caber Preterite Conjugation
caber — to fit
Caber is highly irregular in the preterite, using the stem 'cup-' for all persons.
caber Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use this to say that something successfully (or unsuccessfully) fit into a space at a specific moment in the past.
Notes on caber in the Preterite
The entire stem changes to 'cup-'. Note that the endings are the irregular preterite endings (e, iste, o, imos, isteis, ieron) without accents.
Example Sentences
Cupe por los pelos en el último vagón.
I barely fit into the last carriage.
yo
El sofá no cupo por la puerta.
The sofa didn't fit through the door.
él/ella/usted
Al final, todos cupieron en la foto.
In the end, everyone fit in the photo.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Saying 'cabí' or 'cabió'.
Correct: cupe / cupo
Why: It is tempting to use regular -er endings, but caber must use the 'cup-' stem in the preterite.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'caber' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: quepo
Caber is irregular only in the 'yo' form (quepo); all other forms follow the regular -er pattern.
Imperfect
yo: cabía
Caber is completely regular in the imperfect: cabía, cabías, cabía, cabíamos, cabíais, cabían.
Future
yo: cabré
The future tense of caber uses the irregular stem 'cabr-'.
Conditional
yo: cabría
The conditional uses the same irregular stem as the future: 'cabr-'.
Present Subjunctive
yo: quepa
The present subjunctive is based on the irregular 'yo' form, using the stem 'quep-'.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: cupiera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the irregular preterite stem 'cup-'.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: cabe
The imperative uses 'cabe' for 'tú' but switches to 'quep-' for formal commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no quepas
Negative commands for caber always use the 'quep-' stem from the present subjunctive.