salvaguardar — Spanish conjugation

to safeguard

Frequency#486Regular

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
yosalvaguardoI safeguard
salvaguardasyou safeguard
vossalvaguardásyou safeguard
él/ella/Ud.salvaguardahe/she/it safeguards
nosotrossalvaguardamoswe safeguard
vosotrossalvaguardáisyou (pl.) safeguard
ellos/ellas/Uds.salvaguardanthey safeguard

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
yosalvaguardéI safeguarded
salvaguardasteyou safeguarded
vossalvaguardasteyou safeguarded
él/ella/Ud.salvaguardóhe/she/it safeguarded
nosotrossalvaguardamoswe safeguarded
vosotrossalvaguardasteisyou (pl.) safeguarded
ellos/ellas/Uds.salvaguardaronthey safeguarded

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
yosalvaguardaba
salvaguardabas
vossalvaguardabas
él/ella/Ud.salvaguardaba
nosotrossalvaguardábamos
vosotrossalvaguardabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.salvaguardaban

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
yosalvaguardaríaI would safeguard
salvaguardaríasyou would safeguard
vossalvaguardaríasyou would safeguard
él/ella/Ud.salvaguardaríahe/she/it would safeguard
nosotrossalvaguardaríamoswe would safeguard
vosotrossalvaguardaríaisyou (pl.) would safeguard
ellos/ellas/Uds.salvaguardaríanthey would safeguard

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
yosalvaguardaréI will safeguard
salvaguardarásyou will safeguard
vossalvaguardarásyou will safeguard
él/ella/Ud.salvaguardaráhe/she/it will safeguard
nosotrossalvaguardaremoswe will safeguard
vosotrossalvaguardaréisyou (pl.) will safeguard
ellos/ellas/Uds.salvaguardaránthey will safeguard

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 salvaguardadoI have safeguarded
has salvaguardadoyou have safeguarded
voshas salvaguardadoyou have safeguarded
él/ella/Ud.ha salvaguardadohe/she/it has safeguarded
nosotroshemos salvaguardadowe have safeguarded
vosotroshabéis salvaguardadoyou (pl.) have safeguarded
ellos/ellas/Uds.han salvaguardadothey have safeguarded

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 salvaguardadoI had safeguarded
habías salvaguardadoyou had safeguarded
voshabías salvaguardadoyou had safeguarded
él/ella/Ud.había salvaguardadohe/she/it had safeguarded
nosotroshabíamos salvaguardadowe had safeguarded
vosotroshabíais salvaguardadoyou (pl.) had safeguarded
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían salvaguardadothey had safeguarded

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 salvaguardado
habrías salvaguardado
voshabrías salvaguardado
él/ella/Ud.habría salvaguardado
nosotroshabríamos salvaguardado
vosotroshabríais salvaguardado
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrían salvaguardado

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 salvaguardadoI will have safeguarded
habrás salvaguardadoyou will have safeguarded
voshabrás salvaguardadoyou will have safeguarded
él/ella/Ud.habrá salvaguardadohe/she/it will have safeguarded
nosotroshabremos salvaguardadowe will have safeguarded
vosotroshabréis salvaguardadoyou (pl.) will have safeguarded
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán salvaguardadothey will have safeguarded

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
yosalvaguarde
salvaguardes
vossalvaguardes
él/ella/Ud.salvaguarde
nosotrossalvaguardemos
vosotrossalvaguardéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.salvaguarden

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
yosalvaguardara
salvaguardaras
vossalvaguardaras
él/ella/Ud.salvaguardara
nosotrossalvaguardáramos
vosotrossalvaguardarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.salvaguardaran

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
yosalvaguardase
salvaguardases
vossalvaguardases
él/ella/Ud.salvaguardase
nosotrossalvaguardásemos
vosotrossalvaguardaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.salvaguardasen

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 salvaguardado
hayas salvaguardado
voshayas salvaguardado
él/ella/Ud.haya salvaguardado
nosotroshayamos salvaguardado
vosotroshayáis salvaguardado
ellos/ellas/Uds.hayan salvaguardado

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 salvaguardado
hubieras salvaguardado
voshubieras salvaguardado
él/ella/Ud.hubiera salvaguardado
nosotroshubiéramos salvaguardado
vosotroshubierais salvaguardado
ellos/ellas/Uds.hubieran salvaguardado

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
salvaguarda
vossalvaguardá
él/ella/Ud.salvaguarde
nosotrossalvaguardemos
vosotrossalvaguardad
ustedessalvaguarden

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 salvaguardes
vosno salvaguardes
él/ella/Ud.no salvaguarde
nosotrosno salvaguardemos
vosotrosno salvaguardéis
ustedesno salvaguarden

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 salvaguardando
estás salvaguardando
vosestás salvaguardando
él/ella/Ud.está salvaguardando
nosotrosestamos salvaguardando
vosotrosestáis salvaguardando
ellos/ellas/Uds.están salvaguardando

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 salvaguardando
estuviste salvaguardando
vosestuviste salvaguardando
él/ella/Ud.estuvo salvaguardando
nosotrosestuvimos salvaguardando
vosotrosestuvisteis salvaguardando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estuvieron salvaguardando

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 salvaguardando
estabas salvaguardando
vosestabas salvaguardando
él/ella/Ud.estaba salvaguardando
nosotrosestábamos salvaguardando
vosotrosestabais salvaguardando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estaban salvaguardando

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 salvaguardando
estarías salvaguardando
vosestarías salvaguardando
él/ella/Ud.estaría salvaguardando
nosotrosestaríamos salvaguardando
vosotrosestaríais salvaguardando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarían salvaguardando

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 salvaguardando
estarás salvaguardando
vosestarás salvaguardando
él/ella/Ud.estará salvaguardando
nosotrosestaremos salvaguardando
vosotrosestaréis salvaguardando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarán salvaguardando