Cumplir means 'to fulfil' or 'to carry out', and — crucially for GCSE — it is the verb for turning a particular age. Cumplo dieciséis años (I turn sixteen), ¿cuándo cumples años? (when's your birthday?). It also means to keep a promise or meet an obligation: cumplir una promesa, cumplir con el deber. As a regular -ir verb the conjugation is predictable. Because birthdays and celebrations are common topics, the age sense of cumplir is the one to lock in, alongside the everyday phrase ¡que cumplas muchos más! (many happy returns).
Quick facts
Cumplir (to fulfil) is a regular -ir verb.
Real sentences across different tenses — the kind of thing you'd actually say or write.
Cumplo 16 años (I turn 16).
Cumplir una promesa (to keep a promise).
Cumplir con el deber (to do one's duty).
¿Cuándo cumples años? (when's your birthday?).
Fixed expressions worth knowing — they come up in listening, reading and writing tasks.
Idiomatic expressions
Cumplir is a regular verb. Make sure you know the endings for each tense — especially the preterite and subjunctive, which is where marks are most often lost.
cumplir is a regular -ir verb — it follows the standard -ir pattern in every tense. That makes it a good one to drill: if you know cumplir, you know the template for all regular -ir 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 cumplir now →Three questions. Press Enter to check each answer.
yo: cumplo, tú: cumples, él: cumple, nosotros: cumplimos, vosotros: cumplís, ellos: cumplen
Cumplir is a regular -ir verb following the standard -ir pattern.
Use cumplir in multiple tenses to show range — present, preterite and future at minimum. This is a key criterion for higher GCSE marks.
Verbs that are easy to confuse with cumplir or that behave like it.
This reference is written for UK GCSE and A-Level Spanish learners and their teachers. It is designed for exam revision: every form is checked against standard conjugation rules, and the examples reflect the registers and topics that come up in the AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas specifications. Cumplir is a high-frequency verb and appears often in exam papers. For active recall, use the free practice tool rather than only reading the tables.