cancelar — Spanish conjugation

to cancel

Frequency#631Regular

Indicative

Present (Presente) Regular

The present tense is the most versatile tense in Spanish. It covers actions happening right now, habitual actions, and even near-future plans. One form does the work of three English constructions.

Ella habla inglés — She speaks / is speaking English

PronounSpanishEnglish
yocanceloI cancel
cancelasyou cancel
voscancelásyou cancel
él/ella/Ud.cancelahe/she/it cancels
nosotroscancelamoswe cancel
vosotroscanceláisyou (pl.) cancel
ellos/ellas/Uds.cancelanthey cancel

Preterite (Pretérito indefinido) Regular

Used for completed past actions with a defined endpoint — a single event, a series of events, or an action that interrupted another. Common with time expressions like ayer, el lunes, una vez.

Ella habló de ti ayer — She spoke about you yesterday

PronounSpanishEnglish
yocanceléI cancelled
cancelasteyou cancelled
voscancelasteyou cancelled
él/ella/Ud.cancelóhe/she/it cancelled
nosotroscancelamoswe cancelled
vosotroscancelasteisyou (pl.) cancelled
ellos/ellas/Uds.cancelaronthey cancelled

Imperfect (Pretérito imperfecto) Regular

Describes ongoing or habitual past states — what things were like, background context, what used to happen. Contrasts with the preterite which marks completed events.

Cuando era niño vivía en Valencia — When I was a child I lived in Valencia

PronounSpanish
yocancelaba
cancelabas
voscancelabas
él/ella/Ud.cancelaba
nosotroscancelábamos
vosotroscancelabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.cancelaban

Conditional (Condicional) Regular

Expresses hypothetical actions, polite requests, and what would happen under certain conditions. Also used for reported speech about the future from a past perspective.

¿Podrías ayudarme? — Could you help me?

PronounSpanishEnglish
yocancelaríaI would cancel
cancelaríasyou would cancel
voscancelaríasyou would cancel
él/ella/Ud.cancelaríahe/she/it would cancel
nosotroscancelaríamoswe would cancel
vosotroscancelaríaisyou (pl.) would cancel
ellos/ellas/Uds.cancelaríanthey would cancel

Future (Futuro) Regular

Expresses future actions, predictions, and probability about the present. Formed with the full infinitive as stem for most verbs. In spoken Spanish, ir a + infinitive is often preferred for near future.

Ella hablará en conferencia mañana — She will speak at the conference tomorrow

PronounSpanishEnglish
yocancelaréI will cancel
cancelarásyou will cancel
voscancelarásyou will cancel
él/ella/Ud.cancelaráhe/she/it will cancel
nosotroscancelaremoswe will cancel
vosotroscancelaréisyou (pl.) will cancel
ellos/ellas/Uds.cancelaránthey will cancel

Present perfect (Pretérito perfecto) Regular

A compound past tense linking a past action to the present moment — something that has happened and still feels recent or relevant. More common in Spain than Latin America where preterite is preferred.

Hoy he hablado con el jefe — Today I have spoken with the boss

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohe canceladoI have cancelled
has canceladoyou have cancelled
voshas canceladoyou have cancelled
él/ella/Ud.ha canceladohe/she/it has cancelled
nosotroshemos canceladowe have cancelled
vosotroshabéis canceladoyou (pl.) have cancelled
ellos/ellas/Uds.han canceladothey have cancelled

Pluperfect (Pretérito pluscuamperfecto) Regular

The past of the past — describes an action that was already completed before another past event happened. Always implies a reference point in the past.

Ya había hablado cuando llegaste — She had already spoken when you arrived

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohabía canceladoI had cancelled
habías canceladoyou had cancelled
voshabías canceladoyou had cancelled
él/ella/Ud.había canceladohe/she/it had cancelled
nosotroshabíamos canceladowe had cancelled
vosotroshabíais canceladoyou (pl.) had cancelled
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían canceladothey had cancelled

Conditional perfect (Condicional perfecto) Regular

Expresses what would have happened — actions that were possible but did not occur, or regrets about the past. Formed with conditional of haber + past participle.

Habría hablado, pero no me dejaron — I would have spoken, but they did not let me

PronounSpanish
yohabría cancelado
habrías cancelado
voshabrías cancelado
él/ella/Ud.habría cancelado
nosotroshabríamos cancelado
vosotroshabríais cancelado
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrían cancelado

Future perfect (Futuro perfecto) Regular

Describes an action that will have been completed by a certain point in the future, or expresses probability about a recent past action.

Para el lunes habré terminado — By Monday I will have finished

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohabré canceladoI will have cancelled
habrás canceladoyou will have cancelled
voshabrás canceladoyou will have cancelled
él/ella/Ud.habrá canceladohe/she/it will have cancelled
nosotroshabremos canceladowe will have cancelled
vosotroshabréis canceladoyou (pl.) will have cancelled
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán canceladothey will have cancelled

Subjunctive

Present subjunctive (Subjuntivo presente) Regular

Used in subordinate clauses after expressions of desire, doubt, emotion, necessity, or impersonal statements. Triggered by a change of subject between the main and subordinate clause.

Espero que hable — I hope she speaks

PronounSpanish
yocancele
canceles
voscanceles
él/ella/Ud.cancele
nosotroscancelemos
vosotroscanceléis
ellos/ellas/Uds.cancelen

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra) (Subjuntivo imperfecto (-ra)) Regular

The past subjunctive used after past main verbs, in if-clauses with conditional, and for polite softening. The -ra form is more common in everyday speech than the -se form.

Si pudiera, lo haría — If I could, I would do it

PronounSpanish
yocancelara
cancelaras
voscancelaras
él/ella/Ud.cancelara
nosotroscanceláramos
vosotroscancelarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.cancelaran

Imperfect subjunctive (-se) (Subjuntivo imperfecto (-se)) Regular

The alternative past subjunctive form. Interchangeable with -ra in most contexts but slightly more literary or formal. Both forms are grammatically correct in all regions.

Si pudiese, lo haría — If I could, I would do it

PronounSpanish
yocancelase
cancelases
voscancelases
él/ella/Ud.cancelase
nosotroscancelásemos
vosotroscancelaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.cancelasen

Perfect subjunctive (Pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) Regular

A compound subjunctive that expresses completed actions in a subjunctive context — used after present or future main verbs expressing doubt, emotion or desire.

Dudo que ya haya llegado — I doubt she has already arrived

PronounSpanish
yohaya cancelado
hayas cancelado
voshayas cancelado
él/ella/Ud.haya cancelado
nosotroshayamos cancelado
vosotroshayáis cancelado
ellos/ellas/Uds.hayan cancelado

Pluperfect subjunctive (Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) Regular

Expresses what had happened in hypothetical or unreal past contexts — the subjunctive equivalent of the pluperfect. Common in contrary-to-fact past conditions.

Si hubiera hablado, lo habrían creído — If she had spoken, they would have believed her

PronounSpanish
yohubiera cancelado
hubieras cancelado
voshubieras cancelado
él/ella/Ud.hubiera cancelado
nosotroshubiéramos cancelado
vosotroshubierais cancelado
ellos/ellas/Uds.hubieran cancelado

Other forms

Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo afirmativo) Regular

Direct commands and instructions. The imperative only exists for tú, usted, nosotros, vosotros and ustedes — yo has no command form. Affirmative and negative forms use different conjugations.

Habla más despacio — Speak more slowly

PronounSpanish
cancela
voscancelá
él/ella/Ud.cancele
nosotroscancelemos
vosotroscancelad
ustedescancelen

Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Regular

Negative commands use the subjunctive forms for all persons. Formed with no + present subjunctive. This applies to all persons including tú where the affirmative uses a different form.

No hables tan rápido — Do not speak so fast

PronounSpanish
no canceles
vosno canceles
él/ella/Ud.no cancele
nosotrosno cancelemos
vosotrosno canceléis
ustedesno cancelen

Present progressive (Presente progresivo) Regular

Emphasises that an action is happening right now at this very moment. Less common than in English since the present tense already covers ongoing actions in Spanish.

Estoy hablando contigo — I am speaking with you

PronounSpanish
yoestoy cancelando
estás cancelando
vosestás cancelando
él/ella/Ud.está cancelando
nosotrosestamos cancelando
vosotrosestáis cancelando
ellos/ellas/Uds.están cancelando

Preterite progressive (Pretérito indefinido progresivo) Regular

Describes an action that was in progress throughout a completed past period. Uses the preterite of estar + gerund to emphasise the ongoing nature within a defined timeframe.

Estuvo hablando toda la tarde — He was talking all afternoon

PronounSpanish
yoestuve cancelando
estuviste cancelando
vosestuviste cancelando
él/ella/Ud.estuvo cancelando
nosotrosestuvimos cancelando
vosotrosestuvisteis cancelando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estuvieron cancelando

Imperfect progressive (Pretérito imperfecto progresivo) Regular

Emphasises an ongoing background action using the imperfect of estar + gerund. Layered on top of the imperfect which already conveys continuity — used for extra emphasis on the progressive nature.

Estaba hablando cuando entró — I was speaking when he came in

PronounSpanish
yoestaba cancelando
estabas cancelando
vosestabas cancelando
él/ella/Ud.estaba cancelando
nosotrosestábamos cancelando
vosotrosestabais cancelando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estaban cancelando

Conditional progressive (Condicional progresivo) Regular

Expresses what would be in progress under hypothetical conditions. Uses the conditional of estar + gerund. Less common but used for emphasis on the ongoing nature of a hypothetical action.

Estaría hablando ahora si pudiera — I would be speaking now if I could

PronounSpanish
yoestaría cancelando
estarías cancelando
vosestarías cancelando
él/ella/Ud.estaría cancelando
nosotrosestaríamos cancelando
vosotrosestaríais cancelando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarían cancelando

Future progressive (Futuro progresivo) Regular

Describes an action that will be in progress at a future point, or expresses probability about an ongoing present action. Uses the future of estar + gerund.

Mañana a esta hora estaré viajando — At this time tomorrow I will be travelling

PronounSpanish
yoestaré cancelando
estarás cancelando
vosestarás cancelando
él/ella/Ud.estará cancelando
nosotrosestaremos cancelando
vosotrosestaréis cancelando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarán cancelando