Contestar is a regular -ar verb in Spanish.
Practice contestar free →Contestar means 'to answer' or 'to reply', and it is a regular -ar verb that means the same as responder. Contesta a la pregunta (answer the question), no contestó el teléfono (he didn't answer the phone). Having both contestar and responder gives you useful variety when writing about communication. Because answering questions is central to speaking exams, reading comprehension and conversation, it is a high-frequency verb. As a regular -ar verb the conjugation is predictable; note that, like responder, it often takes a before what you are answering.
Quick facts
Contestar (to answer) is a regular -ar verb.
Real sentences across different tenses — the kind of thing you'd actually say or write.
Contesta a la pregunta (answer the question).
No contestó el teléfono (he didn't answer the phone).
Responder means the same.
Central to question-and-answer practice.
Fixed expressions worth knowing — they come up in listening, reading and writing tasks.
Idiomatic expressions
contestar is a regular -ar verb — it follows the standard -ar pattern in every tense. That makes it a good one to drill: if you know contestar, you know the template for all regular -ar verbs.
Type conjugations from memory and get instant feedback. That's how you actually build the automatic recall the exam needs — not from reading tables.
Practice contestar now →Three questions, no account needed. Type the form, then press Enter or tap Check.
yo: contesto, tú: contestas, él: contesta, nosotros: contestamos, vosotros: contestáis, ellos: contestan
The past participle is contestado (he contestado) and the gerund is contestando (estoy contestando).
Verbs that are easy to confuse with contestar or that behave like it.
Contestar is on the AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas GCSE Spanish vocabulary lists. Compare the exam boards.
Written by Daniel Holmes for GCSE & A-Level Spanish students.