Enviar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb enviar means to send, and this page covers it in the present tense — the tense for habits, facts and what is happening now. If you want the whole picture, start with the full enviar conjugation, which has every tense on one page. Here we go deep on one tense only: the full table, how it is formed, when to use it, how it differs from the closest tense, examples, the mistakes learners actually make, a quiz and answers to the questions people ask most. One example to start: Yo envío un mensaje a mi hermano. — "I send a message to my brother."

No pronunciation is given on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for enviar, so no pronunciation is shown rather than an invented one. All the forms below come from the verified conjugation tables, so you can trust every form you see here.

The enviar present tense table

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for enviar. The gerund is enviando and the past participle is enviado.

Person Form
yo envío
tú envías
él/ella/Ud. envía
nosotros/as enviamos
vosotros/as enviáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. envían

The gerund enviando is used with estar for the progressive (estoy enviando, I am sending), and the past participle enviado is used with haber for the perfect tenses (he enviado, I have sent).

How the present tense of enviar is formed

Start with the infinitive enviar. Take off the -ar ending and you are left with the stem envi-. Then add the present endings for -ar verbs: -o (yo), -as (tú), -a (él/ella/Ud.), -amos (nosotros/as), -áis (vosotros/as) and -an (ellos/ellas/Uds.). That gives you the six forms in the table above, and for most verbs in this group that is the whole story.

enviar is not fully regular in the present. The forms that break the regular pattern are: envío (yo), envías (tú), envía (él/ella/Ud.), envían (ellos/ellas/Uds.). Learn those forms on their own; the rest of the tense follows the regular endings above.

Two details are worth fixing early. First, the vosotros form carries a written accent on the ending: enviáis. Second, the present tense in Spanish has no auxiliary verb: envío on its own means both "I send" and "I am sending" in English, so you do not need a separate word for the progressive unless you want to stress that something is happening right now.

When to use the present tense of enviar

Habits and routines

The present is the tense of what you do regularly. Talking about sending messages, emails and photos on your phone.

  • Yo envío un mensaje a mi hermano. — "I send a message to my brother."
  • Tú envías una carta a mi abuela. — "you send a letter to my grandmother."

Facts and general truths

The present also states facts that are true in general, not just today. Talking about sending letters and parcels by post.

  • Él envía un correo a mi jefe. — "he/she sends an email to my boss."
  • Nosotros enviamos una foto por WhatsApp. — "we send a photo by WhatsApp."

What is happening now

The present describes what is happening at this moment. Talking about sending something to a person: enviar takes the person with a.

  • Vosotros enviáis todos los días. — "you (all) send every day."
  • Ellos envían un paquete por correo. — "they send a parcel by post."

Plans in the near future

Spanish also uses the present for fixed plans in the near future, especially with a time expression. A plan you have already decided on can be stated in the present, and it sounds more certain than the future tense.

  • Él envía un correo a mi jefe. — "he/she sends an email to my boss."
  • Nosotros enviamos una foto por WhatsApp. — "we send a photo by WhatsApp."

Enviar present vs present progressive

The present tense and the present progressive (estar + gerund) are close neighbours, and learners mix them up. The present describes a habit, a fact or a routine. The progressive describes something in progress right now, at this very moment. Compare the three pairs below: the first sentence in each pair is a habit, the second is happening now.

  • Present (habit): Yo envío un mensaje a mi hermano. — "I send a message to my brother."

  • Progressive (right now): Yo estoy enviando un mensaje a mi hermano. — "I am sending a message to my brother."

  • Present (habit): Tú envías una carta a mi abuela. — "you send a letter to my grandmother."

  • Progressive (right now): Tú estás enviando una carta a mi abuela. — "you are sending a letter to my grandmother."

  • Present (habit): Él envía un correo a mi jefe. — "he/she sends an email to my boss."

  • Progressive (right now): Él está enviando un correo a mi jefe. — "he/she is sending an email to my boss."

Use the present when you talk about what you usually do, and the progressive when you want to stress that it is happening as you speak. If you say envío every day, that is a routine. If you say Estoy enviando, you are doing it at this moment.

Examples of enviar in the present

Eight sentences in the present tense, so you can see the forms in real use. Read the Spanish first, guess the meaning, then check the translation.

  1. Envío un mensaje a mi hermano todos los días. — "I send a message to my brother every day."
  2. Mi padre envía una carta a mi abuela cada mes. — "My father sends a letter to my grandmother every month."
  3. Ayer envié un correo a mi jefe. — "Yesterday I sent an email to my boss."
  4. De joven, enviaba cartas a mis amigos por correo. — "When I was young, I used to send letters to my friends by post."
  5. Mañana enviaré un paquete por correo. — "Tomorrow I will send a parcel by post."
  6. Si tuviera tu número, te enviaría una foto ahora mismo. — "If I had your number, I would send you a photo right now."
  7. Él envía todos los días. — "he/she sends every day."
  8. Nosotros enviamos un paquete por correo. — "we send a parcel by post."

Common mistakes with enviar in the present

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why it is wrong.

1. Yo envio un mensaje.

Wrong: Yo envio un mensaje.

Right: Yo envío un mensaje.

The yo form of enviar carries a written accent: envío. The accent marks the stressed í, which would otherwise be a diphthong.

2. Envío un mensaje mi hermano.

Wrong: Envío un mensaje mi hermano.

Right: Envío un mensaje a mi hermano.

The person who receives the message needs the preposition a: envío un mensaje a mi hermano.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

Wrong: Ayer yo envío un mensaje a mi hermano.

Right: Ayer yo envié un mensaje a mi hermano.

Ayer (yesterday) signals a finished action, so it needs the preterite: envié. The present envío describes what you do now or usually, not what you did yesterday.

4. Forgetting the accent on the vosotros form

Wrong: Vosotros enviais un mensaje a mi hermano.

Right: Vosotros enviáis un mensaje a mi hermano.

The vosotros ending carries a written accent: enviáis. Without it, the spelling is wrong, even though the pronunciation is close.

Quiz: test yourself on enviar in the present

Choose the right form for each sentence. The answers are at the end of this section, with an explanation for every question.

  1. Yo ___ un mensaje a mi hermano
    • a) envío
    • b) envías
    • c) envía
    • d) enviamos
  2. Tú ___ una carta a mi abuela
    • a) envío
    • b) envía
    • c) enviamos
    • d) envías
  3. Él ___ un correo a mi jefe
    • a) envías
    • b) enviamos
    • c) envía
    • d) envío
  4. Nosotros ___ una foto por WhatsApp
    • a) envía
    • b) enviamos
    • c) envío
    • d) envías
  5. Vosotros ___ todos los días
    • a) enviáis
    • b) envío
    • c) envías
    • d) envía
  6. Ellos ___ un paquete por correo
    • a) envío
    • b) envías
    • c) envía
    • d) envían
  7. Yo ___ un mensaje a mi hermano
    • a) envía
    • b) enviamos
    • c) envío
    • d) envías
  8. Tú ___ una carta a mi abuela
    • a) enviamos
    • b) envías
    • c) envío
    • d) envía

Answers

  1. a) envío — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  2. d) envías — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.
  3. c) envía — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form, because the subject is él/ella/Ud..
  4. b) enviamos — The sentence needs the nosotros/as form, because the subject is nosotros/as.
  5. a) enviáis — The sentence needs the vosotros/as form, because the subject is vosotros/as.
  6. d) envían — The sentence needs the ellos/ellas/Uds. form, because the subject is ellos/ellas/Uds..
  7. c) envío — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  8. b) envías — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.

Frequently asked questions about enviar in the present

Why does envío have an accent?

Enviar has a weak vowel í that carries the stress in yo, tú, él and ellos: envío, envías, envía, envían. The accent is written because the stress falls on the í and breaks the diphthong. Enviamos and enviáis have no accent.

Is enviar regular?

Yes, apart from the written accent on the stressed í in four present forms, enviar is regular: envío, envías, envía, enviamos, enviáis, envían.

Is enviar regular in the present?

Yes. enviar is regular in the present: the six forms are the stem envi- plus the regular endings, with no stem change. The only thing to watch is the written accent on the stressed endings, for example envío.

What are the gerund and the past participle of enviar?

The gerund is enviando, used with estar for the progressive (estoy enviando), and the past participle is enviado, used with haber for the perfect tenses (he enviado).

How to remember enviar

Four small habits will fix enviar in your memory. First, say the present tense out loud, in order, three times: envío, envías, envía, enviamos, enviáis, envían. Saying the forms is far more effective than reading them silently, because you hear the endings and the stem at the same time. Second, write three sentences about your own life: one about today with the present (envío), one about yesterday with the preterite (envié), and one about tomorrow with the future (enviaré). Personal sentences stick because they are about you, not about a textbook. Third, remember the difference from recibir: Enviar is sending; recibir is receiving. You envías un mensaje and the other person lo recibe. Finally, learn the two key forms by heart: the gerund enviando and the past participle enviado. With those two and the present tense, you can already build the progressive (estoy enviando) and the present perfect (he enviado), which covers most everyday conversation.

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