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SPANISH VERB

conservar

to preserve, to keep

  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: conservando
  • Past participle: conservado

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I preserve
  2. tú you preserve
  3. usted, él, ella he/she preserves
  4. nosotros we preserve
  5. vosotros Spain you all preserve
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they preserve

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I preserved
  2. tú you preserved
  3. usted, él, ella he/she preserved
  4. nosotros we preserved
  5. vosotros Spain you all preserved
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they preserved

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to preserve
  2. tú you used to preserve
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to preserve
  4. nosotros we used to preserve
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to preserve
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to preserve

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will preserve
  2. tú you will preserve
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will preserve
  4. nosotros we will preserve
  5. vosotros Spain you all will preserve
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will preserve

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would preserve
  2. tú you would preserve
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would preserve
  4. nosotros we would preserve
  5. vosotros Spain you all would preserve
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would preserve

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I preserve
  2. tú (that) you preserve
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she preserve
  4. nosotros (that) we preserve
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all preserve
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they preserve

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I preserved
  2. tú (if) you preserved
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she preserved
  4. nosotros (if) we preserved
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all preserved
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they preserved

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú preserve!
  2. usted preserve! (formal)
  3. nosotros preserve! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain preserve! (all of you)
  5. ustedes preserve! (all of you)

How to use conservar

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Mi abuela conserva todas las cartas de mi abuelo.

    My grandma keeps all my grandad's letters.

  2. Past

    El barrio conservó sus casas blancas y sus patios.

    The neighbourhood preserved its white houses and patios.

  3. Imperfect

    Antes se conservaba el pescado en sal.

    Fish used to be preserved in salt.

  4. Future

    Este bote conservará el gazpacho dos días en la nevera.

    This container will keep the gazpacho two days in the fridge.

  5. Conditional

    Yo conservaría ese mueble, es de tu bisabuela.

    I'd keep that piece of furniture, it was your great-grandmother's.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Ojalá Sevilla conserve siempre sus naranjos.

    I hope Seville always keeps its orange trees.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Me alegró que conservaran la fachada antigua.

    I was glad they preserved the old façade.

  8. Imperative

    Conserve el tique por si quiere devolverlo.

    Keep the receipt in case you want to return it.

Where you hear conservar

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Spanish · Advanced Level 3

  • Conservamos los documentos del hotel. We keep the hotel's documents.
  • Conservé todas sus cartas. I kept all her letters.
  • Vamos a conservar una copia. We're going to keep a copy.
15
In Her Own Hand

Advanced Level 3 · conservado

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Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -ar verb.