contar — Imperfect (Imperfecto)
to count / to tell (a story)
The imperfect conjugation of contar (irregular stem-changing o>ue, ranked #35). Describes habitual past actions, background context, and ongoing states. Key signals: siempre, normalmente, cuando era niño.
Drill the imperfect tense with spaced repetition Practice contar and 965 other verbs in the Conjugado app — free to try.
Practice for free ↗ | Pronoun | Imperfect conjugation |
|---|---|
| yo | contaba |
| tú | contabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | contaba |
| nosotros | contábamos |
| vosotros | contabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | contaban |
* Red forms deviate from the regular -ar imperfect pattern.
Example sentence
Antes yo contaba con frecuencia.
Before, I used to count / to tell (a story) often.
Other tenses of contar
See full conjugation table for contar →Related verbs
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