Cortar Conjugation | How to Conjugate Cortar in Spanish

Cortar means “to cut,” “to divide,” “to interrupt,” or “to stop a flow.” You will learn its fully regular -AR conjugation and its physical, communication, service, and figurative patterns.

Cortar conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Regular AR. RAE gives corto, cortas / cortás, corta, cortamos, cortáis, cortan. Ella Verbs also classifies cortar as fully regular.

Cortar 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 cortado remains invariant in those compounds.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	cortar	to cut / interrupt
Gerund	cortando	cutting / interrupting
Past participle	cortado	cut / interrupted

Cortar meaning and essential uses

RAE’s primary sense is physically dividing something with a cutting instrument: Corto el pan. — “I cut the bread.” The verb also covers separating, shortening, or interrupting movement and processes.

A high-frequency extension is interrupting a conversation, connection, service, or flow: Cortaron la electricidad. — “They cut off the electricity.” Pronominal cortarse can mean cutting oneself, but it is not the target paradigm here.

Cortar regular conjugation pattern

The stem cort- remains unchanged throughout the core paradigm. Forms such as corto, corté, and corte take ordinary -AR endings.

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

Cortar indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Cortar 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 regular paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	corto	I cut / interrupt
Tú — you, singular informal	cortas	you cut / interrupt
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	corta	he / she cuts / interrupts; you cut / interrupt (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cortamos	we cut / interrupt
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cortáis	you cut / interrupt (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cortan	they cut / interrupt; you cut / interrupt (plural)

• Corto el pan en rebanadas. — I cut the bread into slices.

Cortar preterite conjugation

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

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	corté	I cut / interrupted
Tú — you, singular informal	cortaste	you cut / interrupted
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cortó	he / she cut / interrupted; you cut / interrupted (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cortamos	we cut / interrupted
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cortasteis	you cut / interrupted (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cortaron	they cut / interrupted; you cut / interrupted (plural)

• Ayer corté el césped. — Yesterday I cut the grass.

Cortar 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 cortado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cortaba	I used to cut / interrupt / was cutting / interrupting
Tú — you, singular informal	cortabas	you used to cut / interrupt / were cutting / interrupting
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cortaba	he / she used to cut / interrupt / was cutting / interrupting; you used to cut / interrupt / were cutting / interrupting (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cortábamos	we used to cut / interrupt / were cutting / interrupting
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cortabais	you used to cut / interrupt / were cutting / interrupting (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cortaban	they used to cut / interrupt / were cutting / interrupting; you used to cut / interrupt / were cutting / interrupting (plural)

• Antes cortábamos el papel a mano. — We used to cut the paper by hand.

Cortar present progressive

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

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

• Estoy cortando las verduras. — I am cutting the vegetables.

Cortar near future conjugation

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

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

• Voy a cortar esta cuerda. — I am going to cut this rope.

Cortar future tense conjugation

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

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cortaré	I will cut / interrupt
Tú — you, singular informal	cortarás	you will cut / interrupt
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cortará	he / she will cut / interrupt; you will cut / interrupt (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cortaremos	we will cut / interrupt
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cortaréis	you will cut / interrupt (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cortarán	they will cut / interrupt; you will cut / interrupt (plural)

• Cortaremos la electricidad durante unos minutos. — We will cut off the electricity for a few minutes.

Cortar conditional conjugation

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

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cortaría	I would cut / interrupt
Tú — you, singular informal	cortarías	you would cut / interrupt
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cortaría	he / she would cut / interrupt; you would cut / interrupt (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cortaríamos	we would cut / interrupt
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cortaríais	you would cut / interrupt (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cortarían	they would cut / interrupt; you would cut / interrupt (plural)

• Cortaría esa parte del texto. — I would cut that part of the text.

Cortar 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 cortado.

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

• He cortado el pan. — I have cut the bread.

Cortar 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 cortado.

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

• Ya habíamos cortado la conexión. — We had already cut the connection.

Cortar 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 cortado.

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

• Para entonces habrán cortado todas las piezas. — By then they will have cut all the pieces.

Cortar 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 cortado.

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

• Habría cortado menos material. — I would have cut less material.

Cortar subjunctive conjugations

Cortar 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 regular paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	corte	that I cut / interrupt
Tú — you, singular informal	cortes	that you cut / interrupt
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	corte	that he / she cut / interrupt; that you cut / interrupt (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cortemos	that we cut / interrupt
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cortéis	that you cut / interrupt (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	corten	that they cut / interrupt; that you cut / interrupt (plural)

• Quiero que cortes el papel con cuidado. — I want you to cut the paper carefully.

Cortar 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 cortado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	cortara	that I cut / interrupted
Tú — you, singular informal	cortaras	that you cut / interrupted
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cortara	that he / she cut / interrupted; that you cut / interrupted (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cortáramos	that we cut / interrupted
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cortarais	that you cut / interrupted (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cortaran	that they cut / interrupted; that you cut / interrupted (plural)

• Preferían que cortáramos la llamada. — They preferred that we end the call.
• Era mejor que cortases el cable después de desconectar la corriente. — It was better for you to cut the cable after disconnecting the power.

Cortar 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	cortare	if / when I should cut / interrupt
Tú — you, singular informal	cortares	if / when you should cut / interrupt
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cortare	if / when he / she should cut / interrupt; if / when you should cut / interrupt (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	cortáremos	if / when we should cut / interrupt
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cortareis	if / when you should cut / interrupt (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	cortaren	if / when they should cut / interrupt; if / when you should cut / interrupt (plural)

• Quien cortare el suministro deberá avisar con antelación. — Whoever should cut off the supply must give advance notice.

Cortar 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 cortado.

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

• Me alegra que hayas cortado las piezas correctamente. — I am glad that you cut the pieces correctly.

Cortar 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 cortado.

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

• Si hubiera cortado el cable equivocado, habría causado un problema. — If I had cut the wrong cable, I would have caused a problem.
• Si hubieses cortado la conversación antes, habrías evitado la discusión. — If you had ended the conversation earlier, you would have avoided the argument.

Cortar 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 cortado.

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

• Si hubieren cortado servicios adicionales, deberán comunicarlo. — If they should have cut off additional services, they must report it.

Cortar imperative and commands

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

Cortar affirmative commands

Use the regular 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	corta	cut
Usted — you, singular formal	corte	cut (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	cortemos	let’s cut
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cortad	cut (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	corten	cut (plural)

• Corta el papel con cuidado. — Cut the paper carefully.

Cortar 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 cortes	do not cut
Usted — you, singular formal	no corte	do not cut (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no cortemos	let’s not cut
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no cortéis	do not cut (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no corten	do not cut (plural)

• No cortes el cable rojo. — Do not cut the red cable.

Common constructions with Cortar

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

• cortar algo. — to cut something.
• cortar el pelo / pan / papel. — to cut hair, bread, or paper.
• cortar una conversación / llamada / conexión. — to interrupt or cut off a conversation, call, or connection.
• cortar la electricidad / agua / suministro. — to cut off electricity, water, or another supply.

Example sentences with Cortar

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

• Corta el papel por la línea. — Cut the paper along the line.
• La llamada se cortó. — The call was disconnected.
• Van a cortar el agua durante una hora. — They are going to turn off the water for an hour.
• Espero que cortes el cable correcto. — I hope you cut the correct cable.
• Ya han cortado la electricidad. — They have already cut off the electricity.
• Corta la conversación si se vuelve inapropiada. — End the conversation if it becomes inappropriate.

Regional and usage notes for Cortar

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

• Vos cortás el pan con ese cuchillo. — You cut the bread with that knife. (voseo)
• Cortá el papel por aquí. — Cut the paper here. (affirmative vos command)

Cortar is fully regular. The main learner challenge is semantic breadth: the same verb can physically cut, interrupt speech or communication, stop a service or flow, or divide and separate things.