Introduction

contribuir means “to contribute”. It belongs to the group of Spanish verbs that express “to contribute”, and once you can conjugate it you can say a surprising amount with a single verb. This page is the complete reference for contribuir: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, with notes on usage, real example sentences, common mistakes, a quiz and frequently asked questions. contribuir is a irregular -ir verb. If it is irregular in a tense, the note under that table says so plainly, and the forms in the table are the correct ones — copy them, do not guess them from the infinitive. A first example to fix the verb in your mind: “Yo contribuyo con dinero todos los días.” — “I contribute money.”

Quick facts
Infinitive contribuir
English to contribute
Verb type Irregular -ir verb
Gerund contribuyendo
Past participle contribuido
Auxiliary verb haber

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: contribuyendo · Past participle: contribuido

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo contribuyo
tú contribuyes
él/ella/Ud. contribuye
nosotros/as contribuimos
vosotros/as contribuís
ellos/ellas/Uds. contribuyen

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For contribuir, the yo form is contribuyo, as in “Yo contribuyo con dinero.” — “I contribute money.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo contribuí
tú contribuiste
él/ella/Ud. contribuyó
nosotros/as contribuimos
vosotros/as contribuisteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. contribuyeron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For contribuir, the yo form is contribuí, as in “Yo contribuí con dinero.” — “I contributed money.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo contribuía
tú contribuías
él/ella/Ud. contribuía
nosotros/as contribuíamos
vosotros/as contribuíais
ellos/ellas/Uds. contribuían

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For contribuir, the yo form is contribuía, as in “Yo contribuía con dinero.” — “I used to contribute money.”

Future

Person Form
yo contribuiré
tú contribuirás
él/ella/Ud. contribuirá
nosotros/as contribuiremos
vosotros/as contribuiréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. contribuirán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For contribuir, the yo form is contribuiré, as in “Yo contribuiré con dinero.” — “I will contribute money.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo contribuiría
tú contribuirías
él/ella/Ud. contribuiría
nosotros/as contribuiríamos
vosotros/as contribuiríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. contribuirían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For contribuir, the yo form is contribuiría, as in “Yo contribuiría con dinero.” — “I would contribute money.”

Present Perfect

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

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For contribuir, the yo form is he contribuido, as in “Yo he contribuido con dinero.” — “I have contributed money.”

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For contribuir, the yo form is había contribuido, as in “Yo había contribuido con dinero.” — “I had contributed money.”

Future Perfect

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

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For contribuir, the yo form is habré contribuido, as in “Yo habré contribuido con dinero.” — “I will have contributed money.”

Conditional Perfect

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

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For contribuir, the yo form is habría contribuido, as in “Yo habría contribuido con dinero.” — “I would have contributed money.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo contribuya
tú contribuyas
él/ella/Ud. contribuya
nosotros/as contribuyamos
vosotros/as contribuyáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. contribuyan

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For contribuir, the yo form is contribuya, as in “Espero que yo contribuya con dinero.” — “I hope that I contribute money.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo contribuyera
tú contribuyeras
él/ella/Ud. contribuyera
nosotros/as contribuyéramos
vosotros/as contribuyerais
ellos/ellas/Uds. contribuyeran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For contribuir, the yo form is contribuyera, as in “Si yo contribuyera con dinero, ...” — “If I contributed money, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: contribuyera becomes contribuyese, 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 contribuye
Ud. contribuya
nosotros/as contribuyamos
vosotros/as contribuid
Uds. contribuyan

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú contribuyas
Ud. contribuya
nosotros/as contribuyamos
vosotros/as contribuyáis
Uds. contribuyan

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is contribuye, as in “¡Contribuye con dinero” — “Contribute money” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no contribuyas. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with contribuir.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with contribuir, 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 contribuyo con dinero cada día.” — “I contribute money.”
  2. “Él contribuye con dinero todos los días.” — “He contributes money.”
  3. “Yo contribuí con dinero ayer.” — “I contributed money.”
  4. “Él contribuyó con dinero ayer.” — “He contributed money.”
  5. “Yo contribuía con dinero cuando era joven.” — “I used to contribute money.”
  6. “Nosotros contribuiremos con dinero mañana.” — “We will contribute money.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo contribuiría con dinero.” — “If I could, i would contribute money.”
  8. “Yo he contribuido con dinero hoy.” — “I have contributed money.”
  9. “Espero que yo contribuya con dinero.” — “I hope that I contribute money.”
  10. “estoy contribuyendo con dinero ahora mismo.” — “I am contributing money.”

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is contribuí, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — contribui — 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 contribuir.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For contribuir, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: contribuimos. 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 contribuido con dinero. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy contribuido is not the present perfect of contribuir — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing contribuir with conservar

contribuir 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 contribuir — contribute — the sentence needs contribuir; 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 contribuya con dinero. Using the indicative — Espero que yo contribuyo — is one of the most frequent learner errors with contribuir. 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 contribuir in the present?

  • A. contribuyes
  • B. contribuye
  • C. contribuimos
  • D. contribuyo

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

  • A. contribuimos
  • B. contribuiste
  • C. contribuí
  • D. contribuyó

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

  • A. contribuías
  • B. contribuíamos
  • C. contribuíais
  • D. contribuía

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

  • A. contribuirá
  • B. contribuiremos
  • C. contribuiré
  • D. contribuirás

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

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

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

  • A. contribuya
  • B. contribuyan
  • C. contribuya
  • D. contribuyas

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

  • A. contribuiste
  • B. contribuyó
  • C. contribuimos
  • D. contribuí

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

  • A. contribuíamos
  • B. contribuías
  • C. contribuía
  • D. contribuía

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

  • A. contribuiré
  • B. contribuirás
  • C. contribuiremos
  • D. contribuirá

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

  • A. contribuiría
  • B. contribuiríamos
  • C. contribuiría
  • D. contribuirías

Answer key

  1. contribuyo — The present table gives yo = contribuyo.
  2. contribuiste — The preterite table gives tu = contribuiste.
  3. contribuía — The imperfect table gives el = contribuía.
  4. contribuiremos — The future table gives nosotros = contribuiremos.
  5. habéis contribuido — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis contribuido.
  6. contribuyan — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = contribuyan.
  7. contribuí — The preterite table gives yo = contribuí.
  8. contribuías — The imperfect table gives tu = contribuías.
  9. contribuirá — The future table gives el = contribuirá.
  10. contribuiríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = contribuiríamos.

Frequently asked questions

Is contribuir regular or irregular?

contribuir is a irregular -ir 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 contribuir?

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

What is the gerund of contribuir?

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

What is the yo form of contribuir in the present?

The yo form is contribuyo — “Yo contribuyo con dinero.” means “I contribute money.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú contribuyes, él contribuye, nosotros contribuimos, ellos contribuyen.

What is the difference between contribuir and conservar?

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

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