Guardo la grabación en mi computadora.

I keep the recording on my computer.

Breakdown of Guardo la grabación en mi computadora.

• yo: I
• mi: my
• en: on
• la computadora: the computer
• guardar: to keep
• la grabación: the recording

Questions & Answers about Guardo la grabación en mi computadora.

Why is Guardo used instead of something like Estoy guardando, when in English we’d probably say “I’m saving”?

Spanish uses the simple present much more than English does.

• Guardo la grabación en mi computadora.
  → can mean:

  • “I save the recording on my computer” (habitually / generally), or
  • “I’m saving the recording on my computer (now)” in some contexts, especially if it’s understood from context.

• Estoy guardando la grabación en mi computadora.
  → emphasizes that the action is happening right now, in progress (closer to English “I’m in the middle of saving…”).

In many everyday situations, either could be acceptable. If you want to be very clear about right now, ongoing, use estoy guardando. If you mean a routine, or a general statement of what you do, use guardo.

What does the verb guardar mean exactly? Is it specifically “to save (a file)”?

Guardar is broader than just computer “save.” It can mean:

1. To put away / store somewhere

   • Guardo la ropa en el armario. – I put the clothes away in the closet.

2. To keep / hold onto

   • Guardo todas tus cartas. – I keep all your letters.

3. To save (data, files, documents)

   • No olvides guardar el archivo. – Don’t forget to save the file.

4. To keep (a secret, silence, distance, etc.)

   • Guardo el secreto. – I keep the secret.
   • Guarda silencio. – Keep quiet.

So in your sentence, it’s the “save/store (a recording, as a file)” meaning, but the verb itself is more general.

Why is it la grabación and not el grabación or something else? How do I know the gender?

Grabación is feminine, so it takes la.

A very reliable pattern:
Nouns ending in -ción are almost always feminine:

• la nación – the nation
• la información – the information
• la invitación – the invitation
• la grabación – the recording

So you say:

• la grabación (singular)
• las grabaciones (plural)

Because it’s feminine, any related adjectives or pronouns must also be feminine if they refer to it:

• la grabación
• esta grabación (this recording)
• toda la grabación (the whole recording)
• la guardo (I save it – “it” is feminine because it refers to la grabación)

Why does grabación have an accent on the ó?

The accent mark tells you where to stress the word: gra-ba-CIÓN (last syllable).

Rules at work:

• Words ending in -n, -s, or a vowel are normally stressed on the second-to-last syllable.
• Grabación ends in -n, so by the basic rule it would be stressed “gra-BA-cion”.
• To force the stress onto the last syllable (gra-ba-CIÓN), you need a written accent: grabación.

This pattern is common with -ción words:
información, canción, situación, etc. – all stressed on the final syllable, all with an accent.

Why is the definite article la used instead of mi, like mi grabación?

Both are possible, but they’re not identical in nuance:

• Guardo la grabación en mi computadora.
  → “I save the recording on my computer.”

  • Refers to a specific recording both speaker and listener know about (the one we just made, the one we mentioned, etc.).
  • In Spanish, the definite article is very common where English uses the or sometimes my.

• Guardo mi grabación en mi computadora.
  → “I save my recording on my computer.”

  • Slightly emphasizes that the recording belongs to me.
  • More about ownership than just identifying “which recording”.

Context decides which feels more natural. If it’s clearly your recording and the focus is just “that specific one we’re talking about,” la grabación is perfectly normal.

Why can the sentence start with Guardo and not Yo guardo? Is the subject yo omitted?

Yes, the subject is yo (“I”), and Spanish usually omits subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• Guardo = I save
• Guardas = you save
• Guarda = he/she/you-formal save(s)
• etc.

So:

• Guardo la grabación… = Yo guardo la grabación…

You only add yo for emphasis or contrast:

• Yo guardo la grabación, no tú.
  – I save the recording, not you.

Otherwise, leaving yo out is more natural.

Why do we say en mi computadora and not a mi computadora or sobre mi computadora?

The preposition en is the standard choice for location inside or on a medium in this kind of context:

• Guardar algo en un lugar / un dispositivo
  – save/keep something in/on a place / device

So:

• Guardo la grabación en mi computadora.
  – I save the recording on my computer.

Alternatives:

• a mi computadora

  • Suggests movement toward something (“to my computer”), and doesn’t work with guardar in this sense.

• sobre mi computadora

  • Literally “on top of my computer”, more physical:
    
    • Pongo el libro sobre mi computadora. – I put the book on top of my computer.

For saving files, use en: en mi computadora, en mi teléfono, en el disco duro, etc.

Is computadora the only correct word, or can I say ordenador, computador, or PC?

All are correct, but they’re used in different regions or registers:

• computadora

  • Standard in much of Latin America (e.g., Mexico, Central America, many South American countries).

• computador

  • Also used in several Latin American countries (e.g., Colombia, Chile, parts of others).

• ordenador

  • Standard in Spain.

• PC, computadora personal, laptop, notebook, la compu (informal, colloquial)

  • Common in speech; la compu is informal Latin American Spanish.

Your sentence is marked as Latin American Spanish, so computadora (or computador) is the natural choice:
Guardo la grabación en mi computadora.

Can I change the word order, like Guardo en mi computadora la grabación or La grabación la guardo en mi computadora?

Yes, Spanish allows some flexibility in word order, but it can change the emphasis:

1. Guardo la grabación en mi computadora.

   • Neutral, most common. Focus is just on the whole action.

2. Guardo en mi computadora la grabación.

   • Slight emphasis on en mi computadora (as opposed to somewhere else).

3. La grabación la guardo en mi computadora.

   • Emphasizes la grabación (“As for the recording, I save it on my computer”).
   • This structure (topic + pronoun + verb) often highlights or contrasts that element.

All are grammatically correct. The first one is the simplest and most typical for a learner to use.

If I already mentioned la grabación before, can I replace it with a pronoun and just say La guardo en mi computadora?

Yes. That’s exactly what Spanish normally does.

• Full form (introducing the noun):
  Guardo la grabación en mi computadora. – I save the recording on my computer.

• Later, when it’s already clear you’re talking about la grabación:
  La guardo en mi computadora. – I save it on my computer.

Here:

• la is a direct object pronoun, feminine singular, referring back to la grabación.

Other examples:

• Compro la camisa. → La compro. – I buy the shirt → I buy it.
• Escucho la canción. → La escucho. – I listen to the song → I listen to it.

How would I talk about the past or future of this same action with guardar?

Using guardar with different tenses:

• Present (now / habitual):

  • Guardo la grabación en mi computadora.
    – I save / I’m saving the recording on my computer.

• Preterite (simple past) – completed action:

  • Guardé la grabación en mi computadora.
    – I saved the recording on my computer.

• Imperfect (ongoing / repeated past):

  • Guardaba la grabación en mi computadora.
    – I used to save / I was saving the recording on my computer.

• Near future (ir a + infinitive) – very common in speech:

  • Voy a guardar la grabación en mi computadora.
    – I’m going to save the recording on my computer.

• Simple future:

  • Guardaré la grabación en mi computadora.
    – I will save the recording on my computer.

In everyday conversation, voy a guardar… is especially frequent for the future.

In tech contexts, do people ever use salvar instead of guardar, like “to save a file”?

Yes, both guardar and salvar can appear in computer contexts, but guardar is more general and very widespread.

• Guardar is the default for:

  • saving files, documents, recordings:
    • ¿Guardaste el documento? – Did you save the document?
    • Voy a guardar la grabación. – I’m going to save the recording.

• Salvar is also used, especially influenced by English save, and you may see:

  • Salvar el archivo, salvar los cambios, etc., in some software or regions.

For learning purposes, you’ll be perfectly fine and very natural if you consistently use guardar for “save (a file/recording)” in Latin American Spanish.