cantar
to singPresentewhat is going on now
Presente
Present — what is happening now, and what happens habitually
| yo | cantoI sing | nosotros | cantamoswe sing |
| tú | cantasyou sing | vosotros | cantáisyou all sing |
| él/ella/Ud. | cantahe/she sings | ellos/Uds. | cantanthey sing |
Pretérito perfecto
Present perfect — have —ed; a past still touching now. Spain: today, this week. Latin America: mostly the indefinido instead
| yo | he cantadoI have sung | nosotros | hemos cantadowe have sung |
| tú | has cantadoyou have sung | vosotros | habéis cantadoyou all have sung |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha cantadohe/she has sung | ellos/Uds. | han cantadothey have sung |
Presente de subjuntivo
Present subjunctive — after que with wishes, doubt, emotion, ojalá
| yo | cante(that) I sing | nosotros | cantemos(that) we sing |
| tú | cantes(that) you sing | vosotros | cantéis(that) you all sing |
| él/ella/Ud. | cante(that) he/she sings | ellos/Uds. | canten(that) they sing |
Perfecto de subjuntivo
Present perfect subjunctive — have —ed, under doubt or emotion: no creo que haya venido
| yo | haya cantado(that) I have sung | nosotros | hayamos cantado(that) we have sung |
| tú | hayas cantado(that) you have sung | vosotros | hayáis cantado(that) you all have sung |
| él/ella/Ud. | haya cantado(that) he/she has sung | ellos/Uds. | hayan cantado(that) they have sung |
Pasadowhat went on
Pretérito indefinido
Preterite — a finished past action — it started, it ended
| yo | cantéI sang | nosotros | cantamoswe sang |
| tú | cantasteyou sang | vosotros | cantasteisyou all sang |
| él/ella/Ud. | cantóhe/she sang | ellos/Uds. | cantaronthey sang |
Pretérito imperfecto
Imperfect — used to / was —ing; background, habits, descriptions
| yo | cantabaI used to sing | nosotros | cantábamoswe used to sing |
| tú | cantabasyou used to sing | vosotros | cantabaisyou all used to sing |
| él/ella/Ud. | cantabahe/she used to sing | ellos/Uds. | cantabanthey used to sing |
Pretérito pluscuamperfecto
Past perfect — had —ed; further back than another past event
| yo | había cantadoI had sung | nosotros | habíamos cantadowe had sung |
| tú | habías cantadoyou had sung | vosotros | habíais cantadoyou all had sung |
| él/ella/Ud. | había cantadohe/she had sung | ellos/Uds. | habían cantadothey had sung |
Imperfecto de subjuntivo (-ra)
Imperfect subjunctive — si clauses and past-tense wishes: si tuviera, quería que fuera
| yo | cantara(that) I sang | nosotros | cantáramos(that) we sang |
| tú | cantaras(that) you sang | vosotros | cantarais(that) you all sang |
| él/ella/Ud. | cantara(that) he/she sang | ellos/Uds. | cantaran(that) they sang |
Imperfecto de subjuntivo (-se)
Imperfect subjunctive — the same tense, second form; commoner in Spain and in writing
| yo | cantase(that) I sang | nosotros | cantásemos(that) we sang |
| tú | cantases(that) you sang | vosotros | cantaseis(that) you all sang |
| él/ella/Ud. | cantase(that) he/she sang | ellos/Uds. | cantasen(that) they sang |
Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo
Past perfect subjunctive — had —ed, hypothetically: si hubiera sabido
| yo | hubiera cantado(that) I had sung | nosotros | hubiéramos cantado(that) we had sung |
| tú | hubieras cantado(that) you had sung | vosotros | hubierais cantado(that) you all had sung |
| él/ella/Ud. | hubiera cantado(that) he/she had sung | ellos/Uds. | hubieran cantado(that) they had sung |
Pretérito anterior
Preterite perfect — had —ed, immediately before; literary, all but extinct
| yo | hube cantadoI had sung | nosotros | hubimos cantadowe had sung |
| tú | hubiste cantadoyou had sung | vosotros | hubisteis cantadoyou all had sung |
| él/ella/Ud. | hubo cantadohe/she had sung | ellos/Uds. | hubieron cantadothey had sung |
Futurowhat will or would go on
Futuro simple
Future — will — (spoken Spanish often prefers voy a + infinitivo)
| yo | cantaréI will sing | nosotros | cantaremoswe will sing |
| tú | cantarásyou will sing | vosotros | cantaréisyou all will sing |
| él/ella/Ud. | cantaráhe/she will sing | ellos/Uds. | cantaránthey will sing |
Condicional simple
Conditional — would —; also softens a request into politeness
| yo | cantaríaI would sing | nosotros | cantaríamoswe would sing |
| tú | cantaríasyou would sing | vosotros | cantaríaisyou all would sing |
| él/ella/Ud. | cantaríahe/she would sing | ellos/Uds. | cantaríanthey would sing |
Futuro perfecto
Future perfect — will have —ed; done by some future point
| yo | habré cantadoI will have sung | nosotros | habremos cantadowe will have sung |
| tú | habrás cantadoyou will have sung | vosotros | habréis cantadoyou all will have sung |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá cantadohe/she will have sung | ellos/Uds. | habrán cantadothey will have sung |
Condicional perfecto
Conditional perfect — would have —ed; the road not taken
| yo | habría cantadoI would have sung | nosotros | habríamos cantadowe would have sung |
| tú | habrías cantadoyou would have sung | vosotros | habríais cantadoyou all would have sung |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría cantadohe/she would have sung | ellos/Uds. | habrían cantadothey would have sung |
Futuro de subjuntivo
Future subjunctive — legal and proverbial only: adonde fueres, haz lo que vieres
| yo | cantare(should) I sing | nosotros | cantáremos(should) we sing |
| tú | cantares(should) you sing | vosotros | cantareis(should) you all sing |
| él/ella/Ud. | cantare(should) he/she sing | ellos/Uds. | cantaren(should) they sing |
Imperativotelling someone to
Imperativo afirmativo
Imperative (do it) — orders and requests; there is no yo form
| yo | — | nosotros | cantemoslet's sing |
| tú | cantasing! | vosotros | cantadsing! |
| él/ella/Ud. | cantesing! | ellos/Uds. | cantensing! |
Imperativo negativo
Imperative (don't) — no + subjunctive — never the affirmative form with no in front
| yo | — | nosotros | no cantemoslet's not sing |
| tú | no cantesdon't sing | vosotros | no cantéisdon't sing |
| él/ella/Ud. | no cantedon't sing | ellos/Uds. | no cantendon't sing |
