Introduction
Learning to conjugate contratar — “to hire, to contract” — opens up a whole set of sentences you will use in real Spanish. Whether you are talking about what you do every day, what happened yesterday, or what you plan to do tomorrow, contratar is one of the verbs that carries those sentences, especially when the topic is an employee. On this page you will find the full conjugation of contratar 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. contratar is a regular -ar verb; the gerund is contratando and the past participle is contratado, and both appear in the tables and examples below. For example: “Yo contrato a un empleado todos los días.” — “I hire an employee.” Read the tables first, then the notes, and finish with the quiz to check what you have learned.
Quick facts
| Infinitive | contratar |
| English | to hire, to contract |
| Verb type | Regular -ar verb |
| Gerund | contratando |
| Past participle | contratado |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
Gerund: contratando · Past participle: contratado
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | contrato |
| tú | contratas |
| él/ella/Ud. | contrata |
| nosotros/as | contratamos |
| vosotros/as | contratáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | contratan |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For contratar, the yo form is contrato, as in “Yo contrato a un empleado.” — “I hire an employee.”
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | contraté |
| tú | contrataste |
| él/ella/Ud. | contrató |
| nosotros/as | contratamos |
| vosotros/as | contratasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | contrataron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For contratar, the yo form is contraté, as in “Yo contraté a un empleado.” — “I hired an employee.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | contrataba |
| tú | contratabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | contrataba |
| nosotros/as | contratábamos |
| vosotros/as | contratabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | contrataban |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For contratar, the yo form is contrataba, as in “Yo contrataba a un empleado.” — “I used to hire an employee.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | contrataré |
| tú | contratarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | contratará |
| nosotros/as | contrataremos |
| vosotros/as | contrataréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | contratarán |
The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For contratar, the yo form is contrataré, as in “Yo contrataré a un empleado.” — “I will hire an employee.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | contrataría |
| tú | contratarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | contrataría |
| nosotros/as | contrataríamos |
| vosotros/as | contrataríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | contratarían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For contratar, the yo form is contrataría, as in “Yo contrataría a un empleado.” — “I would hire an employee.”
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he contratado |
| tú | has contratado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha contratado |
| nosotros/as | hemos contratado |
| vosotros/as | habéis contratado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han contratado |
The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For contratar, the yo form is he contratado, as in “Yo he contratado a un empleado.” — “I have hired an employee.”
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había contratado |
| tú | habías contratado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había contratado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos contratado |
| vosotros/as | habíais contratado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían contratado |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For contratar, the yo form is había contratado, as in “Yo había contratado a un empleado.” — “I had hired an employee.”
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré contratado |
| tú | habrás contratado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá contratado |
| nosotros/as | habremos contratado |
| vosotros/as | habréis contratado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán contratado |
The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For contratar, the yo form is habré contratado, as in “Yo habré contratado a un empleado.” — “I will have hired an employee.”
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría contratado |
| tú | habrías contratado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría contratado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos contratado |
| vosotros/as | habríais contratado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían contratado |
The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For contratar, the yo form is habría contratado, as in “Yo habría contratado a un empleado.” — “I would have hired an employee.”
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | contrate |
| tú | contrates |
| él/ella/Ud. | contrate |
| nosotros/as | contratemos |
| vosotros/as | contratéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | contraten |
The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For contratar, the yo form is contrate, as in “Espero que yo contrate a un empleado.” — “I hope that I hire an employee.”
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | contratara |
| tú | contrataras |
| él/ella/Ud. | contratara |
| nosotros/as | contratáramos |
| vosotros/as | contratarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | contrataran |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For contratar, the yo form is contratara, as in “Si yo contratara a un empleado, ...” — “If I hired an employee, ...”
The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: contratara becomes contratase, 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 | contrata |
| Ud. | contrate |
| nosotros/as | contratemos |
| vosotros/as | contratad |
| Uds. | contraten |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | contrates |
| Ud. | contrate |
| nosotros/as | contratemos |
| vosotros/as | contratéis |
| Uds. | contraten |
The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is contrata, as in “¡Contrata a un empleado” — “Hire an employee” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no contrates. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with contratar.
Example sentences
Here are ten sentences with contratar, 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 contrato a un empleado cada día.” — “I hire an employee.”
- “Él contrata a un empleado todos los días.” — “He hires an employee.”
- “Yo contraté a un empleado ayer.” — “I hired an employee.”
- “Él contrató a un empleado ayer.” — “He hired an employee.”
- “Yo contrataba a un empleado cuando era joven.” — “I used to hire an employee.”
- “Nosotros contrataremos a un empleado mañana.” — “We will hire an employee.”
- “Si pudiera, yo contrataría a un empleado.” — “If I could, i would hire an employee.”
- “Yo he contratado a un empleado hoy.” — “I have hired an employee.”
- “Espero que yo contrate a un empleado.” — “I hope that I hire an employee.”
- “estoy contratando a un empleado ahora mismo.” — “I am hiring an employee.”
Common mistakes
Forgetting the accent in the preterite
The yo preterite form is contraté, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — contrate — 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 contratar.
Mixing up present and preterite nosotros
For contratar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: contratamos. 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 contratado a un empleado. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy contratado is not the present perfect of contratar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.
Confusing contratar with conservar
contratar 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 contratar — hire — the sentence needs contratar; 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 contrate a un empleado. Using the indicative — Espero que yo contrato — is one of the most frequent learner errors with contratar. 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 contratar in the present?
- A. contratas
- B. contrata
- C. contratamos
- D. contrato
2. What is the tu form of contratar in the preterite?
- A. contratamos
- B. contrataste
- C. contraté
- D. contrató
3. What is the el form of contratar in the imperfect?
- A. contratabas
- B. contratábamos
- C. contratabais
- D. contrataba
4. What is the nosotros form of contratar in the future?
- A. contratará
- B. contrataremos
- C. contrataré
- D. contratarás
5. What is the vosotros form of contratar in the present perfect?
- A. he contratado
- B. has contratado
- C. ha contratado
- D. habéis contratado
6. What is the ellos form of contratar in the present subjunctive?
- A. contrate
- B. contraten
- C. contrate
- D. contrates
7. What is the yo form of contratar in the preterite?
- A. contrataste
- B. contrató
- C. contratamos
- D. contraté
8. What is the tu form of contratar in the imperfect?
- A. contratábamos
- B. contratabas
- C. contrataba
- D. contrataba
9. What is the el form of contratar in the future?
- A. contrataré
- B. contratarás
- C. contrataremos
- D. contratará
10. What is the nosotros form of contratar in the conditional?
- A. contrataría
- B. contrataríamos
- C. contrataría
- D. contratarías
Answer key
- contrato — The present table gives yo = contrato.
- contrataste — The preterite table gives tu = contrataste.
- contrataba — The imperfect table gives el = contrataba.
- contrataremos — The future table gives nosotros = contrataremos.
- habéis contratado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis contratado.
- contraten — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = contraten.
- contraté — The preterite table gives yo = contraté.
- contratabas — The imperfect table gives tu = contratabas.
- contratará — The future table gives el = contratará.
- contrataríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = contrataríamos.
Frequently asked questions
Is contratar regular or irregular?
contratar 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 contratar?
The past participle of contratar is contratado. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he contratado, había contratado, habré contratado — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund contratando and you have the two non-finite forms covered.
What is the gerund of contratar?
The gerund of contratar is contratando. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy contratando, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle contratado, which belongs with haber, not with estar.
What is the yo form of contratar in the present?
The yo form is contrato — “Yo contrato a un empleado.” means “I hire an employee.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú contratas, él contrata, nosotros contratamos, ellos contratan.
What is the difference between contratar and conservar?
contratar means “to hire, to contract”, while conservar means “to preserve, to keep”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to hire, to contract”, use contratar; if it is about the meaning of conservar, use conservar instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.
Related links
- contratar in the present tense — the full present-tense page for this verb.
- contratar 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.