Cenar Conjugation | How to Conjugate Cenar in Spanish

Cenar means “to have dinner” or “to eat something for dinner.” You will learn its fully regular -AR conjugation and the main patterns for time, place, company, and food.

Cenar conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Regular AR. RAE gives ceno, cenas / cenás, cena, cenamos, cenáis, cenan. Its gerund cenando and participle cenado are regular.

Cenar 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 cenado remains invariant in those compounds.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	cenar	to have dinner / eat dinner
Gerund	cenando	having dinner / eating dinner
Past participle	cenado	had dinner / eaten dinner

Cenar meaning and essential uses

RAE records cenar as intransitive for having the evening meal: Cenamos a las ocho. — “We have dinner at eight.”

It can also be transitive for eating a particular thing at dinner: Cenamos pescado. — “We ate fish for dinner.” Common additions specify company, place, and time.

Cenar regular conjugation pattern

The stem cen- remains unchanged throughout the core paradigm. Forms such as ceno, cené, and cene take ordinary -AR endings.

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

Cenar indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Cenar 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	ceno	I have dinner / eat dinner
Tú — you, singular informal	cenas	you have dinner / eat dinner
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cena	he / she has dinner / eats dinner; you have dinner / eat dinner (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cenamos	we have dinner / eat dinner
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cenáis	you have dinner / eat dinner (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cenan	they have dinner / eat dinner; you have dinner / eat dinner (plural)

• Ceno a las ocho. — I have dinner at eight.

Cenar 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	cené	I had dinner / ate dinner
Tú — you, singular informal	cenaste	you had dinner / ate dinner
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cenó	he / she had dinner / ate dinner; you had dinner / ate dinner (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cenamos	we had dinner / ate dinner
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cenasteis	you had dinner / ate dinner (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cenaron	they had dinner / ate dinner; you had dinner / ate dinner (plural)

• Ayer cené con Marta. — Yesterday I had dinner with Marta.

Cenar 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 cenado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cenaba	I used to have dinner / eat dinner / was having dinner / eating dinner
Tú — you, singular informal	cenabas	you used to have dinner / eat dinner / were having dinner / eating dinner
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cenaba	he / she used to have dinner / eat dinner / was having dinner / eating dinner; you used to have dinner / eat dinner / were having dinner / eating dinner (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cenábamos	we used to have dinner / eat dinner / were having dinner / eating dinner
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cenabais	you used to have dinner / eat dinner / were having dinner / eating dinner (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cenaban	they used to have dinner / eat dinner / were having dinner / eating dinner; you used to have dinner / eat dinner / were having dinner / eating dinner (plural)

• Antes cenábamos más tarde. — We used to have dinner later.

Cenar present progressive

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

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

• Estoy cenando ahora. — I am having dinner now.

Cenar near future conjugation

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

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

• Voy a cenar en casa. — I am going to have dinner at home.

Cenar 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	cenaré	I will have dinner / eat dinner
Tú — you, singular informal	cenarás	you will have dinner / eat dinner
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cenará	he / she will have dinner / eat dinner; you will have dinner / eat dinner (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cenaremos	we will have dinner / eat dinner
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cenaréis	you will have dinner / eat dinner (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cenarán	they will have dinner / eat dinner; you will have dinner / eat dinner (plural)

• Cenaremos juntos mañana. — We will have dinner together tomorrow.

Cenar 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	cenaría	I would have dinner / eat dinner
Tú — you, singular informal	cenarías	you would have dinner / eat dinner
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cenaría	he / she would have dinner / eat dinner; you would have dinner / eat dinner (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cenaríamos	we would have dinner / eat dinner
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cenaríais	you would have dinner / eat dinner (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cenarían	they would have dinner / eat dinner; you would have dinner / eat dinner (plural)

• Cenaría fuera si tuviera tiempo. — I would eat dinner out if I had time.

Cenar 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 cenado.

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

• He cenado ya. — I have already had dinner.

Cenar 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 cenado.

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

• Ya habíamos cenado cuando llamaron. — We had already eaten dinner when they called.

Cenar 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 cenado.

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

• Para entonces habrán cenado todos. — By then everyone will have had dinner.

Cenar 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 cenado.

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

• Habría cenado antes con más tiempo. — I would have had dinner earlier with more time.

Cenar subjunctive conjugations

Cenar 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	cene	that I have dinner / eat dinner
Tú — you, singular informal	cenes	that you have dinner / eat dinner
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cene	that he / she have dinner / eat dinner; that you have dinner / eat dinner (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cenemos	that we have dinner / eat dinner
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cenéis	that you have dinner / eat dinner (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cenen	that they have dinner / eat dinner; that you have dinner / eat dinner (plural)

• Quiero que cenes con nosotros. — I want you to have dinner with us.

Cenar 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 cenado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cenara	that I had dinner / ate dinner
Tú — you, singular informal	cenaras	that you had dinner / ate dinner
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cenara	that he / she had dinner / ate dinner; that you had dinner / ate dinner (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cenáramos	that we had dinner / ate dinner
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cenarais	that you had dinner / ate dinner (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cenaran	that they had dinner / ate dinner; that you had dinner / ate dinner (plural)

• Preferían que cenáramos a las siete. — They preferred that we have dinner at seven.
• Era mejor que cenases antes de salir. — It was better for you to have dinner before going out.

Cenar 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	cenare	if / when I should have dinner / eat dinner
Tú — you, singular informal	cenares	if / when you should have dinner / eat dinner
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cenare	if / when he / she should have dinner / eat dinner; if / when you should have dinner / eat dinner (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cenáremos	if / when we should have dinner / eat dinner
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cenareis	if / when you should have dinner / eat dinner (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cenaren	if / when they should have dinner / eat dinner; if / when you should have dinner / eat dinner (plural)

• Quien cenare fuera del recinto deberá regresar antes del cierre. — Whoever should dine outside the premises must return before closing.

Cenar 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 cenado.

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

• Me alegra que hayas cenado. — I am glad that you had dinner.

Cenar 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 cenado.

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

• Si hubiera cenado antes, no tendría hambre. — If I had eaten dinner earlier, I would not be hungry.
• Si hubieses cenado con nosotros, habrías probado el postre. — If you had had dinner with us, you would have tried the dessert.

Cenar 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 cenado.

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

• Si hubieren cenado fuera, deberán indicarlo. — If they should have eaten dinner outside, they must state it.

Cenar imperative and commands

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

Cenar 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	cena	have dinner
Usted — you, singular formal	cene	have dinner (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	cenemos	let’s have dinner
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cenad	have dinner (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	cenen	have dinner (plural)

• Cena algo ligero. — Have something light for dinner.

Cenar 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 cenes	do not have dinner
Usted — you, singular formal	no cene	do not have dinner (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no cenemos	let’s not have dinner
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no cenéis	do not have dinner (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no cenen	do not have dinner (plural)

• No cenes demasiado tarde. — Do not have dinner too late.

Common constructions with Cenar

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

• cenar. — to have dinner.
• cenar algo. — to eat something for dinner.
• cenar con alguien. — to have dinner with someone.
• cenar en + place / a + time. — to have dinner at a place / at a time.

Example sentences with Cenar

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

• ¿A qué hora cenas? — What time do you have dinner?
• Hoy cenamos pasta. — Today we are having pasta for dinner.
• Vamos a cenar fuera. — We are going to eat dinner out.
• Espero que cenes antes de viajar. — I hope you have dinner before traveling.
• Ya han cenado. — They have already had dinner.
• Cena despacio. — Eat dinner slowly.

Regional and usage notes for Cenar

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

• Vos cenás a las nueve. — You have dinner at nine. (voseo)
• Cená con nosotros esta noche. — Have dinner with us tonight. (affirmative vos command)

Cenar is fully regular. Once the -AR endings are secure, use context to show whether the verb stands alone for “have dinner” or takes a direct object for what is eaten at dinner.