Introduction
contentar means “to please, to satisfy” 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 everyone — 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 contentar 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. contentar is a regular -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 contento a todos todos los días.” — “I please everyone.” Work through the tables, read the notes, then test yourself with the quiz at the end of the page.
Quick facts
| Infinitive | contentar |
| English | to please, to satisfy |
| Verb type | Regular -ar verb |
| Gerund | contentando |
| Past participle | contentado |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
Gerund: contentando · Past participle: contentado
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | contento |
| tú | contentas |
| él/ella/Ud. | contenta |
| nosotros/as | contentamos |
| vosotros/as | contentáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | contentan |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For contentar, the yo form is contento, as in “Yo contento a todos.” — “I please everyone.”
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | contenté |
| tú | contentaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | contentó |
| nosotros/as | contentamos |
| vosotros/as | contentasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | contentaron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For contentar, the yo form is contenté, as in “Yo contenté a todos.” — “I pleased everyone.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | contentaba |
| tú | contentabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | contentaba |
| nosotros/as | contentábamos |
| vosotros/as | contentabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | contentaban |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For contentar, the yo form is contentaba, as in “Yo contentaba a todos.” — “I used to please everyone.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | contentaré |
| tú | contentarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | contentará |
| nosotros/as | contentaremos |
| vosotros/as | contentaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | contentarán |
The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For contentar, the yo form is contentaré, as in “Yo contentaré a todos.” — “I will please everyone.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | contentaría |
| tú | contentarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | contentaría |
| nosotros/as | contentaríamos |
| vosotros/as | contentaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | contentarían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For contentar, the yo form is contentaría, as in “Yo contentaría a todos.” — “I would please everyone.”
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he contentado |
| tú | has contentado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha contentado |
| nosotros/as | hemos contentado |
| vosotros/as | habéis contentado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han contentado |
The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For contentar, the yo form is he contentado, as in “Yo he contentado a todos.” — “I have pleased everyone.”
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había contentado |
| tú | habías contentado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había contentado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos contentado |
| vosotros/as | habíais contentado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían contentado |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For contentar, the yo form is había contentado, as in “Yo había contentado a todos.” — “I had pleased everyone.”
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré contentado |
| tú | habrás contentado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá contentado |
| nosotros/as | habremos contentado |
| vosotros/as | habréis contentado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán contentado |
The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For contentar, the yo form is habré contentado, as in “Yo habré contentado a todos.” — “I will have pleased everyone.”
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría contentado |
| tú | habrías contentado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría contentado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos contentado |
| vosotros/as | habríais contentado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían contentado |
The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For contentar, the yo form is habría contentado, as in “Yo habría contentado a todos.” — “I would have pleased everyone.”
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | contente |
| tú | contentes |
| él/ella/Ud. | contente |
| nosotros/as | contentemos |
| vosotros/as | contentéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | contenten |
The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For contentar, the yo form is contente, as in “Espero que yo contente a todos.” — “I hope that I please everyone.”
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | contentara |
| tú | contentaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | contentara |
| nosotros/as | contentáramos |
| vosotros/as | contentarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | contentaran |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For contentar, the yo form is contentara, as in “Si yo contentara a todos, ...” — “If I pleased everyone, ...”
The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: contentara becomes contentase, 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 | contenta |
| Ud. | contente |
| nosotros/as | contentemos |
| vosotros/as | contentad |
| Uds. | contenten |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | contentes |
| Ud. | contente |
| nosotros/as | contentemos |
| vosotros/as | contentéis |
| Uds. | contenten |
The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is contenta, as in “¡Contenta a todos” — “Please everyone” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no contentes. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with contentar.
Example sentences
Here are ten sentences with contentar, 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.
- “Yo contento a todos cada día.” — “I please everyone.”
- “Él contenta a todos todos los días.” — “He pleases everyone.”
- “Yo contenté a todos ayer.” — “I pleased everyone.”
- “Él contentó a todos ayer.” — “He pleased everyone.”
- “Yo contentaba a todos cuando era joven.” — “I used to please everyone.”
- “Nosotros contentaremos a todos mañana.” — “We will please everyone.”
- “Si pudiera, yo contentaría a todos.” — “If I could, i would please everyone.”
- “Yo he contentado a todos hoy.” — “I have pleased everyone.”
- “Espero que yo contente a todos.” — “I hope that I please everyone.”
- “estoy contentando a todos ahora mismo.” — “I am pleasing everyone.”
Common mistakes
Forgetting the accent in the preterite
The yo preterite form is contenté, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — contente — 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 contentar.
Mixing up present and preterite nosotros
For contentar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: contentamos. 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.
Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses
Spanish perfect tenses always use haber, never ser: yo he contentado a todos. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy contentado is not the present perfect of contentar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.
Confusing contentar with conservar
contentar 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 contentar — please — the sentence needs contentar; 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 contente a todos. Using the indicative — Espero que yo contento — is one of the most frequent learner errors with contentar. 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 contentar in the present?
- A. contentas
- B. contenta
- C. contentamos
- D. contento
2. What is the tu form of contentar in the preterite?
- A. contentamos
- B. contentaste
- C. contenté
- D. contentó
3. What is the el form of contentar in the imperfect?
- A. contentabas
- B. contentábamos
- C. contentabais
- D. contentaba
4. What is the nosotros form of contentar in the future?
- A. contentará
- B. contentaremos
- C. contentaré
- D. contentarás
5. What is the vosotros form of contentar in the present perfect?
- A. he contentado
- B. has contentado
- C. ha contentado
- D. habéis contentado
6. What is the ellos form of contentar in the present subjunctive?
- A. contente
- B. contenten
- C. contente
- D. contentes
7. What is the yo form of contentar in the preterite?
- A. contentaste
- B. contentó
- C. contentamos
- D. contenté
8. What is the tu form of contentar in the imperfect?
- A. contentábamos
- B. contentabas
- C. contentaba
- D. contentaba
9. What is the el form of contentar in the future?
- A. contentaré
- B. contentarás
- C. contentaremos
- D. contentará
10. What is the nosotros form of contentar in the conditional?
- A. contentaría
- B. contentaríamos
- C. contentaría
- D. contentarías
Answer key
- contento — The present table gives yo = contento.
- contentaste — The preterite table gives tu = contentaste.
- contentaba — The imperfect table gives el = contentaba.
- contentaremos — The future table gives nosotros = contentaremos.
- habéis contentado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis contentado.
- contenten — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = contenten.
- contenté — The preterite table gives yo = contenté.
- contentabas — The imperfect table gives tu = contentabas.
- contentará — The future table gives el = contentará.
- contentaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = contentaríamos.
Frequently asked questions
Is contentar regular or irregular?
contentar is a regular -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 contentar?
The past participle of contentar is contentado. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he contentado, había contentado, habré contentado — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund contentando and you have the two non-finite forms covered.
What is the gerund of contentar?
The gerund of contentar is contentando. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy contentando, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle contentado, which belongs with haber, not with estar.
What is the yo form of contentar in the present?
The yo form is contento — “Yo contento a todos.” means “I please everyone.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú contentas, él contenta, nosotros contentamos, ellos contentan.
What is the difference between contentar and conservar?
contentar means “to please, to satisfy”, while conservar means “to preserve, to keep”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to please, to satisfy”, use contentar; if it is about the meaning of conservar, use conservar instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.
Related links
- contentar in the present tense — the full present-tense page for this verb.
- contentar examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a second quiz.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub with every verb on VerbFlow.
- conservar conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- considerar conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- consistir conjugation — another verb in the same family.
- Verb conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb instantly.
- Verb quiz — practise conjugations with timed questions.