contratar Negative Imperative Conjugation
contratar — to hire
The negative imperative uses 'no' + present subjunctive: no contrates, no contrate, no contratemos, no contratéis, no contraten.
contratar Negative Imperative Forms
When to Use the Negative Imperative
Use this to tell someone not to hire a specific person or not to sign a specific contract.
Notes on contratar in the Negative Imperative
As with all negative commands, it relies entirely on the present subjunctive forms.
Example Sentences
No contrates a ese abogado.
Don't hire that lawyer.
tú
No contraten personal sin papeles.
Don't hire staff without papers.
ustedes
No contratéis el plan más caro.
Don't hire (sign up for) the most expensive plan.
vosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: No contrata.
Correct: No contrates.
Why: Negative commands must use the subjunctive form, not the indicative 'tú' form.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: contrato
The present tense of contratar is regular: contrato, contratas, contrata, contratamos, contratáis, contratan.
Preterite
yo: contraté
The preterite of contratar is regular: contraté, contrataste, contrató, contratamos, contratasteis, contrataron.
Imperfect
yo: contrataba
The imperfect of contratar is regular: contrataba, contratabas, contrataba, contratábamos, contratabais, contrataban.
Future
yo: contrataré
The future of contratar is regular: contrataré, contratarás, contratará, contrataremos, contrataréis, contratarán.
Conditional
yo: contrataría
The conditional of contratar is regular: contrataría, contratarías, contrataría, contrataríamos, contrataríais, contratarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: contrate
The present subjunctive of contratar is regular: contrate, contrates, contrate, contratemos, contratéis, contraten.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: contratara
The imperfect subjunctive of contratar uses the -ra endings: contratara, contrataras, contratara, contratáramos, contratarais, contrataran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: contrata
The affirmative imperative commands are: contrata (tú), contrate (usted), contratad (vosotros), contraten (ustedes).