Cerrar Conjugation | How to Conjugate Cerrar in Spanish

Cerrar means “to close” or “to shut.” You will learn its e → ie stem change in stressed present forms, the regular past and future families, and how the same stem pattern affects the present subjunctive and commands.

Cerrar conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Irregular. Linguistically, cerrar is an -AR stem-changing verb: stressed e becomes ie in key present forms, while nosotros/nosotras and vosotros/vosotras keep the stem cerr-. Its gerund cerrando — “closing” — and participle cerrado — “closed” — are regular.

Cerrar gerund, past participle, and infinitive

The infinitive names the verb, the gerund helps build progressive constructions, and the past participle is used with haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — in compound forms. With compound forms built with haber, the participle remains invariant.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	cerrar	to close
Gerund	cerrando	closing
Past participle	cerrado	closed

Cerrar meaning and essential uses

Cerrar — “to close / to shut” — commonly takes a direct object: Cierro la puerta. — “I close the door.” It can also be intransitive for a business or service ending operations: La tienda cierra a las ocho. — “The store closes at eight.”

The verb also appears naturally in phrases such as cerrar con llave — “to lock / close with a key” and cerrar los ojos — “to close one’s eyes.”

Cerrar conjugation pattern

Cerrar changes e → ie when the stem vowel is stressed. For example, cierro — “I close” — contrasts with cerramos — “we close,” where the stem vowel is not stressed. The same stress-based alternation carries into the present subjunctive, while the preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, gerund, and participle use the regular cerr- stem pattern.

Cerrar indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Cerrar present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use the present indicative for current actions, habits, scheduled events, or general statements. The stem changes e → ie in stressed forms, while nosotros/nosotras and vosotros/vosotras keep cerr-.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cierro	I close
Tú — you, singular informal	cierras	you close
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cierra	he / she closes; you close (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cerramos	we close
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cerráis	you close (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cierran	they close; you close (plural)

• Cierro la puerta cada noche. — I close the door every night.

Cerrar preterite conjugation

Preterite (el pretérito perfecto simple / pretérito indefinido) — Use the preterite for completed or bounded past events. These forms follow the regular -AR preterite pattern.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cerré	I closed
Tú — you, singular informal	cerraste	you closed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cerró	he / she closed; you closed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cerramos	we closed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cerrasteis	you closed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cerraron	they closed; you closed (plural)

• Ayer cerramos el local temprano. — Yesterday we closed the premises early.

Cerrar imperfect conjugation

Imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) — Use the imperfect for past habits, background situations, descriptions, or an action viewed as ongoing. The target verb uses its regular imperfect pattern.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cerraba	I was closing
Tú — you, singular informal	cerrabas	you were closing
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cerraba	he / she was closing; you were closing (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cerrábamos	we were closing
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cerrabais	you were closing (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cerraban	they were closing; you were closing (plural)

• Antes la biblioteca cerraba a las seis. — The library used to close at six.

Cerrar present progressive

Present progressive (el presente progresivo) — This verbal periphrasis presents the action as genuinely in progress. Form it with the present of estar — “to be” — plus cerrando — “closing.”

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

• Estoy cerrando las ventanas. — I am closing the windows.

Cerrar near future conjugation

Near future (el futuro próximo) — This verbal periphrasis expresses plans, intentions, or expected future events. Form it with the present of ir — “to go” — plus a + cerrar — “to close.”

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

• Voy a cerrar la oficina a las cinco. — I am going to close the office at five.

Cerrar future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use the future for future reference and, when context supports it, probability. Add the future endings to the full infinitive cerrar — “to close”.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cerraré	I will close
Tú — you, singular informal	cerrarás	you will close
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cerrará	he / she will close; you will close (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cerraremos	we will close
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cerraréis	you will close (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cerrarán	they will close; you will close (plural)

• Cerraremos la puerta al salir. — We will close the door when we leave.

Cerrar conditional conjugation

Simple conditional (el condicional simple) — Use the conditional for hypothetical results, polite softening, or other conditional meanings. Add the conditional endings to the full infinitive cerrar — “to close”.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cerraría	I would close
Tú — you, singular informal	cerrarías	you would close
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cerraría	he / she would close; you would close (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cerraríamos	we would close
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cerraríais	you would close (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cerrarían	they would close; you would close (plural)

• Cerraría la ventana si hiciera frío. — I would close the window if it were cold.

Cerrar present perfect conjugation

Present perfect (el pretérito perfecto compuesto) — Use the present perfect for completed events connected to the present; its distribution varies by region. Form it with present forms of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle cerrado — the target verb’s past participle.

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

• Hoy he cerrado dos acuerdos. — Today I have closed two deals.

Cerrar past perfect conjugation

Past perfect / pluperfect (el pretérito pluscuamperfecto) — Use this form for an event completed before another past reference point. Form it with imperfect forms of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle cerrado — the target verb’s past participle.

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

• Ya habían cerrado el restaurante cuando llegamos. — They had already closed the restaurant when we arrived.

Cerrar future perfect conjugation

Future perfect (el futuro compuesto / antefuturo) — Use this form for something expected to be completed by a future point. Form it with future forms of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle cerrado — the target verb’s past participle.

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

• A las nueve habrán cerrado todas las entradas. — By nine they will have closed all the entrances.

Cerrar conditional perfect conjugation

Conditional perfect (el condicional compuesto / antepospretérito) — Use this form for a hypothetical completed result or unreal past outcome. Form it with conditional forms of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle cerrado — the target verb’s past participle.

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

• Habría cerrado antes, pero llegaron más clientes. — I would have closed earlier, but more customers arrived.

Cerrar subjunctive conjugations

Cerrar present subjunctive conjugation

Present subjunctive (el presente de subjuntivo) — Use it in environments such as wishes, influence, emotion, doubt, evaluation, necessity, or non-specific reference. The e → ie alternation appears in the stressed singular and third-person plural forms, while nosotros/nosotras and vosotros/vosotras keep the unstressed stem cerr-.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cierre	that I close
Tú — you, singular informal	cierres	that you close
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cierre	that he / she close; that you close (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cerremos	that we close
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cerréis	that you close (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cierren	that they close; that you close (plural)

• Necesito que cierres la puerta. — I need you to close the door.

Cerrar imperfect subjunctive conjugation

Imperfect subjunctive (el imperfecto de subjuntivo) — Use it in subordinate clauses linked to past, hypothetical, or unreal contexts. The main table uses the accepted -ra series. The -se series is also accepted in many contexts; the example list includes a -se form without implying mechanical interchangeability everywhere.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cerrara	that I closed / were to close
Tú — you, singular informal	cerraras	that you closed / were to close
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cerrara	that he / she closed / were to close; that you closed / were to close (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cerráramos	that we closed / were to close
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cerrarais	that you closed / were to close (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cerraran	that they closed / were to close; that you closed / were to close (plural)

• Querían que cerráramos la oficina antes. — They wanted us to close the office earlier.
• Prefería que cerraseis las ventanas. — She preferred that you all close the windows.

Cerrar 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 and is presented here as a reference system.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cerrare	if / when I should close
Tú — you, singular informal	cerrares	if / when you should close
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cerrare	if / when he / she should close; if / when you should close (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cerráremos	if / when we should close
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cerrareis	if / when you should close (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cerraren	if / when they should close; if / when you should close (plural)

• Quien cerrare el establecimiento deberá asegurar todas las entradas. — Whoever should close the establishment must secure all entrances.

Cerrar present perfect subjunctive conjugation

Present perfect subjunctive (el pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) — Use it when a completed event is viewed through a present- or future-oriented subjunctive environment. Form it with present-subjunctive forms of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus cerrado, the target verb’s past participle.

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

• Me alegra que hayas cerrado el trato. — I am glad that you have closed the deal.

Cerrar past perfect subjunctive conjugation

Past perfect subjunctive (el pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) — Use it for earlier completed situations in unreal, counterfactual, or other subjunctive contexts. The main table uses the imperfect-subjunctive auxiliary hubiera — a form of haber — plus cerrado, the target verb’s past participle; hubiese is an accepted auxiliary alternative in many contexts.

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

• Ojalá hubiéramos cerrado la puerta con llave. — I wish we had locked the door.
• Si hubieses cerrado antes, habrías llegado a tiempo. — If you had closed earlier, you would have arrived on time.

Cerrar future perfect subjunctive conjugation

Future perfect subjunctive (el futuro perfecto de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. This reference form appears mainly in formal, legal, literary, or historical contexts. Form it with future-subjunctive forms of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus cerrado, the target verb’s past participle.

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

• Si hubieren cerrado el acceso antes de la inspección, deberán justificarlo. — If they should have closed the access before the inspection, they must justify it.

Cerrar imperative and commands

Commands address another person directly. Spanish uses different morphological sources across persons and polarity; the nosotros/nosotras row is a present-subjunctive form used with exhortative “let’s…” value.

Cerrar affirmative commands

Use affirmative commands to tell someone directly to perform the action. The stem change appears in the stressed singular and ustedes forms, while the vosotros/vosotras form keeps cerr-; the table below shows the exact forms.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	cierra	close
Usted — you, singular formal	cierre	close (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	cerremos	let’s close
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cerrad	close (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	cierren	close (plural)

• Cierra la puerta al salir. — Close the door when you leave.

Cerrar negative commands

Negative commands use subjunctive-based forms. The stressed forms use cierr-, while nosotros/nosotras and vosotros/vosotras keep cerr-.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no cierres	do not close
Usted — you, singular formal	no cierre	do not close (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no cerremos	let’s not close
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no cerréis	do not close (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no cierren	do not close (plural)

• No cierres la ventana todavía. — Do not close the window yet.

Common constructions with Cerrar

These patterns show common ways the target verb combines with its complements or develops its core meaning.

• Cerrar la puerta. — To close the door.
• Cerrar con llave. — To lock / close with a key.
• Cerrar a las ocho. — To close at eight o’clock.

Example sentences with Cerrar

These examples reinforce the target verb across useful forms and contexts already explained in the lesson.

• Cierro las ventanas antes de salir. — I close the windows before leaving.
• Ayer cerraron la oficina temprano. — Yesterday they closed the office early.
• La tienda cerraba a las seis en invierno. — The store used to close at six in winter.
• Es importante que cierres bien la puerta. — It is important that you close the door properly.
• Hemos cerrado todas las cuentas pendientes. — We have closed all the outstanding accounts.
• Cierra la ventana, por favor. — Close the window, please.

Regional and usage notes for Cerrar

The core tables retain tú, usted, vosotros/vosotras, and ustedes for project comparability. Voseo can change the present indicative and affirmative command; the following forms are regional examples and do not replace the core paradigm.

• Vos cerrás la tienda a las siete. — You close the store at seven. (voseo)
• Cerrá la puerta, por favor. — Close the door, please. (affirmative vos command)

With cerrar, concentrate on the e → ie alternation only where the stem vowel is stressed. Once cierro / cierre are distinguished from cerramos / cerremos, the rest of the core paradigm follows predictable -AR patterns.