The word cerrar in Spanish has a number of useful meanings, most related to closing something. This word can be translated as “to close,” “to shut,” “to lock,” “to turn off,” “to button up,” “to zip up,” “to delete,” among others. It is important to look at sentence examples that use this verb in order to make sure you are using it properly.
In terms of conjugation, it is a pretty simple verb; however, there is an e-to-ie stem change to note. The following outlines common verb conjugations for cerrar.
Present
|
Yo |
cierro |
Nosotros |
cerramos |
|
Tú |
cierras |
Vosotros |
cerráis |
|
Él/Ella/Ud. |
cierra |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
cierran |
Example sentence:
El bar cierra a las 12:00am. -- The bar closes at 12:00am.
Notice the e-to-ie stem change in all forms except for nosotros and vosotros.
Imperfect
|
Yo |
cerraba |
Nosotros |
cerrábamos |
|
Tú |
cerrabas |
Vosotros |
cerrabais |
|
Él/Ella/Ud. |
cerraba |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
cerraban |
Example sentence:
Se me cayó el celular cuando cerraba la puerta de mi habitación. -- I dropped my phone when I was closing my room’s door.
Preterite
|
Yo |
cerré |
Nosotros |
cerramos |
|
Tú |
cerraste |
Vosotros |
cerrasteis |
|
Él/Ella/Ud. |
cerró |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
cerraron |
Example sentence:
Te juro por Dios que cerré la puerta esta mañana. -- I swear to God I locked the door this morning.
Future
|
Yo |
cerraré |
Nosotros |
cerraremos |
|
Tú |
cerrarás |
Vosotros |
cerraréis |
|
Él/Ella/Ud. |
cerrará |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
cerrarán |
Example sentence:
Creo que cerraré mi cuenta de Facebook. -- I think I’m going to delete my Facebook account.
Conditional
|
Yo |
cerraría |
Nosotros |
cerraríamos |
|
Tú |
cerrarías |
Vosotros |
cerraríais |
|
Él/Ella/Ud. |
cerraría |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
cerrarían |
Example sentence:
Ella no cerraría sus ojos tan fácilmente. -- She wouldn’t close her eyes so easily.
Additional Examples with Cerrar
Cerraré mi chaqueta. Está haciendo frío afuera. -- I’m going to zip up my jacket. It’s really cold outside.
¿Sabes a qué hora cierra la tienda? -- Do you know at what time the store closes?
Ella cerró un contrato muy importante esta mañana. -- She closed a very important deal this morning.
Cierra la puerta al salir. -- Close the door on your way out.
El gobierno cerró una estación de radio muy importante. -- The government closed down a very important radio station.
Cerrar in Idioms
Sometimes, it is best to use words in context so that you understand when and why you should use them instead of others. This is especially the case with idiomatic expressions. Here are some idiomatic phrases with the word cerrar:
- En un abrir y cerrar de ojos. -- In the blink of an eye.
- Tendrás que cerrar un ojo si te juntas con un tuerto. -- This one can be interpreted in English as ‘‘if you run with wolves, you will learn how to howl.’’
Final Notes on Cerrar
As seen, it is a very useful word, and its conjugation is not hard to master. You’ll find it handy for closing, shutting and removing many things in your life. Just make sure you remember there is a stem change in the present tense.