costar Present Conjugation
costar — to cost
In the present tense, costar follows an o-to-ue stem change: cuesto, cuestas, cuesta, costamos, costáis, cuestan.
costar Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present to talk about the current price of items or to express that a task is currently difficult or challenging (using the phrase 'costar trabajo').
Notes on costar in the Present
This is a radical-changing (stem-changing) verb. The 'o' changes to 'ue' in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Example Sentences
¿Cuánto cuesta esta camisa?
How much does this shirt cost?
él/ella/usted
Me cuesta mucho levantarme temprano.
It's very hard for me to get up early.
él/ella/usted
Las entradas cuestan veinte euros.
The tickets cost twenty euros.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Nosotros costamos mucho dinero a la empresa.
We cost the company a lot of money.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'costa' instead of 'cuesta'.
Correct: cuesta
Why: The 'o' must change to 'ue' in the singular third-person form.
Mistake: Applying the stem change to nosotros (cuestamos).
Correct: costamos
Why: Stem changes never apply to the nosotros or vosotros forms in the present indicative.
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: costé
The preterite of costar is regular: costé, costaste, costó, costamos, costasteis, costaron.
Imperfect
yo: costaba
The imperfect of costar is regular: costaba, costabas, costaba, costábamos, costabais, costaban.
Future
yo: costaré
The future of costar is regular: costaré, costarás, costará, costaremos, costaréis, costarán.
Conditional
yo: costaría
The conditional of costar is regular: costaría, costarías, costaría, costaríamos, costaríais, costarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: cueste
The present subjunctive follows the o-to-ue stem change: cueste, cuestes, cueste, costemos, costéis, cuesten.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: costara
The imperfect subjunctive of costar is regular: costara, costaras, costara, costáramos, costarais, costaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: cuesta
The imperative of costar uses the stem-changed 'cuesta' (tú) and 'cuesten' (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no cuestes
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive: no cuestes, no cueste, no costemos, no costéis, no cuesten.