2

Say for example you want to know how to conjugate the Spanish verb "contar" for present tense "yo". The correct answer is "cuento", but how can you ask?

Does it make sense to ask "How do you conjugate 'contar' to present tense 'yo'?". Perhaps "... for present tense 'yo'"?

This knowledge would be helpful in any case you don't know how to conjugate a verb, especially when dealing with irregulars like "Contar". I want to know how to ask the question in English.

1
  • Can you clarify in what situation you need to ask this? Does it help to know that yo is the first person singular?
    – mdewey
    May 7, 2017 at 15:48

2 Answers 2

2

If I wanted the whole conjugation I would ask: "What is the present indicative of contar". If I just wanted a specific instance I would ask: "What is the first person singular present indicative of contar". Obviously I would change that if I wanted a different person or number. Note you do need to specify whether you want the indicative or subjunctive.

2

The answer from @mdewey is correct, but if you want something more informal, you could say

How do you conjugate contar in the first person singular?

People will tend to assume you want the present tense. But if you want this to be explicit, you could say

How do you conjugate contar in the present tense, first person singular?

The other ones have the following names: - second person singular
él, ella, ello, usted - third person singular
nosotros - first person plural
vosotros [or ustedes, depending on the country] - second person plural
ellos, ellas [, ustedes, depending on the country] - third person plural

And the simplest way of all:

How do you conjugate contar with yo?

(Optionally, add "in the present tense" at the end.)

It might not be elegant but it will work!

You must log in to answer this question.