The Subjunctive Mood of Contar is used to express wishes, desires, or uncertainty about the action of counting. For example, Es importante que cuentes tus pasos. (It’s important that you count your steps.)

Contar is a stem-changing verb, meaning the vowel in the stem changes from ‘o’ to ‘ue’ in certain conjugations of the Present Subjunctive.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Contar (to count) in the Subjunctive Mood tense (Castilian Spanish):

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

To count or enumerate: For example, Es importante que cuentes todas las entradas vendidas. (It’s important that you count all the tickets sold.)

To tell or narrate: For example, Espero que me cuentes todo lo que pasó. (I hope you tell me everything that happened.)

To rely or depend on (someone): For example, Puedes contar conmigo para lo que necesites. (You can count on me for whatever you need.)

To include or consider (colloquial): For example, Cuenta que te ayude con eso. (Count on me helping you with that.)

To reveal or disclose (colloquial): For example, ¡Cuenta! ¿Qué pasó? (Spill it! What happened?)

Examples

Examples of Contar in the Subjunctive Mood

Es importante que cuentes la verdad en la corte. (It’s important that you tell the truth in court.)

Ojalá que cuentes con el apoyo de tus amigos. (I hope you have the support of your friends.)

El profesor quiere que los alumnos cuenten sus experiencias en la clase. (The teacher wants the students to share their experiences in class.)

Dudo que mi hermano cuente lo que pasó anoche. (I doubt my brother will tell what happened last night.)

Es una lástima que no cuentes con los recursos necesarios. (It’s a pity that you don’t have the necessary resources.)

Prefiero que contemos nuestras historias en un ambiente más íntimo. (I prefer that we share our stories in a more intimate setting.)

Es fundamental que cuenten con un plan de emergencia. (It’s essential that they have an emergency plan.)

Insisto en que contéis la verdad, por más dura que sea. (I insist that you tell the truth, no matter how hard it is.)

Aunque no lo creas, es mejor que cuente su versión de los hechos. (Although you may not believe it, it’s better that he tells his version of events.)

Tal vez sea hora de que cuentes tu secreto a tus seres queridos. (Maybe it’s time you share your secret with your loved ones.)

Es raro que cuenten chistes en una reunión de negocios. (It’s strange that they tell jokes in a business meeting.)

Me alegra que cuentes con el apoyo de tus padres. (I’m glad you have the support of your parents.)

Sería bueno que contemos con un intérprete durante las negociaciones. (It would be good if we had an interpreter during the negotiations.)

Es una pena que no cuenten con suficientes fondos para el proyecto. (It’s a shame they don’t have enough funds for the project.)

Espero que cuenten sus experiencias de viaje en el blog. (I hope they share their travel experiences on the blog.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Contar (to count) in the Subjunctive Mood tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American 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.