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SPANISH VERB

salvar

to save

  • #403 most used
  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: salvando
  • Past participle: salvado

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use salvar

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

  1. Present

    Los cinturones de seguridad salvan muchas vidas cada año.

    Seat belts save many lives every year.

  2. Past

    Un bombero salvó al gato del árbol.

    A firefighter rescued the cat from the tree.

  3. Imperfect

    De pequeño soñaba que salvaba el mundo.

    As a boy I dreamed I was saving the world.

  4. Future

    Esta vacuna salvará a miles de personas.

    This vaccine will save thousands of people.

  5. Conditional

    Ese dinero salvaría el negocio de mi tío.

    That money would save my uncle's business.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Ojalá los médicos salven a la niña del accidente.

    Hopefully the doctors save the girl from the accident.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Fue un milagro que salvaran a todos los pasajeros.

    It was a miracle they saved all the passengers.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Salva al pez, se está quedando sin agua!

    Save the fish, it's running out of water!

Good to know

  • "Salvar" is to rescue; to save money is "ahorrar" and to save a file is "guardar".

Verbs like this one

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