contar Affirmative Imperative Conjugation
contar — to count
The imperative of contar uses the stem-changed 'cuenta' for tú and 'cuente' for usted.
contar Affirmative Imperative Forms
When to Use the Affirmative Imperative
Use this to give orders or instructions: 'Count the change!' or 'Tell me a story!'
Notes on contar in the Affirmative Imperative
The tú form (cuenta) and usted/ustedes forms (cuente/cuenten) use the stem change. The vosotros form (contad) is regular.
Example Sentences
¡Cuenta hasta tres!
Count to three!
tú
Cuénteme qué pasó ayer.
Tell me what happened yesterday.
Contad las sillas, por favor.
Count the chairs, please (you all).
vosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Conta (for tú).
Correct: Cuenta.
Why: The informal tú command usually matches the third-person singular of the present indicative, which has the stem change.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: cuento
Contar is a stem-changing verb (o > ue) in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Preterite
yo: conté
The preterite of contar is regular: conté, contaste, contó, contamos, contasteis, contaron.
Imperfect
yo: contaba
The imperfect of contar is regular: contaba, contabas, contaba, contábamos, contabais, contaban.
Future
yo: contaré
The future tense of contar is regular: contaré, contarás, contará, contaremos, contaréis, contarán.
Conditional
yo: contaría
The conditional of contar is regular: contaría, contarías, contaría, contaríamos, contaríais, contarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: cuente
The present subjunctive of contar keeps the o > ue stem change: cuente, cuentes, cuente, contemos, contéis, cuenten.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: contara
The imperfect subjunctive of contar is formed from the preterite: contara, contaras, contara, contáramos, contarais, contaran.
Negative Imperative
yo: no cuentes
Negative commands use the present subjunctive: no cuentes, no cuente, no contemos, no contéis, no cuenten.