

I will close the business.

Future

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

clausurar(to close (permanently))

More formal, implies permanent closure

Antonyms:

abrir(to open)

Usage Notes

•Cerrar is a stem-changing verb (e→ie)
•Stem changes: cierro, cierras, cierra
•Main meaning: to close

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