Archivar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of archivar — “to file away” 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 archivar 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. Archivar means to file away, and it is used for putting documents in a file, storing papers in an archive and, in computing, archiving emails and files. It is a work and office verb, common in administration and in email language. Archivar 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: Archivo los documentos en la carpeta.

Present tense conjugation table: archivar

Every person of archivar in the present tense. The gerund is archivando and the past participle is archivado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo archivo
tú archivas
él/ella/Ud. archiva
nosotros/as archivamos
vosotros/as archiváis
ellos/ellas/Uds. archivan

How the present of archivar is formed

The present of archivar is built from the stem archiv- 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 archivo
tú -as archivas
él/ella/Ud. -a archiva
nosotros/as -amos archivamos
vosotros/as -áis archiváis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an archivan

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

When to use the present tense with archivar

Habits and routines

Use the present for things you do regularly.

Yo archivo los documentos en la carpeta. — I file away the documents in the folder.

General facts

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

Él/Ella archiva las cartas del año pasado. — He files away last year's letters.

What is happening right now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment.

Ahora, Nosotros/as archivamos los correos en el ordenador. — Right now, We file away the emails on the computer.

Near-future plans

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

Mañana, Tú archivas el expediente del cliente. — Tomorrow, You file away the customer's file.

Instructions and timeless statements

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

Él/Ella archiva los documentos en la carpeta. — He files away the documents in the folder.

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 archivar.

  1. Yo archivo los documentos en la carpeta. — I file away the documents in the folder. / Ayer, Yo archivé los documentos en la carpeta. — Yesterday, I filed away the documents in the folder.
  2. Yo archivo las cartas del año pasado. — I file away last year's letters. / Ayer, Yo archivé las cartas del año pasado. — Yesterday, I filed away last year's letters.
  3. Yo archivo los correos en el ordenador. — I file away the emails on the computer. / Ayer, Yo archivé los correos en el ordenador. — Yesterday, I filed away the emails on the computer.

Example sentences in the present tense

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

  1. Yo archivo los documentos en la carpeta. — I file away the documents in the folder.
  2. Tú archivas las cartas del año pasado. — You file away last year's letters.
  3. Él/Ella archiva los correos en el ordenador. — He files away the emails on the computer.
  4. Nosotros/as archivamos el expediente del cliente. — We file away the customer's file.
  5. Vosotros/as archiváis los documentos en la carpeta. — You file away the documents in the folder.
  6. Ellos/as archivan las cartas del año pasado. — They file away last year's letters.
  7. Yo archivo los correos en el ordenador. — I file away the emails on the computer.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo archiva los documentos en la carpeta. — Right: Yo archivo los documentos en la carpeta. — The person matters: archiva is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is archivo.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo archivo las cartas del año pasado. — Right: Ayer, yo archivé las cartas del año pasado. — With ayer, use the preterite (archivé), not the present. The present is for habits and for right now.
  3. Wrong: Using archivar where guardar belongs. — Right: Archivar means to file away, while guardar means to keep or store something. — Check the meaning before you choose: archivar fits Archivo los documentos en la carpeta.
  4. Wrong: Espero que él archiva las cartas del año pasado. — Right: Espero que él archive las cartas del año pasado. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: archive, not the present indicative archiva.

Quiz: the present tense of archivar

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ los documentos en la carpeta. (present tense, yo) A. archivo B. archivas C. archiva D. archivamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ las cartas del año pasado. (present tense, tú) A. archivo B. archiva C. archivamos D. archivas

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ los correos en el ordenador. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. archivas B. archivamos C. archiva D. archivo

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ el expediente del cliente. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. archiva B. archivamos C. archivo D. archivas

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ los documentos en la carpeta. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. archiváis B. archivo C. archivas D. archiva

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ las cartas del año pasado. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. archivo B. archivas C. archiva D. archivan

  7. Which is the gerund of archivar? A. archivo B. archivé C. archivando D. archivado

  8. Which is the past participle of archivar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. archivé B. archivado C. archivando D. archivo

Answer key

  1. archivo — The yo present form of archivar is archivo.
  2. archivas — The tú present form of archivar is archivas.
  3. archiva — The él/ella/Ud. present form of archivar is archiva.
  4. archivamos — The nosotros/as present form of archivar is archivamos.
  5. archiváis — The vosotros/as present form of archivar is archiváis.
  6. archivan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of archivar is archivan.
  7. archivando — The gerund of archivar is archivando: estoy archivando.
  8. archivado — The past participle of archivar is archivado: he archivado, has archivado, ha archivado.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present tense of archivar formed?

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

When do I use the present tense of archivar?

Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Archivo los documentos en la carpeta.

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

The present (archivo) and the preterite (archivé) 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 archivar?

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

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