Grabar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of grabar — "to record" 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 grabar 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. Grabar means to record, and it covers recording a video, a song, a message and a programme on television. It also means to engrave a name on a ring or a plaque. It is a fully regular -ar verb. To see it in a real sentence: Él graba un vídeo del concierto. — "He/she records a video of the concert." Work through the table below, then the formation notes, the usage rules and the contrast with the preterite, and test yourself at the end.

Present tense conjugation table: grabar

Every person of grabar in the present tense. The gerund is grabando and the past participle is grabado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo grabo
tú grabas
él/ella/Ud. graba
nosotros/as grabamos
vosotros/as grabáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. graban

How the present indicative of grabar is formed

The present indicative of grabar is built from the stem grab- 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 grabo
tú -as grabas
él/ella/Ud. -a graba
nosotros/as -amos grabamos
vosotros/as -áis grabáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an graban

The gerund of grabar is grabando and the past participle is grabado. 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 grabar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and grabar 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.

Habits and routines

The present tense describes things you do regularly. If you do it every day, every week or every morning, the present is the tense to use. For grabar, this use looks like this: "Yo grabo un vídeo del concierto." — "I record a video of the concert." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

General facts

The present tense states facts that are generally true, not tied to one moment. It is the tense for definitions and permanent situations. For grabar, this use looks like this: "Él graba la canción en el estudio." — "He/she records the song in the studio." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

What is happening now

The present tense also covers what is happening at this moment, especially with verbs that describe an action in progress. For grabar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros grabamos un mensaje para la familia." — "We record a message for the family." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Timetables and schedules

The present tense is used for fixed plans and timetables, such as trains, classes and opening times, even when they refer to the future. For grabar, this use looks like this: "Ellos graban el programa de anoche." — "They record last night's programme." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Instructions and requests

The present tense appears in instructions and polite requests, where it sounds softer than a direct command. For grabar, this use looks like this: "Tú grabas un vídeo del concierto." — "You record a video of the concert." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

The present tense vs the preterite

Learners often mix up the present and the preterite with grabar. The rule is simple: the present is for habits, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite is for one finished action in the past. The three pairs below show the same idea in both tenses, so you can feel the difference.

Pair 1: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Yo grabo un vídeo del concierto." — "I record a video of the concert."
  • Preterite: "Yo grabé un vídeo del concierto." — "I recorded a video of the concert." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 2: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Él graba la canción en el estudio." — "He/she records the song in the studio."
  • Preterite: "Él grabó la canción en el estudio." — "He/she recorded the song in the studio." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 3: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Nosotros grabamos un mensaje para la familia." — "We record a message for the family."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros grabamos un mensaje para la familia." — "We recorded a message for the family." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Example sentences in the present tense

Eight natural sentences with grabar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo grabo un vídeo del concierto. — I record a video of the concert.
  2. Tú grabas la canción en el estudio. — You record the song in the studio.
  3. Él graba un mensaje para la familia. — He/she records a message for the family.
  4. Nosotros grabamos el programa de anoche. — We record last night's programme.
  5. Vosotros grabáis un vídeo del concierto. — You all record a video of the concert.
  6. Ellos graban la canción en el estudio. — They record the song in the studio.
  7. Yo grabo un mensaje para la familia. — I record a message for the family.
  8. Él graba el programa de anoche. — He/she records last night's programme.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros grabais la canción en el estudio. — Right: Vosotros grabáis la canción en el estudio. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: grabáis, not grabais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo grabo un mensaje para la familia. — Right: Ayer, yo grabé un mensaje para la familia. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (grabé), not the present (grabo). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo graba un vídeo del concierto. — Right: Yo grabo un vídeo del concierto. — The person matters: graba is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is grabo.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy grabado la canción en el estudio. — Right: Yo he grabado la canción en el estudio. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he grabado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ un vídeo del concierto. (present tense) A. grabo B. grabas C. graba D. grabamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ la canción en el estudio. (present tense) A. grabas B. grabo C. graba D. grabamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ un mensaje para la familia. (present tense) A. graba B. grabo C. grabas D. grabamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ el programa de anoche. (present tense) A. grabamos B. grabo C. grabas D. graba

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ un vídeo del concierto. (present tense) A. grabáis B. grabo C. grabas D. graba

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ la canción en el estudio. (present tense) A. graban B. grabo C. grabas D. graba

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ un mensaje para la familia. (present tense) A. grabo B. grabas C. graba D. grabamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el programa de anoche. (present tense) A. graba B. grabo C. grabas D. grabamos

Answer key

  1. grabo — The yo present form of grabar is grabo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. grabas — The tu present form of grabar is grabas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. graba — The el present form of grabar is graba. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. grabamos — The nosotros present form of grabar is grabamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. grabáis — The vosotros present form of grabar is grabáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. graban — The ellos present form of grabar is graban. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. grabo — The yo present form of grabar is grabo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. graba — The el present form of grabar is graba. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of grabar?

Use the present tense of grabar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo grabo un vídeo del concierto. — "I record a video of the concert." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of grabar formed?

Take the stem grab- and add the present endings for -ar verbs. The full table is at the top of this page.

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

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo grabo la canción en el estudio. with Yo grabé la canción en el estudio. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of grabar?

Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the grabar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Grabar conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.

Related links