Apartar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of apartar — “to move aside, to set apart” 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 apartar 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. Apartar means to move aside or to set apart, and it covers moving a chair aside, setting money aside, keeping a person away from trouble and putting a thought aside. It is a practical verb for the home, for money and for keeping a distance. Apartar is a regular -ar verb, so the notes below explain exactly where it follows the rules and where it breaks them. To see it in a real sentence: Aparto la silla de la mesa.

Present tense conjugation table: apartar

Every person of apartar in the present tense. The gerund is apartando and the past participle is apartado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo aparto
tú apartas
él/ella/Ud. aparta
nosotros/as apartamos
vosotros/as apartáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. apartan

How the present of apartar is formed

The present of apartar is built from the stem apart- plus the present 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 aparto
tú -as apartas
él/ella/Ud. -a aparta
nosotros/as -amos apartamos
vosotros/as -áis apartáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an apartan

For apartar there are no surprises in the present: every form is the stem apart- plus the regular ending, so once you know the endings you know the whole tense.

When to use the present tense with apartar

Habits and routines

Use the present for things you do regularly.

Yo aparto la silla de la mesa. — I move aside the chair from the table.

General facts

Use the present for facts and general truths that do not change.

Él/Ella aparta los libros del escritorio. — He moves aside the books from the desk.

What is happening right now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment.

Ahora, Nosotros/as apartamos un dinero para el viaje. — Right now, We move aside some money for the trip.

Near-future plans

Use the present for fixed plans in the near future, especially with mañana or la semana que viene.

Mañana, Tú apartas la mirada del espejo. — Tomorrow, You move aside my gaze from the mirror.

Instructions and timeless statements

Use the present for instructions, rules and statements that are always true.

Él/Ella aparta la silla de la mesa. — He moves aside the chair from the table.

The present vs the preterite

The present and the preterite answer different questions: the present says what happens regularly or right now, while the preterite says what happened once and finished. Compare the same idea in both tenses with apartar.

  1. Yo aparto la silla de la mesa. — I move aside the chair from the table. / Ayer, Yo aparté la silla de la mesa. — Yesterday, I moved aside the chair from the table.
  2. Yo aparto los libros del escritorio. — I move aside the books from the desk. / Ayer, Yo aparté los libros del escritorio. — Yesterday, I moved aside the books from the desk.
  3. Yo aparto un dinero para el viaje. — I move aside some money for the trip. / Ayer, Yo aparté un dinero para el viaje. — Yesterday, I moved aside some money for the trip.

Example sentences in the present tense

Seven sentences with apartar in the present tense only, covering all six persons.

  1. Yo aparto la silla de la mesa. — I move aside the chair from the table.
  2. Tú apartas los libros del escritorio. — You move aside the books from the desk.
  3. Él/Ella aparta un dinero para el viaje. — He moves aside some money for the trip.
  4. Nosotros/as apartamos la mirada del espejo. — We move aside my gaze from the mirror.
  5. Vosotros/as apartáis la silla de la mesa. — You move aside the chair from the table.
  6. Ellos/as apartan los libros del escritorio. — They move aside the books from the desk.
  7. Yo aparto un dinero para el viaje. — I move aside some money for the trip.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo aparta la silla de la mesa. — Right: Yo aparto la silla de la mesa. — The person matters: aparta is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is aparto.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo aparto los libros del escritorio. — Right: Ayer, yo aparté los libros del escritorio. — With ayer, use the preterite (aparté), not the present. The present is for habits and for right now.
  3. Wrong: Using apartar where alejar belongs. — Right: Apartar means to move aside, to set apart, while alejar means to move something away. — Check the meaning before you choose: apartar fits Aparto la silla de la mesa.
  4. Wrong: Espero que él aparta los libros del escritorio. — Right: Espero que él aparte los libros del escritorio. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: aparte, not the present indicative aparta.

Quiz: the present tense of apartar

Eight questions on the present tense of apartar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la silla de la mesa. (present tense, yo) A. aparto B. apartas C. aparta D. apartamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ los libros del escritorio. (present tense, tú) A. aparto B. aparta C. apartamos D. apartas

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ un dinero para el viaje. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. apartas B. apartamos C. aparta D. aparto

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ la mirada del espejo. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. aparta B. apartamos C. aparto D. apartas

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ la silla de la mesa. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. apartáis B. aparto C. apartas D. aparta

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ los libros del escritorio. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. aparto B. apartas C. aparta D. apartan

  7. Which is the gerund of apartar? A. aparto B. aparté C. apartando D. apartado

  8. Which is the past participle of apartar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. aparté B. apartado C. apartando D. aparto

Answer key

  1. aparto — The yo present form of apartar is aparto.
  2. apartas — The tú present form of apartar is apartas.
  3. aparta — The él/ella/Ud. present form of apartar is aparta.
  4. apartamos — The nosotros/as present form of apartar is apartamos.
  5. apartáis — The vosotros/as present form of apartar is apartáis.
  6. apartan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of apartar is apartan.
  7. apartando — The gerund of apartar is apartando: estoy apartando.
  8. apartado — The past participle of apartar is apartado: he apartado, has apartado, ha apartado.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present tense of apartar formed?

Take the infinitive apartar, drop the -ar ending to get the stem apart-, then add the present endings: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an. The full table is above, with every person. No, the present of apartar is fully regular: the stem apart- plus the standard -ar endings gives every form.

When do I use the present tense of apartar?

Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Aparto la silla de la mesa.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of apartar?

The present (aparto) and the preterite (aparté) answer different questions: the present is for habits and for right now, while the preterite is for one finished action. Compare them in the contrast section above.

How do I practise the present of apartar?

Drill the six forms in the table until you can say them without looking, then use the full conjugation of apartar to see how the present fits with the other tenses, and the apartar examples and quiz page for more sentences. The Spanish Verb Quiz tests the forms under pressure.

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