contar
to count, to tellPresentewhat is going on now
Presente
Present — what is happening now, and what happens habitually
| yo | cuentoI count | nosotros | contamoswe count |
| tú | cuentasyou count | vosotros | contáisyou all count |
| él/ella/Ud. | cuentahe/she counts | ellos/Uds. | cuentanthey count |
Pretérito perfecto
Present perfect — have —ed; a past still touching now. Spain: today, this week. Latin America: mostly the indefinido instead
| yo | he contadoI have counted | nosotros | hemos contadowe have counted |
| tú | has contadoyou have counted | vosotros | habéis contadoyou all have counted |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha contadohe/she has counted | ellos/Uds. | han contadothey have counted |
Presente de subjuntivo
Present subjunctive — after que with wishes, doubt, emotion, ojalá
| yo | cuente(that) I count | nosotros | contemos(that) we count |
| tú | cuentes(that) you count | vosotros | contéis(that) you all count |
| él/ella/Ud. | cuente(that) he/she counts | ellos/Uds. | cuenten(that) they count |
Perfecto de subjuntivo
Present perfect subjunctive — have —ed, under doubt or emotion: no creo que haya venido
| yo | haya contado(that) I have counted | nosotros | hayamos contado(that) we have counted |
| tú | hayas contado(that) you have counted | vosotros | hayáis contado(that) you all have counted |
| él/ella/Ud. | haya contado(that) he/she has counted | ellos/Uds. | hayan contado(that) they have counted |
Pasadowhat went on
Pretérito indefinido
Preterite — a finished past action — it started, it ended
| yo | contéI counted | nosotros | contamoswe counted |
| tú | contasteyou counted | vosotros | contasteisyou all counted |
| él/ella/Ud. | contóhe/she counted | ellos/Uds. | contaronthey counted |
Pretérito imperfecto
Imperfect — used to / was —ing; background, habits, descriptions
| yo | contabaI used to count | nosotros | contábamoswe used to count |
| tú | contabasyou used to count | vosotros | contabaisyou all used to count |
| él/ella/Ud. | contabahe/she used to count | ellos/Uds. | contabanthey used to count |
Pretérito pluscuamperfecto
Past perfect — had —ed; further back than another past event
| yo | había contadoI had counted | nosotros | habíamos contadowe had counted |
| tú | habías contadoyou had counted | vosotros | habíais contadoyou all had counted |
| él/ella/Ud. | había contadohe/she had counted | ellos/Uds. | habían contadothey had counted |
Imperfecto de subjuntivo (-ra)
Imperfect subjunctive — si clauses and past-tense wishes: si tuviera, quería que fuera
| yo | contara(that) I counted | nosotros | contáramos(that) we counted |
| tú | contaras(that) you counted | vosotros | contarais(that) you all counted |
| él/ella/Ud. | contara(that) he/she counted | ellos/Uds. | contaran(that) they counted |
Imperfecto de subjuntivo (-se)
Imperfect subjunctive — the same tense, second form; commoner in Spain and in writing
| yo | contase(that) I counted | nosotros | contásemos(that) we counted |
| tú | contases(that) you counted | vosotros | contaseis(that) you all counted |
| él/ella/Ud. | contase(that) he/she counted | ellos/Uds. | contasen(that) they counted |
Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo
Past perfect subjunctive — had —ed, hypothetically: si hubiera sabido
| yo | hubiera contado(that) I had counted | nosotros | hubiéramos contado(that) we had counted |
| tú | hubieras contado(that) you had counted | vosotros | hubierais contado(that) you all had counted |
| él/ella/Ud. | hubiera contado(that) he/she had counted | ellos/Uds. | hubieran contado(that) they had counted |
Pretérito anterior
Preterite perfect — had —ed, immediately before; literary, all but extinct
| yo | hube contadoI had counted | nosotros | hubimos contadowe had counted |
| tú | hubiste contadoyou had counted | vosotros | hubisteis contadoyou all had counted |
| él/ella/Ud. | hubo contadohe/she had counted | ellos/Uds. | hubieron contadothey had counted |
Futurowhat will or would go on
Futuro simple
Future — will — (spoken Spanish often prefers voy a + infinitivo)
| yo | contaréI will count | nosotros | contaremoswe will count |
| tú | contarásyou will count | vosotros | contaréisyou all will count |
| él/ella/Ud. | contaráhe/she will count | ellos/Uds. | contaránthey will count |
Condicional simple
Conditional — would —; also softens a request into politeness
| yo | contaríaI would count | nosotros | contaríamoswe would count |
| tú | contaríasyou would count | vosotros | contaríaisyou all would count |
| él/ella/Ud. | contaríahe/she would count | ellos/Uds. | contaríanthey would count |
Futuro perfecto
Future perfect — will have —ed; done by some future point
| yo | habré contadoI will have counted | nosotros | habremos contadowe will have counted |
| tú | habrás contadoyou will have counted | vosotros | habréis contadoyou all will have counted |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá contadohe/she will have counted | ellos/Uds. | habrán contadothey will have counted |
Condicional perfecto
Conditional perfect — would have —ed; the road not taken
| yo | habría contadoI would have counted | nosotros | habríamos contadowe would have counted |
| tú | habrías contadoyou would have counted | vosotros | habríais contadoyou all would have counted |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría contadohe/she would have counted | ellos/Uds. | habrían contadothey would have counted |
Futuro de subjuntivo
Future subjunctive — legal and proverbial only: adonde fueres, haz lo que vieres
| yo | contare(should) I count | nosotros | contáremos(should) we count |
| tú | contares(should) you count | vosotros | contareis(should) you all count |
| él/ella/Ud. | contare(should) he/she count | ellos/Uds. | contaren(should) they count |
Imperativotelling someone to
Imperativo afirmativo
Imperative (do it) — orders and requests; there is no yo form
| yo | — | nosotros | contemoslet's count |
| tú | cuentacount! | vosotros | contadcount! |
| él/ella/Ud. | cuentecount! | ellos/Uds. | cuentencount! |
Imperativo negativo
Imperative (don't) — no + subjunctive — never the affirmative form with no in front
| yo | — | nosotros | no contemoslet's not count |
| tú | no cuentesdon't count | vosotros | no contéisdon't count |
| él/ella/Ud. | no cuentedon't count | ellos/Uds. | no cuentendon't count |
Red = the form breaks the regular pattern. Everything in black you could have worked out from the endings alone.