Narrar Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb narrar means to narrate, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Narrar means to narrate or to tell, and it is used for narrating a story, a match on the radio, events in a novel and the facts of what happened. It is a formal synonym of contar, and it is a fully regular -ar verb. Like every Spanish verb, narrar changes its ending for each person and tense, and this page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say narro la historia de su vida, and in the preterite you say narré los hechos del accidente. Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: narrar
  • English: to narrate
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: narrando
  • Past participle: narrado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + narrado)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for narrar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Narrar is fully regular: narré, narraba, narraré. It is the formal verb for telling a story; contar is the everyday choice.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for narrar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo narro
tú narras
él/ella/Ud. narra
nosotros/as narramos
vosotros/as narráis
ellos/ellas/Uds. narran

Preterite

Person Form
yo narré
tú narraste
él/ella/Ud. narró
nosotros/as narramos
vosotros/as narrasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. narraron

Imperfect

Person Form
yo narraba
tú narrabas
él/ella/Ud. narraba
nosotros/as narrábamos
vosotros/as narrabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. narraban

Future

Person Form
yo narraré
tú narrarás
él/ella/Ud. narrará
nosotros/as narraremos
vosotros/as narraréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. narrarán

Conditional

Person Form
yo narraría
tú narrarías
él/ella/Ud. narraría
nosotros/as narraríamos
vosotros/as narraríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. narrarían

Present perfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Future perfect

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

Conditional perfect

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

Present subjunctive

Person Form
yo narre
tú narres
él/ella/Ud. narre
nosotros/as narremos
vosotros/as narréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. narren

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo narrara
tú narraras
él/ella/Ud. narrara
nosotros/as narráramos
vosotros/as narrarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. narraran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú narra
él/ella/Ud. narre
nosotros/as narremos
vosotros/as narrad
ellos/ellas/Uds. narren

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú narres
él/ella/Ud. narre
nosotros/as narremos
vosotros/as narréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. narren

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund narrando with estar for the progressive: estoy narrando
Past participle narrado with haber for the perfect tenses: he narrado

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For narrar, the present looks like this in a real sentence: Narro la historia de su vida. Learn the present forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For narrar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, narré el partido en la radio. Learn the preterite forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For narrar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, narraba los hechos del accidente. Learn the imperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For narrar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, narraré un cuento a los niños. Learn the future forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For narrar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Narraría la historia de su vida si pudiera. Learn the conditional forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For narrar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, he narrado el partido en la radio. Learn the present perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For narrar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Había narrado los hechos del accidente antes de salir. Learn the pluperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For narrar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, habré narrado un cuento a los niños. Learn the future perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For narrar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Habría narrado la historia de su vida con más tiempo. Learn the conditional perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For narrar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él narre el partido en la radio. Learn the present subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past, and note the -ra forms shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For narrar, the imperfect subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Si él narrara los hechos del accidente, todo cambiaría. Learn the imperfect subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For narrar, the affirmative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: ¡Narra un cuento a los niños! Learn the affirmative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For narrar, the negative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: No narres la historia de su vida. Learn the negative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with narrar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Narro la historia de su vida. — I narrate the story of her life.
  2. Narra el partido en la radio. — He/she narrates the match on the radio.
  3. Ayer, narré los hechos del accidente. — Yesterday, I narrated the facts of the accident.
  4. Antes, nosotros narrábamos un cuento a los niños. — Before, we used to narrate a tale to the children.
  5. Mañana, tú narrarás la historia de su vida. — Tomorrow, you will narrate the story of her life.
  6. Yo narraría el partido en la radio si tuviera más tiempo. — I would narrate the match on the radio if I had more time.
  7. Él ha narrado los hechos del accidente. — He has narrated the facts of the accident.
  8. Espero que él narre un cuento a los niños. — I hope he narrates a tale to the children.
  9. Yo ya había narrado la historia de su vida antes de salir. — I had already narrated the story of her life before leaving.
  10. Ellos narraban el partido en la radio cuando eran jóvenes. — They used to narrate the match on the radio when they were young.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo narra la historia de su vida. — Right: Yo narro la historia de su vida. — The person matters: narra is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is narro. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Vosotros narrais el partido en la radio. — Right: Vosotros narráis el partido en la radio. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: narráis, not narrais. The accent marks the stressed vowel.
  3. Wrong: Treating narrar and contar as identical in every context. — Right: Narrar means to narrate, while contar means to tell or count, the everyday verb. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: narrar fits sentences such as Narro la historia de su vida, while contar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy narrado el partido en la radio. — Right: Yo he narrado el partido en la radio. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he narrado, has narrado, ha narrado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo narré los hechos del accidente todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo narraba los hechos del accidente todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (narraba), not the preterite. The preterite (narré) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on narrar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la historia de su vida. (present tense) A. narro B. narras C. narra D. narramos

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, él ___ el partido en la radio. (preterite) A. narré B. narraste C. narraron D. narró

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ___ los hechos del accidente. (imperfect) A. narrabas B. narraban C. narrábamos D. narraba

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ___ un cuento a los niños. (future) A. narraremos B. narrarás C. narraré D. narrará

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la historia de su vida si pudiera. (conditional) A. narraría B. narrarías C. narrarían D. narro

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ el partido en la radio. (present subjunctive) A. narres B. narremos C. narro D. narre

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ los hechos del accidente, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. narráramos B. narro C. narrara D. narraras

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ un cuento a los niños. (present perfect) A. han narrado B. hemos narrado C. he narrado D. has narrado

  9. Complete the command: ¡___ la historia de su vida! (affirmative imperative, tú) A. narra B. narre C. narremos D. narrad

  10. Which is the gerund of narrar, used with estar for the progressive? A. narrado B. narro C. narré D. narrando

Answer key

  1. narro — The first-person present of narrar is narro. The other options are the tú, él/ella and nosotros forms.
  2. narró — The third-person preterite of narrar is narró, the form for a single finished action in the past.
  3. narrábamos — The nosotros imperfect of narrar is narrábamos, used here for a repeated past habit.
  4. narrarás — The second-person future of narrar is narrarás.
  5. narraría — The first-person conditional of narrar is narraría, the form for what would happen.
  6. narre — After espero que, the subjunctive is required: the third-person present subjunctive of narrar is narre.
  7. narrara — The first-person imperfect subjunctive (-ra) of narrar is narrara.
  8. hemos narrado — The nosotros present perfect of narrar is hemos narrado: hemos + narrado.
  9. narra — The affirmative tú imperative of narrar is narra.
  10. narrando — The gerund of narrar is narrando: estoy narrando. The participle narrado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does narrar mean in English?

Narrar means to narrate. It is used in everyday situations such as Narro la historia de su vida. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is narrar regular or irregular?

Narrar is a fully regular -ar verb, so every tense follows the standard endings for its class. Once you know the regular pattern, you can produce every form on this page, including narro in the present and narré in the preterite.

What is the difference between narrar and contar?

Narrar means to narrate, while contar means to tell or count, the everyday verb. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use narrar when you mean to narrate, as in Narro la historia de su vida, and use contar for to tell or count, the everyday verb. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.

How do I say “I narrate” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: yo narré el partido en la radio. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: yo narraba los hechos del accidente. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: yo he narrado el partido en la radio.

How do I practise narrar?

Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the narrar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.

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