contar

Contar is a Spanish verb with several related senses. Its primary meaning is to count numbers or tally items, but it is also widely used to mean telling or recounting stories, events, or information. A third function is to rely on someone or something, expressed in phrases such as contar con alguien, meaning to count on or rely on that person or resource.

Etymology and development: Contar derives from Latin computare, meaning to calculate or reckon, and arrived in Spanish through the Romance language evolution. The original sense of enumeration broadened over time to include narrating what happened, as if recounting a calculation of events.

Conjugation and forms: Contar is an -ar verb with a present-tense stem change (o-ue): cuento, cuentas, cuenta, contamos, contáis, cuentan. It also has common past forms, such as the preterite conté, contaste, contó, contamos, contasteis, contaron, and imperfect forms like contaba, contabas, contaba, contábamos, contabais, contaban. In addition to these, it participates in numerous tenses and moods like any standard Spanish verb.

Usage notes: In the counting sense, it appears with numbers or quantities (contar hasta diez, contar las monedas). In the narrating sense, it takes a direct object for what is told (contar una historia, contar un chiste, contar lo sucedido). The phrasal verb contar con expresses reliance or availability (contar con ayuda, contar con alguien para algo). Contar also appears in idiomatic expressions and varies by region in its preferred synonyms or constructions, but remains highly productive across Spanish varieties.