Cenar conjugation

Cenar means "to have dinner". Here it is in every main tense, with real example sentences and a free checker for your own.

Meaningto have dinner

Type-ar verb

Gerundcenando

Past participlecenado

Cenar is a regular -ar verb: every tense follows the standard pattern. Juntos teaches Latin American Spanish, where ustedes replaces vosotros; the vosotros forms are shown for completeness.

Quick answer. Present: ceno, cenas, cena, cenamos, cenan. Preterite: cené, cenaste, cenó, cenamos, cenaron. All tenses below.

Cenar conjugation tables

Jump to: present · preterite · imperfect · future · conditional · present subjunctive · present perfect · commands (imperative)

Cenar in the present

what happens now or usually

yo	ceno
tú	cenas
él / ella / usted	cena
nosotros	cenamos
vosotros (Spain)	cenáis
ellos / ustedes	cenan

Cenar in the preterite

a finished action at a specific time

yo	cené
tú	cenaste
él / ella / usted	cenó
nosotros	cenamos
vosotros (Spain)	cenasteis
ellos / ustedes	cenaron

Cenar in the imperfect

habits, descriptions and background in the past

yo	cenaba
tú	cenabas
él / ella / usted	cenaba
nosotros	cenábamos
vosotros (Spain)	cenabais
ellos / ustedes	cenaban

Cenar in the future

what will happen

yo	cenaré
tú	cenarás
él / ella / usted	cenará
nosotros	cenaremos
vosotros (Spain)	cenaréis
ellos / ustedes	cenarán

Cenar in the conditional

what would happen

yo	cenaría
tú	cenarías
él / ella / usted	cenaría
nosotros	cenaríamos
vosotros (Spain)	cenaríais
ellos / ustedes	cenarían

Cenar in the present subjunctive

after wishes, doubts and requests (quiero que…)

yo	cene
tú	cenes
él / ella / usted	cene
nosotros	cenemos
vosotros (Spain)	cenéis
ellos / ustedes	cenen

Cenar in the present perfect

what has happened, up to now (he comido)

yo	he cenado
tú	has cenado
él / ella / usted	ha cenado
nosotros	hemos cenado
vosotros (Spain)	habéis cenado
ellos / ustedes	han cenado

Cenar in the commands (imperative)

telling someone to do something (habla, no hables)

tú	cena
tú (no)	no cenes
usted	cene
nosotros	cenemos
vosotros (Spain)	cenad
ustedes	cenen

Cenar in real sentences

Example sentences from the Juntos exercise bank, each checked before learners see it.

Preterite

El fin de semana pasado, cené con mi familia en casa.
Last weekend, I had dinner with my family at home.
Anoche cenó y luego se fue a casa.
Last night she had dinner and then went home.

Imperfect

Siempre cenábamos a las siete cuando éramos más jóvenes.
We always had dinner at seven o'clock when we were younger.
Siempre cenaban juntos a las ocho de la noche.
They always had dinner together at eight o'clock in the evening.

Mistakes learners make with cenar

Cenar already means "to have dinner": ceno a las ocho. Como la cena sounds translated.
Cenar + a food says what you had: cenamos tacos (we had tacos for dinner).
The yo preterite is cené, with an accent: anoche cené en casa.

Write your own sentence with cenar

Not sure which past tense to use? The Spanish past tense course explains preterite vs imperfect with practice. Conjugate any other verb with the free Spanish conjugator, browse all 72 verb pages, or check any text with the free Spanish grammar checker.

Related verbs

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Use cenar in real conversation

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Questions people ask

Is cenar irregular in Spanish?

No. Cenar is a regular -ar verb, so every tense follows the standard -ar endings.

What is the preterite of cenar?

Yo cené, tú cenaste, él/ella cenó, nosotros cenamos, ellos/ustedes cenaron.

How do you conjugate cenar in the present?

Yo ceno, tú cenas, él/ella cena, nosotros cenamos, ellos/ustedes cenan.

What is the future of cenar?

Yo cenaré, tú cenarás, él/ella cenará, nosotros cenaremos, ellos/ustedes cenarán.

What is the present subjunctive of cenar?

Que yo cene, que tú cenes, que él/ella cene, que nosotros cenemos, que ellos/ustedes cenen.