The subjunctive mood of cantar is used to express wishes, desires, or uncertainty about an action of singing. For example, Espero que cantes una canción. (I hope you sing a song.)

Cantar is a regular -ar verb, so its subjunctive conjugations follow the typical pattern for this verb type.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Cantar (to sing) in the Subjunctive Mood tense (Latin American Spanish):

The present subjunctive of cantar is used to express desires, doubts, emotions, and hypothetical situations.

Expressing desires: For example, Espero que cantes en mi fiesta. (I hope you sing at my party.)

Expressing doubts: For example, Dudo que cante bien. (I doubt that he/she sings well.)

Expressing emotions: For example, Me alegro de que cantes tan bonito. (I’m glad you sing so beautifully.)

Hypothetical situations: For example, Si yo cantara, sería famoso. (If I sang, I would be famous.)

Slang/Idiomatic: For example, ¡Cántale a tu abuela! (Tell it to someone who cares! – rude dismissal.)

Examples

Examples of Cantar in the Subjunctive Mood

Espero que cantes en el concierto de la escuela. (I hope you sing in the school concert.)

Es importante que cantemos con energía en el escenario. (It’s important that we sing with energy on stage.)

Aunque no canten muy bien, lo importante es divertirse. (Even if they don’t sing very well, the important thing is to have fun.)

Ojalá que cante esa canción tan bonita en la fiesta. (I hope she sings that beautiful song at the party.)

Dudo que canten canciones de protesta en ese evento corporativo. (I doubt they’ll sing protest songs at that corporate event.)

El profesor insistió en que todos cantemos juntos la canción nacional. (The teacher insisted that we all sing the national anthem together.)

Aunque no cante muy bien, lo hace con mucha pasión. (Even though he doesn’t sing very well, he does it with a lot of passion.)

¿Crees que canten en vivo o usarán pistas grabadas? (Do you think they’ll sing live or use pre-recorded tracks?)

Sería genial que cantes un poco en la reunión familiar. (It would be great if you sang a little at the family gathering.)

No importa si cante desafinado, me gusta escucharlo. (It doesn’t matter if he sings out of tune, I like listening to him.)

Tal vez cantemos una canción de cuna para que el bebé se duerma. (Maybe we should sing a lullaby so the baby falls asleep.)

Aunque no canten muy bien, los fans siempre los apoyan. (Even if they don’t sing very well, the fans always support them.)

Ojalá que cante esa canción tan pegajosa en la fiesta. (I hope he sings that catchy song at the party.)

Dudo que canten canciones románticas en un concierto de rock. (I doubt they’ll sing romantic songs at a rock concert.)

El director pidió que todos cantemos el himno al inicio del evento. (The director asked that we all sing the anthem at the start of the event.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Cantar (to sing) in the Subjunctive Mood tense (Latin American Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Latin American Spanish. For Castilian Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Subjunctive mood is also known as the Simple Subjunctive, Subjunctive Present, or Present Subjunctive Mood in English, and as Presente de Subjuntivo, Subjuntivo Presente, Presente del Modo Subjuntivo, or Tiempo Presente del Subjuntivo in Spanish.