Conjugate cenar in Spanish
to have dinner
cenar is a regular -ar verb ranked #516 among the most common Spanish verbs. For example: "Normalmente cenamos a las nueve de la noche." (We normally have dinner at nine in the evening.). Use the tables below for full conjugation across all 7 tenses.
cenar — Spanish Conjugation Chart
to have dinner · -ar verb · regular · conjugado.com
Describes current actions, habits, and general truths. The most frequently used tense — master it first.
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| yo | ceno |
| tú | cenas |
| él/ella/Ud. | cena |
| nosotros | cenamos |
| vosotros | cenáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cenan |
Normalmente cenamos a las nueve de la noche.
We normally have dinner at nine in the evening.
Describes completed past actions with a clear start and end. Key signals: ayer, el lunes pasado, de repente.
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| yo | cené |
| tú | cenaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | cenó |
| nosotros | cenamos |
| vosotros | cenasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cenaron |
Normalmente cenamos a las nueve de la noche.
We normally have dinner at nine in the evening.
Describes habitual past actions, background context, and ongoing states. Key signals: siempre, normalmente, cuando era niño.
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| yo | cenaba |
| tú | cenabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | cenaba |
| nosotros | cenábamos |
| vosotros | cenabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cenaban |
Antes yo cenaba con frecuencia.
Before, I used to have dinner often.
Describes future events and predictions. In everyday speech, ir a + infinitive is often preferred for planned events.
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| yo | cenaré |
| tú | cenarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | cenará |
| nosotros | cenaremos |
| vosotros | cenaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cenarán |
Mañana yo cenaré.
Tomorrow I will have dinner.
Expresses what would happen under certain conditions — equivalent to "would" in English. Also used for polite requests.
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| yo | cenaría |
| tú | cenarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | cenaría |
| nosotros | cenaríamos |
| vosotros | cenaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cenarían |
Si pudiera, yo cenaría.
If I could, I would have dinner.
Used in clauses expressing wishes, doubt, emotion, or uncertainty — typically after que. Triggers: querer, esperar, dudar, ojalá.
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| yo | cene |
| tú | cenes |
| él/ella/Ud. | cene |
| nosotros | cenemos |
| vosotros | cenéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cenen |
Espero que tú cenes.
I hope that you have dinner.
Used to give commands and direct requests. Affirmative and negative forms differ significantly in Spanish.
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| yo | - |
| tú | cena |
| él/ella/Ud. | cene |
| nosotros | cenemos |
| vosotros | cenad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cenen |
¡Cena!
Have dinner!
Test yourself
Type the correct conjugation for each prompt.
Example sentences
-
Normalmente cenamos a las nueve de la noche.
We normally have dinner at nine in the evening.
-
Anoche cené con mis padres en un restaurante italiano.
Last night I had dinner with my parents at an Italian restaurant.
-
¿Quieres cenar conmigo esta noche?
Do you want to have dinner with me tonight?
Common phrases with cenar
- cenar fuera to eat out / to dine out
- invitar a cenar to invite to dinner
- ¿Qué hay de cenar? What's for dinner?