conservar — Spanish conjugation

to conserve

Frequency#295Regular

Indicative

Present (Presente) Regular

The present tense is the most versatile tense in Spanish. It covers actions happening right now, habitual actions, and even near-future plans. One form does the work of three English constructions.

Ella habla inglés — She speaks / is speaking English

PronounSpanishEnglish
yoconservoI conserve
conservasyou conserve
vosconservásyou conserve
él/ella/Ud.conservahe/she/it conserves
nosotrosconservamoswe conserve
vosotrosconserváisyou (pl.) conserve
ellos/ellas/Uds.conservanthey conserve

Preterite (Pretérito indefinido) Regular

Used for completed past actions with a defined endpoint — a single event, a series of events, or an action that interrupted another. Common with time expressions like ayer, el lunes, una vez.

Ella habló de ti ayer — She spoke about you yesterday

PronounSpanishEnglish
yoconservéI conserved
conservasteyou conserved
vosconservasteyou conserved
él/ella/Ud.conservóhe/she/it conserved
nosotrosconservamoswe conserved
vosotrosconservasteisyou (pl.) conserved
ellos/ellas/Uds.conservaronthey conserved

Imperfect (Pretérito imperfecto) Regular

Describes ongoing or habitual past states — what things were like, background context, what used to happen. Contrasts with the preterite which marks completed events.

Cuando era niño vivía en Valencia — When I was a child I lived in Valencia

PronounSpanish
yoconservaba
conservabas
vosconservabas
él/ella/Ud.conservaba
nosotrosconservábamos
vosotrosconservabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.conservaban

Conditional (Condicional) Regular

Expresses hypothetical actions, polite requests, and what would happen under certain conditions. Also used for reported speech about the future from a past perspective.

¿Podrías ayudarme? — Could you help me?

PronounSpanishEnglish
yoconservaríaI would conserve
conservaríasyou would conserve
vosconservaríasyou would conserve
él/ella/Ud.conservaríahe/she/it would conserve
nosotrosconservaríamoswe would conserve
vosotrosconservaríaisyou (pl.) would conserve
ellos/ellas/Uds.conservaríanthey would conserve

Future (Futuro) Regular

Expresses future actions, predictions, and probability about the present. Formed with the full infinitive as stem for most verbs. In spoken Spanish, ir a + infinitive is often preferred for near future.

Ella hablará en conferencia mañana — She will speak at the conference tomorrow

PronounSpanishEnglish
yoconservaréI will conserve
conservarásyou will conserve
vosconservarásyou will conserve
él/ella/Ud.conservaráhe/she/it will conserve
nosotrosconservaremoswe will conserve
vosotrosconservaréisyou (pl.) will conserve
ellos/ellas/Uds.conservaránthey will conserve

Present perfect (Pretérito perfecto) Regular

A compound past tense linking a past action to the present moment — something that has happened and still feels recent or relevant. More common in Spain than Latin America where preterite is preferred.

Hoy he hablado con el jefe — Today I have spoken with the boss

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohe conservadoI have conserved
has conservadoyou have conserved
voshas conservadoyou have conserved
él/ella/Ud.ha conservadohe/she/it has conserved
nosotroshemos conservadowe have conserved
vosotroshabéis conservadoyou (pl.) have conserved
ellos/ellas/Uds.han conservadothey have conserved

Pluperfect (Pretérito pluscuamperfecto) Regular

The past of the past — describes an action that was already completed before another past event happened. Always implies a reference point in the past.

Ya había hablado cuando llegaste — She had already spoken when you arrived

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohabía conservadoI had conserved
habías conservadoyou had conserved
voshabías conservadoyou had conserved
él/ella/Ud.había conservadohe/she/it had conserved
nosotroshabíamos conservadowe had conserved
vosotroshabíais conservadoyou (pl.) had conserved
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían conservadothey had conserved

Conditional perfect (Condicional perfecto) Regular

Expresses what would have happened — actions that were possible but did not occur, or regrets about the past. Formed with conditional of haber + past participle.

Habría hablado, pero no me dejaron — I would have spoken, but they did not let me

PronounSpanish
yohabría conservado
habrías conservado
voshabrías conservado
él/ella/Ud.habría conservado
nosotroshabríamos conservado
vosotroshabríais conservado
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrían conservado

Future perfect (Futuro perfecto) Regular

Describes an action that will have been completed by a certain point in the future, or expresses probability about a recent past action.

Para el lunes habré terminado — By Monday I will have finished

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohabré conservadoI will have conserved
habrás conservadoyou will have conserved
voshabrás conservadoyou will have conserved
él/ella/Ud.habrá conservadohe/she/it will have conserved
nosotroshabremos conservadowe will have conserved
vosotroshabréis conservadoyou (pl.) will have conserved
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán conservadothey will have conserved

Subjunctive

Present subjunctive (Subjuntivo presente) Regular

Used in subordinate clauses after expressions of desire, doubt, emotion, necessity, or impersonal statements. Triggered by a change of subject between the main and subordinate clause.

Espero que hable — I hope she speaks

PronounSpanish
yoconserve
conserves
vosconserves
él/ella/Ud.conserve
nosotrosconservemos
vosotrosconservéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.conserven

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra) (Subjuntivo imperfecto (-ra)) Regular

The past subjunctive used after past main verbs, in if-clauses with conditional, and for polite softening. The -ra form is more common in everyday speech than the -se form.

Si pudiera, lo haría — If I could, I would do it

PronounSpanish
yoconservara
conservaras
vosconservaras
él/ella/Ud.conservara
nosotrosconserváramos
vosotrosconservarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.conservaran

Imperfect subjunctive (-se) (Subjuntivo imperfecto (-se)) Regular

The alternative past subjunctive form. Interchangeable with -ra in most contexts but slightly more literary or formal. Both forms are grammatically correct in all regions.

Si pudiese, lo haría — If I could, I would do it

PronounSpanish
yoconservase
conservases
vosconservases
él/ella/Ud.conservase
nosotrosconservásemos
vosotrosconservaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.conservasen

Perfect subjunctive (Pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) Regular

A compound subjunctive that expresses completed actions in a subjunctive context — used after present or future main verbs expressing doubt, emotion or desire.

Dudo que ya haya llegado — I doubt she has already arrived

PronounSpanish
yohaya conservado
hayas conservado
voshayas conservado
él/ella/Ud.haya conservado
nosotroshayamos conservado
vosotroshayáis conservado
ellos/ellas/Uds.hayan conservado

Pluperfect subjunctive (Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) Regular

Expresses what had happened in hypothetical or unreal past contexts — the subjunctive equivalent of the pluperfect. Common in contrary-to-fact past conditions.

Si hubiera hablado, lo habrían creído — If she had spoken, they would have believed her

PronounSpanish
yohubiera conservado
hubieras conservado
voshubieras conservado
él/ella/Ud.hubiera conservado
nosotroshubiéramos conservado
vosotroshubierais conservado
ellos/ellas/Uds.hubieran conservado

Other forms

Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo afirmativo) Regular

Direct commands and instructions. The imperative only exists for tú, usted, nosotros, vosotros and ustedes — yo has no command form. Affirmative and negative forms use different conjugations.

Habla más despacio — Speak more slowly

PronounSpanish
conserva
vosconservá
él/ella/Ud.conserve
nosotrosconservemos
vosotrosconservad
ustedesconserven

Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Regular

Negative commands use the subjunctive forms for all persons. Formed with no + present subjunctive. This applies to all persons including tú where the affirmative uses a different form.

No hables tan rápido — Do not speak so fast

PronounSpanish
no conserves
vosno conserves
él/ella/Ud.no conserve
nosotrosno conservemos
vosotrosno conservéis
ustedesno conserven

Present progressive (Presente progresivo) Regular

Emphasises that an action is happening right now at this very moment. Less common than in English since the present tense already covers ongoing actions in Spanish.

Estoy hablando contigo — I am speaking with you

PronounSpanish
yoestoy conservando
estás conservando
vosestás conservando
él/ella/Ud.está conservando
nosotrosestamos conservando
vosotrosestáis conservando
ellos/ellas/Uds.están conservando

Preterite progressive (Pretérito indefinido progresivo) Regular

Describes an action that was in progress throughout a completed past period. Uses the preterite of estar + gerund to emphasise the ongoing nature within a defined timeframe.

Estuvo hablando toda la tarde — He was talking all afternoon

PronounSpanish
yoestuve conservando
estuviste conservando
vosestuviste conservando
él/ella/Ud.estuvo conservando
nosotrosestuvimos conservando
vosotrosestuvisteis conservando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estuvieron conservando

Imperfect progressive (Pretérito imperfecto progresivo) Regular

Emphasises an ongoing background action using the imperfect of estar + gerund. Layered on top of the imperfect which already conveys continuity — used for extra emphasis on the progressive nature.

Estaba hablando cuando entró — I was speaking when he came in

PronounSpanish
yoestaba conservando
estabas conservando
vosestabas conservando
él/ella/Ud.estaba conservando
nosotrosestábamos conservando
vosotrosestabais conservando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estaban conservando

Conditional progressive (Condicional progresivo) Regular

Expresses what would be in progress under hypothetical conditions. Uses the conditional of estar + gerund. Less common but used for emphasis on the ongoing nature of a hypothetical action.

Estaría hablando ahora si pudiera — I would be speaking now if I could

PronounSpanish
yoestaría conservando
estarías conservando
vosestarías conservando
él/ella/Ud.estaría conservando
nosotrosestaríamos conservando
vosotrosestaríais conservando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarían conservando

Future progressive (Futuro progresivo) Regular

Describes an action that will be in progress at a future point, or expresses probability about an ongoing present action. Uses the future of estar + gerund.

Mañana a esta hora estaré viajando — At this time tomorrow I will be travelling

PronounSpanish
yoestaré conservando
estarás conservando
vosestarás conservando
él/ella/Ud.estará conservando
nosotrosestaremos conservando
vosotrosestaréis conservando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarán conservando