Cenar

Cenar is a Spanish verb meaning to have dinner or to dine. It is used to describe the act of consuming the main evening meal and is common across Spanish-speaking countries. In many regions, cenar is associated with the daily routine of the evening, with timing varying by culture and individual habits.

Etymology and related terms: The verb cenar is derived from the noun cena, meaning dinner. The noun itself comes from Latin cena. The development into a regular -ar verb occurred in the medieval period, giving Spanish a simple, regular conjugation pattern for cenar alongside other -ar verbs.

Conjugation and forms: Cen ar follows standard -ar verb conjugation. Present indicative forms include ceno, cenas, cena, cenamos, cenáis, cenan. Preterite forms are cené, cenaste, cenó, cenamos, cenasteis, cenaron. Imperfect forms are cenaba, cenabas, cenaba, cenábamos, cenabais, cenaban. Future forms are cenaré, cenarás, cenará, cenaremos, cenaréis, cenarán. The present subjunctive forms are cene, cenes, cene, cenemos, cenéis, cenen. Common imperatives are:

- positive: cena (tú), cenad (vosotros)

- negative: no cenes (tú), no cenéis (vosotros)

Cen ar can be used intransitively to indicate the action of dining, as in “cenamos temprano.” It can also take a direct object to specify what is eaten, e.g., “cenar pizza” or “cenar una cena ligera,” though the former is more idiomatic as “cenamos pizza” or “cenamos pizza esta noche.”

See also: cena, comer, dines.