cantar Negative Imperative Conjugation
cantar — to sing
The negative imperative of cantar uses the present subjunctive: no cantes, no cante, no cantemos, no cantéis, no canten.
cantar Negative Imperative Forms
When to Use the Negative Imperative
Use this to tell someone to stop singing or to not sing in a specific place, like a library or during a movie.
Notes on cantar in the Negative Imperative
Cantar is regular. All negative commands for -ar verbs use the 'e' endings from the present subjunctive.
Example Sentences
No cantes en la biblioteca.
Don't sing in the library.
tú
Por favor, no cante usted aquí.
Please, don't sing here (formal).
usted
No canten todavía, esperen la señal.
Don't sing yet, wait for the signal.
ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Saying 'no canta' for a command.
Correct: no cantes
Why: Negative commands must use the subjunctive form, not the indicative 'canta'.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: canto
Cantar is regular in the present: canto, cantas, canta, cantamos, cantáis, cantan.
Preterite
yo: canté
The preterite of cantar is regular: canté, cantaste, cantó, cantamos, cantasteis, cantaron.
Imperfect
yo: cantaba
The imperfect of cantar follows the regular -aba pattern: cantaba, cantabas, cantaba, cantábamos, cantabais, cantaban.
Future
yo: cantaré
The future of cantar uses the infinitive as the stem: cantaré, cantarás, cantará, cantaremos, cantaréis, cantarán.
Conditional
yo: cantaría
The conditional of cantar is regular: cantaría, cantarías, cantaría, cantaríamos, cantaríais, cantarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: cante
The present subjunctive of cantar uses -e endings: cante, cantes, cante, cantemos, cantéis, canten.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: cantara
The imperfect subjunctive of cantar is based on the 'ellos' preterite: cantara, cantaras, cantara, cantáramos, cantarais, cantaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: canta
The imperative of cantar gives commands: canta (tú), cantad (vosotros), cante (usted).