Callar Conjugation in Spanish
callar means "to be quiet, to keep quiet" in English, and it is one of the Spanish verbs you will use again and again in everyday conversation. It is used for talking about keeping quiet — in class, in meetings, and when silence is the wiser choice, which makes it a practical verb to learn early and to use confidently. This page gives you the complete conjugation of callar in every tense and mood — present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, the four perfect tenses, both subjunctive tenses and the imperative — with all six persons, plus the gerund and the past participle. Every form below comes from VerbFlow's verified conjugation tables, so you can trust the accents and the irregular forms. Callar is a regular -ar verb verb, and the notes under each tense explain exactly where it follows the rules and where it breaks them. To hear it in a real sentence: Yo callo durante la reunión. — "I keep quiet during the meeting.". Work through the tables, read the notes, then test yourself with the quiz at the end of the page.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: callar
- English: to be quiet, to keep quiet
- Verb type: Regular -ar verb
- Gerund: callando
- Past participle: callado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all compound tenses use haber + callado)
Full conjugation table
Every tense of callar with all six persons. The gerund is callando and the past participle is callado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | callo |
| tú | callas |
| él/ella/Ud. | calla |
| nosotros/as | callamos |
| vosotros/as | calláis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | callan |
Preterite (past)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | callé |
| tú | callaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | calló |
| nosotros/as | callamos |
| vosotros/as | callasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | callaron |
Imperfect (past)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | callaba |
| tú | callabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | callaba |
| nosotros/as | callábamos |
| vosotros/as | callabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | callaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | callaré |
| tú | callarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | callará |
| nosotros/as | callaremos |
| vosotros/as | callaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | callarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | callaría |
| tú | callarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | callaría |
| nosotros/as | callaríamos |
| vosotros/as | callaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | callarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he callado |
| tú | has callado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha callado |
| nosotros/as | hemos callado |
| vosotros/as | habéis callado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han callado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había callado |
| tú | habías callado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había callado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos callado |
| vosotros/as | habíais callado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían callado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré callado |
| tú | habrás callado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá callado |
| nosotros/as | habremos callado |
| vosotros/as | habréis callado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán callado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría callado |
| tú | habrías callado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría callado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos callado |
| vosotros/as | habríais callado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían callado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | calle |
| tú | calles |
| él/ella/Ud. | calle |
| nosotros/as | callemos |
| vosotros/as | calléis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | callen |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | callara |
| tú | callaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | callara |
| nosotros/as | calláramos |
| vosotros/as | callarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | callaran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | calla |
| él/ella/Ud. | calle |
| nosotros/as | callemos |
| vosotros/as | callad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | callen |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | calles |
| él/ella/Ud. | calle |
| nosotros/as | callemos |
| vosotros/as | calléis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | callen |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Gerund | callando |
| Past participle | callado |
How to use each tense
Each tense below explains when to use it with callar, with one example sentence. The example forms are taken from the tables above.
Present indicative
The present tense talks about what happens now, habits, routines and general truths. It is the first tense every learner needs, because it covers daily life: what you do, what you like, where you live. For most verbs the present is also the base for the present subjunctive, so learning it well pays off twice.
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: Yo callo durante la reunión.
Preterite (past)
The preterite talks about finished actions in the past — things that started and ended at a specific moment. Use it for events, for what happened yesterday, last year, or at a particular time. It answers the question "what happened?" and it is the tense of stories told as a sequence of events.
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: Ayer yo callé durante la reunión.
Imperfect (past)
The imperfect talks about the past as background: habits, repeated actions, descriptions, and things that were in progress when something else happened. Use it for "used to", for setting a scene, and for age, time and weather in the past. It answers "what was going on?" rather than "what happened?".
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: En aquella época, yo callaba durante la reunión.
Future
The future tense talks about what will happen: plans, predictions and promises. In everyday speech Spanish speakers often use "ir a + infinitive" instead, but the future tense is essential for formal writing, for promises, and for guessing about the present ("¿Dónde estará?").
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: Mañana yo callaré durante la reunión.
Conditional
The conditional talks about what would happen: hypothetical situations, polite requests, and advice. It pairs with the imperfect subjunctive in "if" sentences ("Si pudiera, lo haría"). It is also the polite way to ask for things and to soften opinions.
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: Yo callaría durante la reunión si pudiera.
Present perfect
The present perfect (haber + past participle) talks about the recent past and about experience: what you have done, what has just happened, what you have never tried. It connects the past to the present moment, so it often appears with "hoy", "esta semana", "ya" and "todavía no".
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: Yo ya he callado durante la reunión.
Pluperfect
The pluperfect (había + past participle) talks about the past before the past: what had already happened when something else happened. Use it to order two past events — the pluperfect one comes first in time. It appears constantly in stories and explanations.
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: Yo ya había callado durante la reunión antes.
Future perfect
The future perfect (habré + past participle) talks about something that will already be finished by a future moment: "Para mañana ya habré terminado". It is also used to guess about the past: "¿Dónde habrá ido?". It is less common in speech but regular in writing.
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: Para mañana yo ya habré callado durante la reunión.
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect (habría + past participle) talks about what would have happened: the past of the conditional. It appears in "if" sentences about a past that did not happen ("Si hubiera sabido, habría venido") and in polite regrets and reproaches.
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: Yo habría callado durante la reunión si hubiera podido.
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is the mood of wishes, doubts, emotions and influence: what you want, hope, doubt or demand. It appears after "quiero que", "espero que", "es posible que", "ojalá" and after verbs of emotion and doubt. It never stands alone — a trigger in the main clause calls for it.
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: Espero que él calle durante la reunión.
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
The imperfect subjunctive is the past of the subjunctive: it follows past-tense triggers ("Quería que vinieras") and it is the tense of "if" clauses about unlikely or impossible situations ("Si tuviera dinero, viajaría"). The -ra forms shown here are the standard ones; -se forms exist too but -ra is far more common in speech.
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: Si él callara durante la reunión, sería perfecto.
Imperative (affirmative)
Affirmative commands tell someone to do something: "¡Ven aquí!", "¡Siéntate!". The tú and vosotros forms are the ones you will use most, and they are also the ones that break the regular pattern most often — the tú affirmative command comes from the él/ella present form, not from the infinitive.
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: ¡Calla durante la reunión!
Imperative (negative)
Negative commands tell someone not to do something: "¡No hables!", "¡No te vayas!". Unlike affirmative commands, negative commands always use the subjunctive forms, for every person. If you know the present subjunctive, you already know the negative imperative.
This tense is regular for this verb — the endings follow the standard pattern for its verb class.
Example: No calles durante la reunión.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with callar, covering different tenses and persons. Read the Spanish first, then check the English.
- Yo callo durante la reunión. — "I keep quiet during the meeting."
- ¿Tú callas durante la reunión? — "Do you keep quiet during the meeting?"
- Ayer callé durante la reunión. — "Yesterday I kept quiet during the meeting."
- Ella callaba durante la reunión siempre. — "She used to keep quiet during the meeting always."
- Mañana callaré durante la reunión. — "Tomorrow I will keep quiet during the meeting."
- Yo callaría durante la reunión si pudiera. — "I would keep quiet during the meeting if I could."
- Ya he callado durante la reunión. — "I have already kept quiet during the meeting."
- ¡calla durante la reunión! — "Keep quiet during the meeting!"
Common mistakes
The errors learners actually make with callar — and how to fix them.
- Wrong: *Yo callé durante la reunión — learners often write calle without the accent. → Right: Yo callé durante la reunión.. The preterite yo form is callé, with an accent on the final e. Callar is regular, so the accent is the only spelling point.
- Wrong: *¡Calla durante la reunión! — learners sometimes write calla as caya; the ll is essential. → Right: ¡calla durante la reunión!. The command is ¡Calla!, with ll. Caya is a different word (a verb form of caer in some regions, or a noun). The double l matters.
- Wrong: *Espero que tú callas durante la reunión. → Right: Espero que tú calles durante la reunión.. After espero que, use the subjunctive calles, not the indicative callas.
- Wrong: *Yo he callado durante la reunión — learners sometimes write he callo instead of the participle. → Right: Yo he callado durante la reunión.. The perfect tenses use the participle callado after haber: he callado, not he callo.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on callar. Answers are at the end, with a short explanation for each.
What is the yo form of callar in the present indicative?
- a) callas
- b) calla
- c) callamos
- d) callo
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of callar in the preterite (past)?
- a) callamos
- b) callé
- c) callaste
- d) calló
What is the nosotros/as form of callar in the imperfect (past)?
- a) callaba
- b) callabas
- c) callaba
- d) callábamos
What is the tú form of callar in the future?
- a) callaremos
- b) callarás
- c) callará
- d) callaré
What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of callar in the conditional?
- a) callaría
- b) callarías
- c) callarían
- d) callaría
What is the yo form of callar in the present subjunctive?
- a) calles
- b) calle
- c) callemos
- d) calle
What is the gerund of callar?
- a) callar
- b) callado
- c) calla
- d) callando
What is the past participle of callar?
- a) callado
- b) he callado
- c) callo
- d) callando
What does callar mean in English?
- a) to get bored
- b) to be quiet, to keep quiet
- c) to try, to taste
- d) to decide
The form callé belongs to which tense?
- a) Preterite
- b) Present
- c) Future
- d) Imperfect
Answer key
- callo — The yo form in the present indicative is callo — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- calló — The él/ella/Ud. form in the preterite (past) is calló — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- callábamos — The nosotros/as form in the imperfect (past) is callábamos — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- callarás — The tú form in the future is callarás — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- callarían — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form in the conditional is callarían — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- calle — The yo form in the present subjunctive is calle — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- callando — The gerund is callando — it is the form used with estar for the progressive (estoy callando). The past participle is callado.
- callado — The past participle is callado — it is the form used after haber in the perfect tenses (he callado).
- to be quiet, to keep quiet — callar means "to be quiet, to keep quiet".
- Preterite — callé is the yo form of the preterite of callar — a finished past action. The imperfect yo form is callaba.
Frequently asked questions
Is callar regular?
Yes, callar is a completely regular -ar verb: callo, callas, calla, callamos, calláis, callan. The preterite is callé, callaste, calló, and the participle is callado.
What is the difference between callar and callarse?
Callar means to keep quiet or to silence something; callarse means to fall silent yourself, often suddenly: Se calló de repente (He suddenly fell silent). ¡Cállate! (Shut up!) is the reflexive command and is much blunter than ¡Calla!.
How do you say "Shut up" in Spanish?
¡Cállate! — the reflexive imperative. It is blunt and can be rude. The politer version is ¡Calla, por favor! or simply Guarda silencio (Keep quiet).
Does callar take a direct object?
Yes, it can: callar un secreto means to keep a secret quiet. Without an object it means to be silent: Calló durante la reunión. Both uses are common.
Related pages
- Callar in the present tense — the present tense of callar in depth, with its own examples and quiz.
- Callar examples and quiz — more everyday sentences with callar and a second quiz.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub: every verb, every tense guide and every tool in one place.
- Mentir conjugation — another verb in the same family as callar.
- Gritar conjugation — another verb in the same family as callar.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise callar with this tool.
- Imperative Maker — practise callar with this tool.
- Present tense guide — how the present tense works for regular and irregular verbs.