The Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands) of Contar is used to give orders or instructions related to counting or telling something. For example, Cuenta las manzanas en la canasta. (Count the apples in the basket.)

Contar is a stem-changing verb, meaning the vowel in the stem changes from ‘o’ to ‘ue’ in certain conjugations. This pattern is common among Spanish verbs and must be memorized.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Contar (to count) in the Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands) tense (Latin American Spanish):

Contar generally means “to count” or “to tell”, but has several different meanings in the Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands), some of which might surprise you.

To count: For example, Cuenta las monedas (Count the coins).

To tell a story: For example, Cuéntanos un chiste (Tell us a joke).

To rely on someone (colloquial): For example, Cuenta conmigo (Count on me).

To settle a score (rude): For example, ¡Cuenta tus días! (Your days are numbered!)

Examples

Examples of Contar in the Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands)

¡Cuenta hasta diez para calmarte! (Count to ten to calm down!)

Antes de salir, cuenten para asegurarse de que todos estén aquí. (Before leaving, count to make sure everyone is here.)

En la reunión, contemos los votos a mano alzada. (At the meeting, let’s count the raised hand votes.)

Oye, cuenta tus bendiciones en lugar de quejarte. (Hey, count your blessings instead of complaining.)

Para el inventario, cuenten todos los artículos en el almacén. (For the inventory, count all the items in the warehouse.)

Mamá, cuenta hasta tres y ya verás cómo me porto bien. (Mom, count to three and you’ll see how well I behave.)

Antes de cruzar la calle, cuenten hasta que el semáforo esté en verde. (Before crossing the street, count until the light turns green.)

En la fiesta, contemos las copas de vino que tomamos. (At the party, let’s count the glasses of wine we drink.)

Para ahorrar, cuenta cada centavo que gastas. (To save money, count every penny you spend.)

Cuando estés estresado, cuenta hasta cien y respira profundo. (When you’re stressed, count to a hundred and take deep breaths.)

En el juego, cuenten los puntos para ver quién gana. (In the game, count the points to see who wins.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Contar (to count) in the Imperative Mood (Affirmative Commands) tense (Latin American Spanish) with English Translations:

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

Synonyms

The Imperative mood is also known as the Command Form, Affirmative Command Mood, or Direct Command Form in English, and as Modo Imperativo, Imperativo Afirmativo, Mandatos Afirmativos, or Forma de Mandato in Spanish.