Introduction
Cerrar means «to close». Cerrar means to close: a door, a window, a shop at night. It is an e → ie stem-changing verb (cierro, cierras, cierra), and it is the everyday opposite of abrir, so the two verbs are usually learned together. It is a irregular -ar verb, stem-changing (e → ie), so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of cerrar 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 cierro la puerta todos los días.» — I close the door every day.
Quick facts
| Infinitive | cerrar |
| English | to close |
| Verb type | Irregular -ar verb, stem-changing (e → ie) |
| Gerund | cerrando |
| Past participle | cerrado |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
Gerund: cerrando · Past participle: cerrado
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | cierro |
| tú | cierras |
| él/ella/Ud. | cierra |
| nosotros/as | cerramos |
| vosotros/as | cerráis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cierran |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For cerrar, the yo form is cierro, as in «Yo cierro» in the examples below. This is one of the tenses where cerrar does not follow the regular -ar pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive. Use the present for routines («todos los días») and for general truths.
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | cerré |
| tú | cerraste |
| él/ella/Ud. | cerró |
| nosotros/as | cerramos |
| vosotros/as | cerrasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cerraron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo cerré» 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 | cerraba |
| tú | cerrabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | cerraba |
| nosotros/as | cerrábamos |
| vosotros/as | cerrabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cerraban |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. «De pequeño, yo cerraba» shows the habitual use. It sets the scene while the preterite reports what happened inside it.
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | cerraré |
| tú | cerrarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | cerrará |
| nosotros/as | cerraremos |
| vosotros/as | cerraréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cerrarán |
The future tense states what will happen. For cerrar the future is built on the infinitive: «Mañana yo cerraré». It is also used for predictions and promises, and in spoken Spanish it often alternates with ir a + infinitive.
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | cerraría |
| tú | cerrarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | cerraría |
| nosotros/as | cerraríamos |
| vosotros/as | cerraríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cerrarían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo cerraría» is the typical pattern. It shares its stem with the future and changes only the endings.
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he cerrado |
| tú | has cerrado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha cerrado |
| nosotros/as | hemos cerrado |
| vosotros/as | habéis cerrado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han cerrado |
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 cerrado». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había cerrado |
| tú | habías cerrado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había cerrado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos cerrado |
| vosotros/as | habíais cerrado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían cerrado |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había cerrado». 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 cerrado |
| tú | habrás cerrado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá cerrado |
| nosotros/as | habremos cerrado |
| vosotros/as | habréis cerrado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán cerrado |
The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré cerrado» 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 cerrado |
| tú | habrías cerrado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría cerrado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos cerrado |
| vosotros/as | habríais cerrado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían cerrado |
The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría cerrado 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 | cierre |
| tú | cierres |
| él/ella/Ud. | cierre |
| nosotros/as | cerremos |
| vosotros/as | cerréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cierren |
The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él cierre». 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. This is one of the tenses where cerrar does not follow the regular -ar pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | cerrara |
| tú | cerraras |
| él/ella/Ud. | cerrara |
| nosotros/as | cerráramos |
| vosotros/as | cerrarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cerraran |
The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él cerrara, 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 | cierra |
| él/ella/Ud. | cierre |
| nosotros/as | cerremos |
| vosotros/as | cerrad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cierren |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡Cierra!». 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. This is one of the tenses where cerrar does not follow the regular -ar pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Imperative — Negative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | cierres |
| él/ella/Ud. | cierre |
| nosotros/as | cerremos |
| vosotros/as | cerréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cierren |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No cierres!». 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. This is one of the tenses where cerrar does not follow the regular -ar pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.
Example sentences
- Yo cierro la puerta todos los días. — I close the door every day.
- Mi hermana cierra la puerta mucho. — My sister closes the door a lot.
- Ayer yo cerré la puerta por la tarde. — Yesterday I closed the door in the afternoon.
- De pequeño, yo cerraba la puerta muchas veces. — As a child, I used to close the door often.
- Mañana yo cerraré la puerta sin falta. — Tomorrow I will close the door without fail.
- Si tuviera más tiempo, yo cerraría la puerta ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would close the door right now.
- Hoy yo he cerrado la tienda dos veces. — Today I have closed the shop twice.
- Espero que él cierre la puerta pronto. — I hope he closes the door soon.
- ¡Cierra la ventana antes de salir! — Close the window before you go out!
- Ahora mismo estoy cerrando la puerta. — Right now I am closing the door.
Common mistakes
1. Using the regular stem in the present
Wrong: cerro
Right: cierro
Cerrar does not keep its infinitive stem here. The correct form is cierro; the regular-looking cerro is a form learners invent by applying the standard endings to the wrong stem.
2. Using the imperfect for a finished event
Wrong: Ayer yo cerraba la puerta.
Right: Ayer yo cerré la puerta.
Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, cerré. The imperfect cerraba describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.
3. Confusing it with a similar verb
Wrong: *Cierro a la tienda.
Right: Cierro la tienda.
Cerrar takes a direct object with no preposition: cerrar la puerta, cerrar la tienda.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
Wrong: Espero que tú cierras la puerta.
Right: Espero que tú cierres la puerta.
After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: cierres, not the indicative cierras. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.
5. Using the affirmative imperative after no
Wrong: No cierra la puerta.
Right: No cierres la puerta.
Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no cierres. The affirmative cierra 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 cerrar in the present tense?
- (a) cerramos
- (b) cierra
- (c) cierras
- (d) cierro
2. What is the él/ella form of cerrar in the preterite?
- (a) cerramos
- (b) cerraste
- (c) cerré
- (d) cerró
3. What is the nosotros form of cerrar in the imperfect?
- (a) cerraba
- (b) cerrabas
- (c) cerrábamos
4. What is the tú form of cerrar in the future tense?
- (a) cerraremos
- (b) cerrará
- (c) cerrarás
- (d) cerraré
5. What is the ellos form of cerrar in the conditional?
- (a) cerraría
- (b) cerrarían
- (c) cerrarías
6. What is the yo form of cerrar in the present perfect?
- (a) ha cerrado
- (b) has cerrado
- (c) he cerrado
- (d) hemos cerrado
7. After «Espero que…», what is the tú form of cerrar?
- (a) cerremos
- (b) cierre
- (c) cierres
8. What is the nosotros form of cerrar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- (a) cerrara
- (b) cerráramos
- (c) cerraras
9. What is the gerund of cerrar?
- (a) cerrado
- (b) cerrando
- (c) cerrar
- (d) cierro
10. What is the past participle of cerrar?
- (a) cerrado
- (b) cerrando
- (c) cerrar
- (d) cerré
Answer key
1. (d) cierro — In the present, the yo form of cerrar is cierro. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
2. (d) cerró — In the preterite, the el form of cerrar is cerró. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
3. (c) cerrábamos — In the imperfect, the nosotros form of cerrar is cerrábamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
4. (c) cerrarás — In the future, the tu form of cerrar is cerrarás. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
5. (b) cerrarían — In the conditional, the ellos form of cerrar is cerrarían. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
6. (c) he cerrado — In the present perfect, the yo form of cerrar is he cerrado. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
7. (c) cierres — In the present subjunctive, the tu form of cerrar is cierres. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
8. (b) cerráramos — In the imperfect subjunctive, the nosotros form of cerrar is cerráramos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
9. (b) cerrando — The gerund of cerrar is cerrando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy cerrando».
10. (a) cerrado — The past participle of cerrar is cerrado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he cerrado».
Frequently asked questions
Is cerrar regular or irregular?
No — cerrar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie). The stem vowel changes in the present tense, the present subjunctive and the imperative, and the tenses affected are: present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the original stem.
What are the gerund and past participle of cerrar?
The gerund is cerrando and the past participle is cerrado. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy cerrando») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he cerrado»).
What is the difference between cerrar and abrir?
Cerrar and abrir are often confused. Abrir is to open; cerrar is to close.
How do I say «I close» in Spanish?
Say «Yo cierro». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.
Which forms of cerrar change the stem?
The stem changes (e → ie) in the present tense, the present subjunctive and the imperative — everywhere except the nosotros and vosotros forms. The preterite, imperfect, future and conditional keep the infinitive stem, except where the verb has an extra preterite change.
Related links
- Practise this verb in one tense: cerrar-present-tense
- More examples and a quiz: cerrar-examples-and-quiz
- Browse all Spanish verbs: /spanish/
- Full list of irregular verbs: spanish-irregular-verbs
- Related verb: abrir
- Related verb: usar
- Related verb: limpiar
- Conjugate any verb: verb-conjugator
- Test yourself: verb-quiz