The preterite of contar is used to express a completed action of counting or telling something in the past. For example, you might say “I counted all the money in the cash register,” indicating a specific instance when the counting was completed.

This is a regular -ar verb in the preterite tense. While it’s stem-changing in the present tense, it follows the regular preterite pattern without any stem changes.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Contar (to count/tell) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The preterite of contar indicates a completed action of counting or telling in the past.

To count: Describes numbering or calculating, for example Conté hasta cien (I counted to one hundred) or Contó el dinero dos veces (He/she counted the money twice).

To tell/relate: Used for telling stories or information, for example Me contó todo sobre su viaje (He/she told me everything about their trip).

To matter/count: Refers to being important, for example Su opinión contó mucho en la decisión (His/her opinion counted a lot in the decision).

Examples

Examples of Contar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Conté hasta cien antes de buscarte. (I counted to one hundred before looking for you.)

Contaste una historia fascinante. (You told a fascinating story.)

El abuelo contó sus aventuras de juventud. (The grandfather told his youth adventures.)

Contamos el dinero de la caja. (We counted the money in the cash register.)

Los testigos contaron lo sucedido. (The witnesses told what happened.)

Conté los días hasta tu regreso. (I counted the days until your return.)

Contaste los votos del concurso. (You counted the contest votes.)

La maestra contó a los estudiantes. (The teacher counted the students.)

Contamos nuestras experiencias del viaje. (We told our travel experiences.)

Los niños contaron las estrellas. (The children counted the stars.)

Conté la verdad sobre el incidente. (I told the truth about the incident.)

Contaste los pájaros en el parque. (You counted the birds in the park.)

El detective contó las pistas encontradas. (The detective counted the clues found.)

Contamos ovejas para dormir. (We counted sheep to fall asleep.)

Los periodistas contaron la noticia. (The journalists told the news.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Contar (to count/tell) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish) with English Translations:

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

Synonyms

The Preterite tense is also known as the Simple Past, Past Simple, Definite Past, Absolute Past, or Past Tense Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Perfecto Simple, Pretérito Indefinido, Pretérito Simple, Pasado Simple, or Pretérito de Indicativo in Spanish.