
cenar Negative Imperative Conjugation
cenar — to have dinner
The negative imperative of cenar uses the present subjunctive: no cenes, no cene, no cenemos, no cenéis, no cenen.
cenar Negative Imperative Forms
When to Use the Negative Imperative
Use this to tell someone not to have dinner yet, perhaps because it is too early or you are waiting for someone.
Notes on cenar in the Negative Imperative
Cenar is regular. These forms are identical to the present subjunctive forms preceded by 'no'.
Example Sentences
No cenes todavía, la comida no está lista.
Don't have dinner yet; the food isn't ready.
tú
Por favor, no cene mucha grasa antes de dormir.
Please, don't eat a lot of fat for dinner before sleeping.
usted
No cenemos aquí, el lugar está muy sucio.
Let's not have dinner here; the place is very dirty.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: no cena
Correct: no cenes
Why: Negative commands for 'tú' must use the subjunctive form, not the indicative.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: ceno
The present tense of cenar is regular: ceno, cenas, cena, cenamos, cenáis, cenan.
Preterite
yo: cené
The preterite of cenar is regular: cené, cenaste, cenó, cenamos, cenasteis, cenaron.
Imperfect
yo: cenaba
The imperfect of cenar follows the standard -aba pattern: cenaba, cenabas, cenaba, cenábamos, cenabais, cenaban.
Future
yo: cenaré
The future of cenar uses the infinitive as the stem: cenaré, cenarás, cenará, cenaremos, cenaréis, cenarán.
Conditional
yo: cenaría
The conditional of cenar is regular: cenaría, cenarías, cenaría, cenaríamos, cenaríais, cenarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: cene
The present subjunctive of cenar uses the -e endings: cene, cenes, cene, cenemos, cenéis, cenen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: cenara
The imperfect subjunctive of cenar uses the -ara endings: cenara, cenaras, cenara, cenáramos, cenarais, cenaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: cena
The imperative of cenar gives commands: cena (tú), cenad (vosotros), cene (usted), cenen (ustedes).