Introduction

contagiarse means “to catch (an illness)” in English, and it is a verb you will meet again and again once you start reading and speaking Spanish. It is used whenever you need to talk about with the flu — at home, at work, and in everyday conversation — which makes it a practical verb to learn early and to use confidently. This page gives you the complete conjugation of contagiarse in every tense and mood, with all six persons, plus the gerund and the past participle, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. Every form below comes from VerbFlow's verified conjugation tables, so you can trust the accents and the irregular forms. contagiarse is a reflexive -ar 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 me contagio de gripe todos los días.” — “I catch with the flu.” Work through the tables, read the notes, then test yourself with the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts
Infinitive contagiarse
English to catch (an illness)
Verb type Reflexive -ar verb
Gerund contagiando
Past participle contagiado
Auxiliary verb haber
  • Reflexive: yes — always use it with the reflexive pronouns me, te, se, nos, os, se.

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: contagiando · Past participle: contagiado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo contagio
tú contagias
él/ella/Ud. contagia
nosotros/as contagiamos
vosotros/as contagiáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. contagian

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For contagiarse, the yo form is contagio, as in “Yo me contagio de gripe.” — “I catch with the flu.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo contagié
tú contagiaste
él/ella/Ud. contagió
nosotros/as contagiamos
vosotros/as contagiasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. contagiaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For contagiarse, the yo form is contagié, as in “Yo me contagié de gripe.” — “I catched with the flu.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo contagiaba
tú contagiabas
él/ella/Ud. contagiaba
nosotros/as contagiábamos
vosotros/as contagiabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. contagiaban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For contagiarse, the yo form is contagiaba, as in “Yo me contagiaba de gripe.” — “I used to catch with the flu.”

Future

Person Form
yo contagiaré
tú contagiarás
él/ella/Ud. contagiará
nosotros/as contagiaremos
vosotros/as contagiaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. contagiarán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For contagiarse, the yo form is contagiaré, as in “Yo me contagiaré de gripe.” — “I will catch with the flu.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo contagiaría
tú contagiarías
él/ella/Ud. contagiaría
nosotros/as contagiaríamos
vosotros/as contagiaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. contagiarían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For contagiarse, the yo form is contagiaría, as in “Yo me contagiaría de gripe.” — “I would catch with the flu.”

Present Perfect

Person Form
yo he contagiado
tú has contagiado
él/ella/Ud. ha contagiado
nosotros/as hemos contagiado
vosotros/as habéis contagiado
ellos/ellas/Uds. han contagiado

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For contagiarse, the yo form is he contagiado, as in “Yo me he contagiado de gripe.” — “I have catched with the flu.”

Pluperfect

Person Form
yo había contagiado
tú habías contagiado
él/ella/Ud. había contagiado
nosotros/as habíamos contagiado
vosotros/as habíais contagiado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habían contagiado

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For contagiarse, the yo form is había contagiado, as in “Yo me había contagiado de gripe.” — “I had catched with the flu.”

Future Perfect

Person Form
yo habré contagiado
tú habrás contagiado
él/ella/Ud. habrá contagiado
nosotros/as habremos contagiado
vosotros/as habréis contagiado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán contagiado

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For contagiarse, the yo form is habré contagiado, as in “Yo me habré contagiado de gripe.” — “I will have catched with the flu.”

Conditional Perfect

Person Form
yo habría contagiado
tú habrías contagiado
él/ella/Ud. habría contagiado
nosotros/as habríamos contagiado
vosotros/as habríais contagiado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrían contagiado

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For contagiarse, the yo form is habría contagiado, as in “Yo me habría contagiado de gripe.” — “I would have catched with the flu.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo contagie
tú contagies
él/ella/Ud. contagie
nosotros/as contagiemos
vosotros/as contagiéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. contagien

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For contagiarse, the yo form is contagie, as in “Espero que yo me contagie de gripe.” — “I hope that I catch with the flu.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo contagiara
tú contagiaras
él/ella/Ud. contagiara
nosotros/as contagiáramos
vosotros/as contagiarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. contagiaran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For contagiarse, the yo form is contagiara, as in “Si yo me contagiara de gripe, ...” — “If I catched with the flu, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: contagiara becomes contagiase, and the same change applies to every person. Both variants mean the same thing; -ra is more common in everyday speech.

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú contagia
Ud. contagie
nosotros/as contagiemos
vosotros/as contagiad
Uds. contagien

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú contagies
Ud. contagie
nosotros/as contagiemos
vosotros/as contagiéis
Uds. contagien

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is contagia, as in “No te contagies de gripe” — “Do not catch with the flu” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no contagies. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with contagiarse.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with contagiarse, covering different tenses and persons. Read each one out loud, then read the translation, and notice how the verb form changes while the meaning stays the same.

  1. “Yo me contagio de gripe cada día.” — “I catch with the flu.”
  2. “Él se contagia de gripe todos los días.” — “He catches with the flu.”
  3. “Yo me contagié de gripe ayer.” — “I catched with the flu.”
  4. “Él se contagió de gripe ayer.” — “He catched with the flu.”
  5. “Yo me contagiaba de gripe cuando era joven.” — “I used to catch with the flu.”
  6. “Nosotros nos contagiaremos de gripe mañana.” — “We will catch with the flu.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo me contagiaría de gripe.” — “If I could, i would catch with the flu.”
  8. “Yo me he contagiado de gripe hoy.” — “I have catched with the flu.”
  9. “Espero que yo me contagie de gripe.” — “I hope that I catch with the flu.”
  10. “Me estoy contagiando de gripe ahora mismo.” — “I am catching with the flu.”

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is contagié, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — contagie — is a spelling error, and in speech the stress lands in the wrong place. Preterite yo forms that end in a vowel carry that accent, so check it every time you write the preterite of contagiarse.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For contagiarse, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: contagiamos. Only the context tells you which tense is meant, so pay attention to the time words around it — cada día points to the present, ayer points to the preterite. Do not invent a different form for one of the tenses.

Dropping the reflexive pronoun

Because contagiarse is reflexive, it always needs its pronoun: yo me contagio de gripe, not yo contagio de gripe. Without me, the sentence either means something else or means nothing at all. The pronouns are me, te, se, nos, os, se — learn them with the verb, not as an afterthought.

Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses

Spanish perfect tenses always use haber, never ser: yo he contagiado de gripe. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy contagiado is not the present perfect of contagiarse — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing contagiarse with conservar

contagiarse and conservar look similar, and learners mix them up. They are different verbs with different meanings, so check which one the sentence needs before you conjugate. If you can substitute the English meaning of contagiarse — catch — the sentence needs contagiarse; if it needs the meaning of conservar, use that verb instead.

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo contagie de gripe. Using the indicative — Espero que yo contagio — is one of the most frequent learner errors with contagiarse. Whenever the main clause expresses a wish, doubt or emotion, switch to the subjunctive.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the best answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the yo form of contagiarse in the present?

  • A. contagias
  • B. contagia
  • C. contagiamos
  • D. contagio

2. What is the tu form of contagiarse in the preterite?

  • A. contagiamos
  • B. contagiaste
  • C. contagié
  • D. contagió

3. What is the el form of contagiarse in the imperfect?

  • A. contagiabas
  • B. contagiábamos
  • C. contagiabais
  • D. contagiaba

4. What is the nosotros form of contagiarse in the future?

  • A. contagiará
  • B. contagiaremos
  • C. contagiaré
  • D. contagiarás

5. What is the vosotros form of contagiarse in the present perfect?

  • A. he contagiado
  • B. has contagiado
  • C. ha contagiado
  • D. habéis contagiado

6. What is the ellos form of contagiarse in the present subjunctive?

  • A. contagie
  • B. contagien
  • C. contagie
  • D. contagies

7. What is the yo form of contagiarse in the preterite?

  • A. contagiaste
  • B. contagió
  • C. contagiamos
  • D. contagié

8. What is the tu form of contagiarse in the imperfect?

  • A. contagiábamos
  • B. contagiabas
  • C. contagiaba
  • D. contagiaba

9. What is the el form of contagiarse in the future?

  • A. contagiaré
  • B. contagiarás
  • C. contagiaremos
  • D. contagiará

10. What is the nosotros form of contagiarse in the conditional?

  • A. contagiaría
  • B. contagiaríamos
  • C. contagiaría
  • D. contagiarías

Answer key

  1. contagio — The present table gives yo = contagio.
  2. contagiaste — The preterite table gives tu = contagiaste.
  3. contagiaba — The imperfect table gives el = contagiaba.
  4. contagiaremos — The future table gives nosotros = contagiaremos.
  5. habéis contagiado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis contagiado.
  6. contagien — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = contagien.
  7. contagié — The preterite table gives yo = contagié.
  8. contagiabas — The imperfect table gives tu = contagiabas.
  9. contagiará — The future table gives el = contagiará.
  10. contagiaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = contagiaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

Is contagiarse regular or irregular?

contagiarse is a reflexive -ar verb. It follows the regular patterns for its ending in every tense. The tables on this page show the correct form for every person, so use them rather than guessing.

What is the past participle of contagiarse?

The past participle of contagiarse is contagiado. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he contagiado, había contagiado, habré contagiado — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund contagiando and you have the two non-finite forms covered.

What is the gerund of contagiarse?

The gerund of contagiarse is contagiando. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy contagiando, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle contagiado, which belongs with haber, not with estar.

What is the yo form of contagiarse in the present?

The yo form is contagio — “Yo me contagio de gripe.” means “I catch with the flu.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú contagias, él contagia, nosotros contagiamos, ellos contagian.

What is the difference between contagiarse and conservar?

contagiarse means “to catch (an illness)”, while conservar means “to preserve, to keep”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to catch (an illness)”, use contagiarse; if it is about the meaning of conservar, use conservar instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.

Do I always need the pronoun with contagiarse?

Yes. contagiarse is reflexive, so the pronoun is part of the verb: me, te, se, nos, os, se. You say yo me contagio, tú te contagias, él se contagia. Leaving the pronoun out changes the meaning or makes the sentence wrong, so learn the pronoun together with each form.

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