Cantar Conjugation | How to Conjugate Cantar in Spanish

Cantar means “to sing,” “to perform a song,” or in some contexts “to announce/confess.” You will learn its fully regular -AR conjugation and its main musical and figurative patterns.

Cantar conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Regular AR. RAE gives canto, cantas / cantás, canta, cantamos, cantáis, cantan. Its gerund cantando and participle cantado are regular.

Cantar gerund, past participle, and infinitive

The infinitive names the verb, the gerund supports progressive constructions, and the past participle combines with haber in compound forms. The participle cantado remains invariant in those compounds.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	cantar	to sing
Gerund	cantando	singing
Past participle	cantado	sung

Cantar meaning and essential uses

Cantar is commonly intransitive when a person or animal produces melodic sounds: Canto en un coro. — “I sing in a choir.”

It is transitive when performing a particular piece: Canta una canción. — “He / she sings a song.” RAE also records several figurative and colloquial senses, but musical use is the primary learner target.

Cantar regular conjugation pattern

The stem cant- remains unchanged throughout the core paradigm. Forms such as canto, canté, and cante take ordinary -AR endings.

There is no stem change, spelling alternation, irregular preterite stem, irregular future stem, irregular gerund, or irregular participle.

Cantar indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Cantar present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use it for current situations, habits, facts, and contextually near-future reference. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	canto	I sing
Tú — you, singular informal	cantas	you sing
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	canta	he / she sings; you sing (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cantamos	we sing
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cantáis	you sing (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cantan	they sing; you sing (plural)

• Canto en un coro. — I sing in a choir.

Cantar preterite conjugation

Preterite (el pretérito perfecto simple / pretérito indefinido) — Use it for completed or bounded past events. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	canté	I sang
Tú — you, singular informal	cantaste	you sang
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cantó	he / she sang; you sang (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cantamos	we sang
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cantasteis	you sang (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cantaron	they sang; you sang (plural)

• Ayer canté una canción nueva. — Yesterday I sang a new song.

Cantar imperfect conjugation

Imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) — Use it for habitual, descriptive, background, or ongoing past situations. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cantado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cantaba	I used to sing / was singing
Tú — you, singular informal	cantabas	you used to sing / were singing
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cantaba	he / she used to sing / was singing; you used to sing / were singing (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cantábamos	we used to sing / were singing
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cantabais	you used to sing / were singing (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cantaban	they used to sing / were singing; you used to sing / were singing (plural)

• De niño cantaba en la escuela. — As a child, I used to sing at school.

Cantar present progressive

Present progressive — This verbal periphrasis focuses on an action or process in progress. Form it with present estar plus cantando.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	estoy cantando	I am singing
Tú — you, singular informal	estás cantando	you are singing
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	está cantando	he / she is singing; you are singing (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	estamos cantando	we are singing
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	estáis cantando	you are singing (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	están cantando	they are singing; you are singing (plural)

• Estoy cantando mi canción favorita. — I am singing my favorite song.

Cantar near future conjugation

Near future — This verbal periphrasis expresses an intention, plan, or expected event. Form it with present ir + a + cantar.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	voy a cantar	I am going to sing
Tú — you, singular informal	vas a cantar	you are going to sing
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	va a cantar	he / she is going to sing; you are going to sing (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	vamos a cantar	we are going to sing
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	vais a cantar	you are going to sing (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	van a cantar	they are going to sing; you are going to sing (plural)

• Voy a cantar esta noche. — I am going to sing tonight.

Cantar future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, where useful, probability. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cantaré	I will sing
Tú — you, singular informal	cantarás	you will sing
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cantará	he / she will sing; you will sing (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cantaremos	we will sing
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cantaréis	you will sing (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cantarán	they will sing; you will sing (plural)

• Cantaremos juntos mañana. — We will sing together tomorrow.

Cantar conditional conjugation

Conditional (el condicional simple) — Use it for hypothetical outcomes, softened statements, or related conditional meanings. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cantaría	I would sing
Tú — you, singular informal	cantarías	you would sing
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cantaría	he / she would sing; you would sing (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cantaríamos	we would sing
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cantaríais	you would sing (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cantarían	they would sing; you would sing (plural)

• Cantaría esa canción otra vez. — I would sing that song again.

Cantar present perfect conjugation

Present perfect (el pretérito perfecto compuesto) — Use it for completed events connected to a present reference frame; regional distribution varies. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cantado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	he cantado	I have sung
Tú — you, singular informal	has cantado	you have sung
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	ha cantado	he / she has sung; you have sung (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hemos cantado	we have sung
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habéis cantado	you have sung (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	han cantado	they have sung; you have sung (plural)

• He cantado muchas veces aquí. — I have sung here many times.

Cantar past perfect conjugation

Past perfect (el pretérito pluscuamperfecto) — Use it for an event completed before another past reference point. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cantado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	había cantado	I had sung
Tú — you, singular informal	habías cantado	you had sung
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	había cantado	he / she had sung; you had sung (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habíamos cantado	we had sung
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habíais cantado	you had sung (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habían cantado	they had sung; you had sung (plural)

• Ya habíamos cantado esa pieza. — We had already sung that piece.

Cantar future perfect conjugation

Future perfect (el futuro perfecto) — Use it for an event expected to be completed before a future reference point. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cantado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habré cantado	I will have sung
Tú — you, singular informal	habrás cantado	you will have sung
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habrá cantado	he / she will have sung; you will have sung (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habremos cantado	we will have sung
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habréis cantado	you will have sung (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrán cantado	they will have sung; you will have sung (plural)

• Para entonces habrán cantado todas las canciones. — By then they will have sung all the songs.

Cantar conditional perfect conjugation

Conditional perfect (el condicional compuesto) — Use it for a hypothetical completed outcome. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cantado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habría cantado	I would have sung
Tú — you, singular informal	habrías cantado	you would have sung
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habría cantado	he / she would have sung; you would have sung (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habríamos cantado	we would have sung
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habríais cantado	you would have sung (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrían cantado	they would have sung; you would have sung (plural)

• Habría cantado mejor con más práctica. — I would have sung better with more practice.

Cantar subjunctive conjugations

Cantar present subjunctive conjugation

Present subjunctive (el presente de subjuntivo) — Use it in subordinate environments involving wishes, influence, emotion, doubt or denial, evaluation, necessity, possibility, or non-specific reference. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cante	that I sing
Tú — you, singular informal	cantes	that you sing
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cante	that he / she sing; that you sing (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cantemos	that we sing
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cantéis	that you sing (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	canten	that they sing; that you sing (plural)

• Quiero que cantes conmigo. — I want you to sing with me.

Cantar imperfect subjunctive conjugation

Imperfect subjunctive (el imperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses the -ra series. The accepted -se series is also valid in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cantado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cantara	that I sang
Tú — you, singular informal	cantaras	that you sang
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cantara	that he / she sang; that you sang (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cantáramos	that we sang
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cantarais	that you sang (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cantaran	that they sang; that you sang (plural)

• Preferían que cantáramos una canción más corta. — They preferred that we sing a shorter song.
• Era mejor que cantases más despacio. — It was better for you to sing more slowly.

Cantar future subjunctive conjugation

Future subjunctive (el futuro de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. It survives mainly in formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical contexts. These rare reference forms belong mainly to formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical registers.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cantare	if / when I should sing
Tú — you, singular informal	cantares	if / when you should sing
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cantare	if / when he / she should sing; if / when you should sing (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cantáremos	if / when we should sing
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cantareis	if / when you should sing (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cantaren	if / when they should sing; if / when you should sing (plural)

• Quien cantare en el acto deberá estar preparado a la hora indicada. — Whoever should sing at the event must be ready at the stated time.

Cantar present perfect subjunctive conjugation

Present perfect subjunctive (el pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) — Use it when a completed event appears inside a present- or future-oriented subjunctive environment. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cantado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	haya cantado	that I have sung
Tú — you, singular informal	hayas cantado	that you have sung
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	haya cantado	that he / she has sung; that you have sung (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hayamos cantado	that we have sung
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hayáis cantado	that you have sung (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hayan cantado	that they have sung; that you have sung (plural)

• Me alegra que hayas cantado. — I am glad that you sang.

Cantar past perfect subjunctive conjugation

Past perfect subjunctive (el pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses hubiera; hubiese is an accepted auxiliary alternative in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cantado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiera cantado	that I had sung
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieras cantado	that you had sung
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiera cantado	that he / she had sung; that you had sung (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéramos cantado	that we had sung
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubierais cantado	that you had sung (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieran cantado	that they had sung; that you had sung (plural)

• Si hubiera cantado antes, habría estado menos nervioso. — If I had sung earlier, I would have been less nervous.
• Si hubieses cantado con nosotros, habría sido divertido. — If you had sung with us, it would have been fun.

Cantar future perfect subjunctive conjugation

Future perfect subjunctive (el futuro perfecto de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. Treat it as a formal or historical reference form, not an everyday conversational target. Form it with the appropriate form of haber plus invariant cantado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiere cantado	if / when I should have sung
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieres cantado	if / when you should have sung
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiere cantado	if / when he / she should have sung; if / when you should have sung (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéremos cantado	if / when we should have sung
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubiereis cantado	if / when you should have sung (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieren cantado	if / when they should have sung; if / when you should have sung (plural)

• Si hubieren cantado piezas adicionales, deberán incluirlas en el programa. — If they should have sung additional pieces, they must include them in the program.

Cantar imperative and commands

Commands address another person directly. The nosotros/nosotras row is a present-subjunctive form used with exhortative “let’s…” value.

Cantar affirmative commands

Use the verified affirmative command forms for direct instructions when the target meaning supports them naturally.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	canta	sing
Usted — you, singular formal	cante	sing (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	cantemos	let’s sing
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cantad	sing (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	canten	sing (plural)

• Canta esta parte otra vez. — Sing this part again.

Cantar negative commands

Negative commands use subjunctive-based forms, with no before the verb.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no cantes	do not sing
Usted — you, singular formal	no cante	do not sing (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no cantemos	let’s not sing
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no cantéis	do not sing (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no canten	do not sing (plural)

• No cantes tan alto. — Do not sing so loudly.

Common constructions with Cantar

These patterns show sentence frames that materially affect how the target verb is used.

• cantar. — to sing.
• cantar una canción / pieza. — to sing a song / piece.
• cantar en un coro / grupo. — to sing in a choir / group.
• cantar a alguien o algo in literary praise contexts. — to sing of / praise someone or something.

Example sentences with Cantar

These examples reinforce useful forms and contexts already taught in the lesson.

• ¿Te gusta cantar? — Do you like to sing?
• El pájaro canta cada mañana. — The bird sings every morning.
• Vamos a cantar juntos. — We are going to sing together.
• Espero que cantes esa canción. — I hope you sing that song.
• Ya han cantado el himno. — They have already sung the anthem.
• Canta desde el principio. — Sing from the beginning.

Regional and usage notes for Cantar

The core tables retain tú, usted, vosotros/vosotras, and ustedes. Voseo changes some second-person singular forms where vos is used.

• Vos cantás muy bien. — You sing very well. (voseo)
• Cantá otra canción. — Sing another song. (affirmative vos command)

Cantar is fully regular. Once the -AR endings are secure, focus on whether the verb is intransitive for the act of singing or transitive when a specific song, piece, or text is performed.