contar
to count
To count numbers, to matter, or to count on someone
Encoding Strategies:
linguistic
count
to enumerate
+
-ar
verb suffix
Contar means to count and is a direct cognate — just like in English, you can count numbers, and count on someone.
contar
to count
To enumerate or tally things or numbers.
- Cuenta los días que faltan para las vacaciones = Count the days left until vacation
to matter, to count
When something counts, it matters — just like in English.
- Cada voto cuenta en una elección = Every vote counts in an election
contar con
to have, to count on, to rely on, to have available
When you count your resources before an endeavor, whatever is present in that count is something you can depend on. "Con" marks what's with you, present and accounted for.
- Cuento con diez soldados = I have ten soldiers (I'm counting / taking things into account and with me are ten soldiers, available at my disposal)
- Contamos con buena tecnología = We count on good technology (We're counting / taking things into account and with us is good technology, available at our disposal)
contar
to tell
To tell or narrate a story or event
Encoding Strategies:
linguistic
recount
to narrate
+
-ar
verb suffix
Contar also means to tell, as in recounting something — when you tell someone what happened, you recount it.
contar
to tell, to narrate, to recount
To tell or narrate a story or event, just like recounting something in English.
- El abuelo nos contó un cuento antes de dormir = Grandpa told us a story before bed
- Cuéntame lo que pasó = Tell me what happened