Colgar

Colgar is a Spanish verb of the -ar family meaning to hang or suspend something from a support, and it is also used to mean to hang up a telephone. It covers placing objects on walls, hooks, or clotheslines, as well as more figurative suspensions. In computing and everyday speech, colgar can describe a program or device freezing or becoming unresponsive (the program se cuelga). Historically, colgar can appear in contexts referring to execution by hanging, though modern usage typically uses ahorcar for that method.

Grammatical notes: Colgar is irregular in many tenses. Present indicative forms are cuelgo, cuelgas, cuelga, colgamos, colgáis, cuelgan. Preterite forms are colgué, colgaste, colgó, colgamos, colgasteis, colgaron. Imperfect forms are colgaba, colgabas, colgaba, colgábamos, colgabais, colgaban. Future forms are colgaré, colgarás, colgará, colgaremos, colgaréis, colgarán. Subjunctive present forms are cuelgue, cuelgues, cuelgue, colguemos, colguéis, cuelguen.

Common uses include colgar una prenda o una lámpara (to hang a garment or a lamp), colgar una pintura o una foto en la pared, and colgar el teléfono (to hang up the phone). Colgarse is the reflexive form and is used to describe the act of hanging oneself; this sense is sensitive and requires careful handling in context. Related noun forms are colgado (something that is hung or a person who is hanging) and colgante (a pendant or hanging ornament).

See also: colgado, colgante, colgarse.