To tell (story) in Spanish 🇪🇸

Pronunciation

Normal speech: con-TAR
IPA: /kon.’tar/

7 months ago

contar info.

Tips to remember the word “contar”:
– Associate “contar” with the word “count” in English because “contar” can also mean to count in Spanish, in addition to its meaning of to tell (a story).
– Think of a person counting out a story point by point as if they were counting items, this can help forge a connection between the two meanings.

Other words that mean the same thing:
– Relatar: to relate or to recount (a story)
– Narrar: to narrate

Conjugations of “contar”:
– Infinitive: contar
– Gerund: contando
– Past participle: contado

Present tense:
– Yo cuento (I tell)
– Tú cuentas (you tell – informal singular)
– Él/Ella/Usted cuenta (he/she/you formal tell)
– Nosotros/Nosotras contamos (we tell)
– Vosotros/Vosotras contáis (you all tell – informal plural in Spain)
– Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes cuentan (they/you all formal tell)

Preterite (simple past) tense:
– Yo conté (I told)
– Tú contaste (you told – informal singular)
– Él/Ella/Usted contó (he/she/you formal told)
– Nosotros/Nosotras contamos (we told)
– Vosotros/Vosotras contasteis (you all told – informal plural in Spain)
– Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes contaron (they/you all formal told)

Imperfect past tense:
– Yo contaba (I used to tell)
– Tú contabas (you used to tell – informal singular)
– Él/Ella/Usted contaba (he/she/you formal used to tell)
– Nosotros/Nosotras contábamos (we used to tell)
– Vosotros/Vosotras contabais (you all used to tell – informal plural in Spain)
– Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes contaban (they/you all formal used to tell)

Future tense:
– Yo contaré (I will tell)
– Tú contarás (you will tell – informal singular)
– Él/Ella/Usted contará (he/she/you formal will tell)
– Nosotros/Nosotras contaremos (we will tell)
– Vosotros/Vosotras contaréis (you all will tell – informal plural in Spain)
– Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes contarán (they/you all formal will tell)

Examples of sentences using “contar”:
– Present: Cada noche le cuento un cuento a mi hijo antes de dormir.
– Preterite: Ayer le conté a mi amiga lo que pasó.
– Imperfect: Cuando era niño, mi abuelo siempre contaba historias fascinantes.
– Future: Mañana te contaré todos los detalles de la fiesta.

a few seconds ago

contar info.

Tips to remember the word “contar”:
– Associate “contar” with the English words “count” and “recount,” as they are cognates sharing the Latin root “com****re,” which means to calculate or count.
– Think of a “counter” in a store where numbers and stories are often shared.
– Visualize someone counting items or telling a story as these are the primary meanings of “contar.”

Explanations:
– “Contar” in Spanish means both “to count” (numerical quantities) and “to tell” (stories or narratives).

Other words that mean the same thing:
– For counting: “enumerar” (to enumerate), “calcular” (to calculate).
– For telling: “relatar” (to relate/tell), “narrar” (to narrate).

Conjugations of “contar”:
– Infinitive: contar
– Present (indicative):
– yo cuento
– tú cuentas
– él/ella/usted cuenta
– nosotros/nosotras contamos
– vosotros/vosotras contáis
– ellos/ellas/ustedes cuentan
– Preterite (past tense):
– yo conté
– tú contaste
– él/ella/usted contó
– nosotros/nosotras contamos
– vosotros/vosotras contasteis
– ellos/ellas/ustedes contaron
– Imperfect (past tense):
– yo contaba
– tú contabas
– él/ella/usted contaba
– nosotros/nosotras contábamos
– vosotros/vosotras contabais
– ellos/ellas/ustedes contaban
– Future:
– yo contaré
– tú contarás
– él/ella/usted contará
– nosotros/nosotras contaremos
– vosotros/vosotras contaréis
– ellos/ellas/ustedes contarán
– Conditional:
– yo contaría
– tú contarías
– él/ella/usted contaría
– nosotros/nosotras contaríamos
– vosotros/vosotras contaríais
– ellos/ellas/ustedes contarían
– Subjunctive (present):
– yo cuente
– tú cuentes
– él/ella/usted cuente
– nosotros/nosotras contemos
– vosotros/vosotras contéis
– ellos/ellas/ustedes cuenten

Examples of sentences using “contar”:
– Present: Mi hermano cuenta una historia fascinante.
– Preterite: Ayer conté todas las monedas en mi alcancía.
– Imperfect: Cuando era niño, mi abuela contaba cuentos antes de dormir.
– Future: Mañana te contaré los detalles del evento.
– Conditional: Si tuviera tiempo, te contaría todo el cuento.
– Subjunctive: Espero que me cuentes tu decisión pronto.

2 days ago