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SPANISH VERB

guardarse

to keep (something) to oneself

  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: guardándose
  • Past participle: guardado

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use guardarse

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

  1. Present

    Lo que pido en San Juan me lo guardo.

    What I wish for on Saint John's night, I keep to myself.

  2. Past

    Me guardé la opinión para no discutir en la cena.

    I kept my opinion to myself so as not to argue at dinner.

  3. Imperfect

    Mi padre se guardaba las penas para él solo.

    My father kept his sorrows to himself.

  4. Future

    Este año me guardaré el deseo, como Sarah.

    This year I'll keep my wish to myself, like Sarah.

  5. Conditional

    Yo me guardaría ese comentario, no ayuda.

    I'd keep that comment to myself, it doesn't help.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Prefiero que te guardes lo que piensas de mi novio.

    I'd rather you kept what you think of my boyfriend to yourself.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Le pedí que se guardara el secreto hasta la boda.

    I asked her to keep the secret to herself until the wedding.

  8. Imperative

    Guárdate el deseo, que si lo cuentas no se cumple.

    Keep your wish to yourself, if you tell it, it won't come true.

Good to know

  • "Guardarse algo" is to keep it to yourself: me lo guardo. "Guardar un secreto" is to keep a secret.

Where you hear guardarse

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

Spanish · Fluency Level 3

  • Lo que pido en San Juan, me lo guardo. Ni Julián lo sabe. What I wish for on Saint John's night, I keep to myself. Not even Julian knows.
  • Yo nunca me guardé un deseo. Los pedí todos en voz alta. I never kept a wish to myself. I made them all out loud.
  • El año que viene me lo voy a guardar, como Sarah. Next year I'm going to keep it to myself, like Sarah.
29
A Wish of Your Own

Fluency Level 3 · Esta vez, me lo guardo.

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Verbs like this one

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