Administrar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of administrar — “to manage, to administer” in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for administrar with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Administrar means to manage or to administer, to run a business, a house or a medicine dose. It is a fully regular verb used in work, government and health contexts. To see it in a real sentence: Administro la empresa con mucho cuidado. — “I manage the company very carefully.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of administrar will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: administrar
Every person of administrar in the present tense. The gerund is administrando and the past participle is administrado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | administro |
| tú | administras |
| él/ella/Ud. | administra |
| nosotros/as | administramos |
| vosotros/as | administráis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | administran |
How the present indicative of administrar is formed
The present indicative of administrar is built from the stem plus the present indicative endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.
| Person | Ending | Form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | administro |
| tú | -as | administras |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | administra |
| nosotros/as | -amos | administramos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | administráis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | administran |
Administrar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the table above is completely regular. The stem is administr- and the endings are the normal -ar endings, so once you know the pattern you can produce every form on this page.
The gerund of administrar is administrando and the past participle is administrado. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.
When to use the present tense of administrar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and administrar appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.
Routines and habits
Use the present for things you do regularly, every day or every week. The present is the tense of routine, and administrar fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo administro la empresa con mucho cuidado todos los días.” — “I manage the company very carefully every day.”
General facts
Use the present for facts that are true in general, not just today. When you state how something is, the present is the tense to use.
“Él administra el dinero de la familia.” — “He/she manages the family's money.”
What is happening right now
Use the present for what is happening at this moment. Spanish often uses the simple present where English uses the progressive, so administro can mean both “I manage” and “I am manageing”.
“Ahora mismo, yo administro el medicamento al enfermo.” — “Right now, I manage the medicine to the patient.”
Fixed plans in the near future
Use the present for a plan that is already fixed, such as something arranged for tomorrow. Spanish uses the present for near-future plans much more freely than English does.
“Mañana, yo administro el tiempo entre el trabajo y el descanso.” — “Tomorrow, I will manage my time between work and rest.”
Questions and negatives
Use the present to ask about habits and to say what does not happen. The question and the negative use exactly the same forms as the statement.
“¿Tú administras la empresa con mucho cuidado?” — “Do you manage the company very carefully?”
The present tense vs the closest tenses
Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion
The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.
- Present — habit or general fact: Administra el dinero de la familia. — “He/she manages the family's money.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Administró el dinero de la familia. — the same idea, placed in the preterite.
Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add “used to” in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.
- Present — now: Administran el medicamento al enfermo. — “They manage the medicine to the patient.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Administraban el medicamento al enfermo. — the same idea, placed in the imperfect.
Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen
The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.
- Present — now or a fixed plan: Administras el tiempo entre el trabajo y el descanso. — “You manage my time between work and rest.”
- Future — what will happen: Administrarás el tiempo entre el trabajo y el descanso. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: administrar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show administrar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo administro la empresa con mucho cuidado. — “I manage the company very carefully.”
- Tú administras el dinero de la familia. — “You manage the family's money.”
- Él administra el medicamento al enfermo. — “He manages the medicine to the patient.”
- Nosotros administramos el tiempo entre el trabajo y el descanso. — “We manage my time between work and rest.”
- Vosotros administráis la empresa con mucho cuidado. — “You (plural) manage the company very carefully.”
- Ellos administran el dinero de la familia. — “They manage the family's money.”
- ¿Tú administras el medicamento al enfermo? — “Do you manage the medicine to the patient?”
Common mistakes with administrar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with administrar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo administrar la empresa con mucho cuidado. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo administro la empresa con mucho cuidado.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of administrar is administro, not the infinitive administrar.
✗ Vosotros administrais la empresa con mucho cuidado. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros administráis la empresa con mucho cuidado.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: administráis, not administrais. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo administro el dinero de la familia. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo administré el dinero de la familia.
The present and the preterite are different tenses: administro is happening now, while administré is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
✗ Treating administrar and gestionar as identical in every context. (confusing administrar with gestionar).
✓ Correct: Administrar means to manage, to administer, while gestionar means to manage, as a process.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: administrar fits sentences such as Administro la empresa con mucho cuidado, while gestionar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: administrar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of administrar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
1. Which is the correct present tense form of administrar for tú?
- a) administras
- b) administro
- c) administra
- d) administran
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ la empresa con mucho cuidado. — “I manage the company very carefully.”
- a) administra
- b) administramos
- c) administras
- d) administro
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ el dinero de la familia. — “He/she manages the family's money.” (present tense)
- a) administraba
- b) administrará
- c) administra
- d) administró
4. Which is the correct present tense form of administrar for nosotros?
- a) administran
- b) administramos
- c) administro
- d) administra
5. Which sentence uses administrar correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él administró el dinero de la familia.
- b) Él administra el dinero de la familia.
- c) Él administrará el dinero de la familia.
- d) Ellos administra el dinero de la familia.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ el medicamento al enfermo. — “They manage the medicine to the patient.”
- a) administro
- b) administra
- c) administramos
- d) administran
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ el tiempo entre el trabajo y el descanso? — “Do you manage my time between work and rest?”
- a) administra
- b) administrarás
- c) administras
- d) administro
8. What is the gerund of administrar?
- a) administré
- b) administrando
- c) administrado
- d) administro
Answer key
a) administras — The tú form is administras. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; administro is yo, administra is él/ella and administran is ellos/ellas.
d) administro — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: administro. The other options are the wrong person.
c) administra — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: administra. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) administramos — Nosotros takes administramos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem.
b) Él administra el dinero de la familia. — Él administra el dinero de la familia. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) administran — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is administran.
c) administras — The question needs the tú form in the present: administras.
b) administrando — The gerund is administrando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle administrado.
Frequently asked questions
Is administrar regular in the present tense?
Yes. Administrar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: administro, administras, administra, administramos, administráis and administran.
What is the gerund and the past participle of administrar?
The gerund is administrando and the past participle is administrado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I manage” in Spanish?
Say administro. For example: Administro la empresa con mucho cuidado. — “I manage the company very carefully.”
What is the difference between administrar and gestionar?
Administrar means “to manage, to administer”, while gestionar means “to manage, as a process”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use administrar when you mean “to manage, to administer” and gestionar when you mean “to manage, as a process”. The full conjugation of administrar is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of administrar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- administrar examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Present tense guide — how the present tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.
- Adjudicar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with administrar.
- Afianzar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with administrar.
- Afilar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with administrar.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.