Introduction
Cantar means «to sing». Cantar means to sing: in the shower, in a choir, at karaoke, at a concert. It is a completely regular -ar verb, which makes it a perfect model verb for learning the -ar pattern, and it appears in songs, celebrations and everyday idioms. It is a regular -ar verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of cantar in all thirteen tenses, notes on when to use each one, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. For example: «Yo canto una canción todos los días.» — I sing a song every day.
Quick facts
| Infinitive | cantar |
| English | to sing |
| Verb type | Regular -ar verb |
| Gerund | cantando |
| Past participle | cantado |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
Gerund: cantando · Past participle: cantado
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | canto |
| tú | cantas |
| él/ella/Ud. | canta |
| nosotros/as | cantamos |
| vosotros/as | cantáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cantan |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For cantar, the yo form is canto, as in «Yo canto» in the examples below. Use the present for routines («todos los días») and for general truths.
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | canté |
| tú | cantaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | cantó |
| nosotros/as | cantamos |
| vosotros/as | cantasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cantaron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo canté» is the classic use. Do not confuse it with the imperfect: the preterite moves the story forward, one finished event at a time.
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | cantaba |
| tú | cantabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | cantaba |
| nosotros/as | cantábamos |
| vosotros/as | cantabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cantaban |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. «De pequeño, yo cantaba» shows the habitual use. It sets the scene while the preterite reports what happened inside it.
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | cantaré |
| tú | cantarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | cantará |
| nosotros/as | cantaremos |
| vosotros/as | cantaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cantarán |
The future tense states what will happen. For cantar the future is built on the infinitive: «Mañana yo cantaré». It is also used for predictions and promises, and in spoken Spanish it often alternates with ir a + infinitive.
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | cantaría |
| tú | cantarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | cantaría |
| nosotros/as | cantaríamos |
| vosotros/as | cantaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cantarían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo cantaría» is the typical pattern. It shares its stem with the future and changes only the endings.
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he cantado |
| tú | has cantado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha cantado |
| nosotros/as | hemos cantado |
| vosotros/as | habéis cantado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han cantado |
The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. It is haber in the present plus the past participle: «Hoy yo he cantado». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había cantado |
| tú | habías cantado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había cantado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos cantado |
| vosotros/as | habíais cantado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían cantado |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había cantado». It is haber in the imperfect plus the past participle, and it is the tense for explaining what had already happened when something else took place.
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré cantado |
| tú | habrás cantado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá cantado |
| nosotros/as | habremos cantado |
| vosotros/as | habréis cantado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán cantado |
The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré cantado» is the pattern — haber in the future plus the past participle. It is less common in speech but regular in formal writing.
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría cantado |
| tú | habrías cantado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría cantado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos cantado |
| vosotros/as | habríais cantado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían cantado |
The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría cantado si hubiera podido». It is haber in the conditional plus the past participle, and it is the tense for regrets and missed chances.
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | cante |
| tú | cantes |
| él/ella/Ud. | cante |
| nosotros/as | cantemos |
| vosotros/as | cantéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | canten |
The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él cante». The trigger is in the main clause; the subjunctive is the mood of uncertainty, desire and influence. Learn the yo form first — most of the table follows from it.
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | cantara |
| tú | cantaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | cantara |
| nosotros/as | cantáramos |
| vosotros/as | cantarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cantaran |
The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él cantara, todo sería distinto». The table above shows the -ra forms, the ones you will hear most often. There is also a less common -se set built on the same stem.
Imperative — Affirmative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | canta |
| él/ella/Ud. | cante |
| nosotros/as | cantemos |
| vosotros/as | cantad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | canten |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡Canta!». There is no yo form — you cannot command yourself. The tú form is the one you will use with friends and family, and the usted form with people you address formally.
Imperative — Negative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | cantes |
| él/ella/Ud. | cante |
| nosotros/as | cantemos |
| vosotros/as | cantéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | canten |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No cantes!». Unlike the affirmative imperative, the negative forms come from the present subjunctive, which is why they look different. Never use the affirmative form after no.
Example sentences
- Yo canto una canción todos los días. — I sing a song every day.
- Mi hermana canta una canción mucho. — My sister sings a song a lot.
- Ayer yo canté una canción por la tarde. — Yesterday I sang a song in the afternoon.
- De pequeño, yo cantaba una canción muchas veces. — As a child, I used to sing a song often.
- Mañana yo cantaré una canción sin falta. — Tomorrow I will sing a song without fail.
- Si tuviera más tiempo, yo cantaría una canción ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would sing a song right now.
- Hoy yo he cantado en el coro dos veces. — Today I have sung in the choir twice.
- Espero que él cante una canción pronto. — I hope he sings a song soon.
- ¡Canta una canción para nosotros! — Sing a song for us!
- Ahora mismo estoy cantando una canción. — Right now I am singing a song.
Common mistakes
1. Forgetting the accent in the preterite
Wrong: cante
Right: canté
The yo preterite of cantar carries a written accent: canté. Without it, cante is the present subjunctive yo form, a completely different tense.
2. Using the imperfect for a finished event
Wrong: Ayer yo cantaba una canción.
Right: Ayer yo canté una canción.
Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, canté. The imperfect cantaba describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.
3. Confusing it with a similar verb
Wrong: *Canto a una canción.
Right: Canto una canción.
Cantar takes a direct object with no preposition. The a appears only before a person, as in «le canto a mi madre».
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
Wrong: Espero que tú cantas una canción.
Right: Espero que tú cantes una canción.
After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: cantes, not the indicative cantas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.
5. Using the affirmative imperative after no
Wrong: No canta una canción.
Right: No cantes una canción.
Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no cantes. The affirmative canta can never follow no.
Quiz
Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.
1. What is the yo form of cantar in the present tense?
- (a) canta
- (b) cantamos
- (c) cantas
- (d) canto
2. What is the él/ella form of cantar in the preterite?
- (a) cantamos
- (b) cantaste
- (c) canté
- (d) cantó
3. What is the nosotros form of cantar in the imperfect?
- (a) cantaba
- (b) cantabas
- (c) cantábamos
4. What is the tú form of cantar in the future tense?
- (a) cantaremos
- (b) cantará
- (c) cantarás
- (d) cantaré
5. What is the ellos form of cantar in the conditional?
- (a) cantaría
- (b) cantarían
- (c) cantarías
6. What is the yo form of cantar in the present perfect?
- (a) ha cantado
- (b) has cantado
- (c) he cantado
- (d) hemos cantado
7. After «Espero que…», what is the tú form of cantar?
- (a) cante
- (b) cantemos
- (c) cantes
8. What is the nosotros form of cantar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- (a) cantara
- (b) cantáramos
- (c) cantaras
9. What is the gerund of cantar?
- (a) cantado
- (b) cantando
- (c) cantar
- (d) canto
10. What is the past participle of cantar?
- (a) cantado
- (b) cantando
- (c) cantar
- (d) canté
Answer key
1. (d) canto — In the present, the yo form of cantar is canto. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
2. (d) cantó — In the preterite, the el form of cantar is cantó. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
3. (c) cantábamos — In the imperfect, the nosotros form of cantar is cantábamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
4. (c) cantarás — In the future, the tu form of cantar is cantarás. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
5. (b) cantarían — In the conditional, the ellos form of cantar is cantarían. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
6. (c) he cantado — In the present perfect, the yo form of cantar is he cantado. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
7. (c) cantes — In the present subjunctive, the tu form of cantar is cantes. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
8. (b) cantáramos — In the imperfect subjunctive, the nosotros form of cantar is cantáramos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
9. (b) cantando — The gerund of cantar is cantando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy cantando».
10. (a) cantado — The past participle of cantar is cantado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he cantado».
Frequently asked questions
Is cantar regular or irregular?
Yes, cantar is a regular -ar verb. Every tense follows the standard -ar endings, so once you know the pattern you can generate the whole table. The only thing to watch is choosing the right tense, not the forms themselves.
What are the gerund and past participle of cantar?
The gerund is cantando and the past participle is cantado. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy cantando») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he cantado»).
What is the difference between cantar and tocar?
Cantar and tocar are often confused. Tocar is to play an instrument; cantar is to sing with your voice.
How do I say «I sing» in Spanish?
Say «Yo canto». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.
Which tense do learners find hardest with cantar?
Most learners struggle with choosing between the preterite and the imperfect, not with the forms themselves. Use the preterite (canté) for a single finished event and the imperfect (cantaba) for habits and background. After that, the subjunctive is the next step.
Related links
- Practise this verb in one tense: cantar-present-tense
- More examples and a quiz: cantar-examples-and-quiz
- Browse all Spanish verbs: /spanish/
- Related verb: bailar
- Related verb: jugar
- Related verb: escuchar
- Conjugate any verb: verb-conjugator
- Test yourself: verb-quiz