What does contar mean in English?

Contar means "to count/tell" in English.

How do you conjugate contar in Spanish?

Contar 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 contar?

Common idiomatic expressions using contar include: "contar con" (to count on / to have), "contar los días" (to count the days), "sin contar" (not counting / besides). These expressions are frequently used in everyday Spanish conversation.

What should I know about using contar?

Contar is a stem-changing verb: o→ue in stressed syllables (cuento, cuentas)

What verbs are related to contar?

Verbs related to contar include: recontar, descontar. These verbs share similar meanings, stems, or conjugation patterns.

How do you use contar in a sentence?

Example: "Cuento hasta diez antes de responder." which means "I count to ten before responding." in English.

What are synonyms for contar?

Spanish synonyms for contar include: narrar, relatar, enumerar. The exact synonym to use depends on the context and specific meaning intended.

Contar

to count/tell

🎯

Infinitive (infinitivo)

Base form of the verb

contar

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

contando

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

contado

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	cuento I count/tell	I count/tell
tú	cuentas you count/tell	you count/tell
él/ella/usted	cuenta he/she/you count/tells	he/she/you count/tells
nosotros	contamos we count/tell	we count/tell
vosotros	contáis you all count/tell	you all count/tell
ellos/ustedes	cuentan they/you all count/tell	they/you all count/tell

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	contaba I used to count/tell	I used to count/tell
tú	contabas you used to count/tell	you used to count/tell
él/ella/usted	contaba he/she/you used to count/tell	he/she/you used to count/tell
nosotros	contábamos we used to count/tell	we used to count/tell
vosotros	contabais you all used to count/tell	you all used to count/tell
ellos/ustedes	contaban they/you all used to count/tell	they/you all used to count/tell

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	conté I count/telled	I count/telled
tú	contaste you count/telled	you count/telled
él/ella/usted	contó he/she/you count/telled	he/she/you count/telled
nosotros	contamos we count/telled	we count/telled
vosotros	contasteis you all count/telled	you all count/telled
ellos/ustedes	contaron they/you all count/telled	they/you all count/telled

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	contaré I will count/tell	I will count/tell
tú	contarás you will count/tell	you will count/tell
él/ella/usted	contará he/she/you will count/tell	he/she/you will count/tell
nosotros	contaremos we will count/tell	we will count/tell
vosotros	contaréis you all will count/tell	you all will count/tell
ellos/ustedes	contarán they/you all will count/tell	they/you all will count/tell

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	contaría I would count/tell	I would count/tell
tú	contarías you would count/tell	you would count/tell
él/ella/usted	contaría he/she/you would count/tell	he/she/you would count/tell
nosotros	contaríamos we would count/tell	we would count/tell
vosotros	contaríais you all would count/tell	you all would count/tell
ellos/ustedes	contarían they/you all would count/tell	they/you all would count/tell

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	cuente that I count/tell	that I count/tell
tú	cuentes that you count/tell	that you count/tell
él/ella/usted	cuente that he/she/you count/tell	that he/she/you count/tell
nosotros	contemos that we count/tell	that we count/tell
vosotros	contéis that you all count/tell	that you all count/tell
ellos/ustedes	cuenten that they/you all count/tell	that they/you all count/tell

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	contara or contase that I count/telled	that I count/telled
tú	contaras or contases that you count/telled	that you count/telled
él/ella/usted	contara or contase that he/she/you count/telled	that he/she/you count/telled
nosotros	contáramos or contásemos that we count/telled	that we count/telled
vosotros	contarais or contaseis that you all count/telled	that you all count/telled
ellos/ustedes	contaran or contasen that they/you all count/telled	that they/you all count/telled

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

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

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

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

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

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

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

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

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

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

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

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

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

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

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	cuenta	count/tell! (you)
usted	cuente	count/tell! (you formal)
nosotros	contemos	let's count/tell!
vosotros	contad	count/tell! (you all)
ustedes	cuenten	count/tell! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no cuentes	don't count/tell! (you)
usted	no cuente	don't count/tell! (you formal)
nosotros	no contemos	let's not count/tell!
vosotros	no contéis	don't count/tell! (you all)
ustedes	no cuenten	don't count/tell! (you all)

More About "contar"

Idiomatic Expressions

contar con

to count on / to have

💡 Relying on someone or having something available

contar los días

to count the days

💡 Eagerly awaiting something

sin contar

not counting / besides

💡 Excluding something from consideration

tener en cuenta

to take into account

💡 Considering something in a decision

contar y cantar

very quickly / in a flash

💡 Something happening extremely fast

Examples in Context

Cuento hasta diez antes de responder.

I count to ten before responding.

Present

Mi abuela me contó una historia increíble.

My grandmother told me an incredible story.

Preterite

Puedes contar conmigo siempre.

You can always count on me.

Present

¿Me cuentas qué pasó?

Will you tell me what happened?

Present

He contado todas las ventajas y desventajas.

I have counted all the advantages and disadvantages.

Present Perfect

Related Verbs

recontar(to recount, retell)

compound - to recount/retell

descontar(to discount, deduct)

compound - to discount/deduct

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

narrar(to narrate, tell)

More formal for storytelling

relatar(to relate, recount)

Formal narration of events

enumerar(to enumerate, count)

More formal counting or listing

Usage Notes

•Contar is a stem-changing verb: o→ue in stressed syllables (cuento, cuentas)
•Main meanings: to count, to tell (a story), to rely on (with "con")
•"Contar con" means "to count on" or "to have available"
•Stem change occurs in present indicative, present subjunctive, and imperative
•Preterite is regular (no stem change): conté, contaste, contó
•Can mean numerical counting or narrative telling depending on context
•Common phrase: "cuenta conmigo" (count on me)
•Often used for stories: contar un cuento (to tell a story)

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Contar

Simple Tenses

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