Introduction

conservar means “to preserve, to keep”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to preserve, to keep” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows conservar in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo conservo la comida por la mañana.” — “I preserve the food.”

conservar in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how conservar is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.

In the present: everyday use

These sentences use {verb} in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.

  1. “Yo conservo la comida cada día.” — “I preserve the food.”
  2. “Tú conservas la comida cada día.” — “you preserve the food.”
  3. “Él conserva la comida siempre.” — “He preserves the food.”
  4. “Nosotros conservamos la comida todos los días.” — “We preserve the food.”

Talking about the past

The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show {verb} in the past, so you can talk about what already happened. 5. “Yo conservé la comida ayer.” — “I preserved the food.” (preterite) 6. “Él conservó la comida ayer.” — “He preserved the food.” (preterite) 7. “Yo conservaba la comida cuando era joven.” — “I used to preserve the food.” (imperfect)

Plans and things already done

These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of {verb} stays the same. 8. “Nosotros conservaremos la comida mañana.” — “We will preserve the food.” (future) 9. “Tú has conservado la comida hoy.” — “you have preserved the food.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo conserve la comida.” — “I hope that I preserve the food.” (present-subjunctive)

More everyday uses

Two more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action. 11. “Vosotros conserváis la comida cada semana.” — “You preserve the food.” 12. “Ellos conservan la comida normalmente.” — “They preserve the food.”

conservar in context

Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how conservar appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.

Dialogue in a café

Sofía: “¿Tú conservas la comida?” — Do you preserve the food?

Diego: “Sí, yo conservo la comida cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I preserve the food every day. It is part of my routine.

Sofía: “¿Y ayer? ¿También conservas la comida?” — And yesterday? Did you preserve the food too?

Diego: “Sí, ayer yo conservé la comida. Mañana nosotros conservaremos la comida otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I preserved the food. Tomorrow we will preserve the food again.

A short paragraph

Él conserva la comida cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how conservar works in real Spanish: who does it, when, and with what. Around it you can build a whole paragraph: what happened yesterday, what is happening now, and what will happen tomorrow, all with the same verb. When you write your own paragraph, start with the present — yo conservo la comida — then add one past sentence and one future sentence, and you have practised three tenses with one verb. That is the fastest way to make conservar yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is conservé, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — conserve — is a spelling error, and in speech the stress lands in the wrong place. Preterite yo forms that end in a vowel carry that accent, so check it every time you write the preterite of conservar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For conservar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: conservamos. Only the context tells you which tense is meant, so pay attention to the time words around it — cada día points to the present, ayer points to the preterite. Do not invent a different form for one of the tenses.

Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses

Spanish perfect tenses always use haber, never ser: yo he conservado la comida. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy conservado is not the present perfect of conservar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing conservar with considerar

conservar and considerar look similar, and learners mix them up. They are different verbs with different meanings, so check which one the sentence needs before you conjugate. If you can substitute the English meaning of conservar — preserve — the sentence needs conservar; if it needs the meaning of considerar, use that verb instead.

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo conserve la comida. Using the indicative — Espero que yo conservo — is one of the most frequent learner errors with conservar. Whenever the main clause expresses a wish, doubt or emotion, switch to the subjunctive.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the best answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the yo form of conservar in the present?

  • A. conservas
  • B. conserva
  • C. conservamos
  • D. conservo

2. What is the tu form of conservar in the preterite?

  • A. conservamos
  • B. conservaste
  • C. conservé
  • D. conservó

3. What is the el form of conservar in the imperfect?

  • A. conservabas
  • B. conservábamos
  • C. conservabais
  • D. conservaba

4. What is the nosotros form of conservar in the future?

  • A. conservará
  • B. conservaremos
  • C. conservaré
  • D. conservarás

5. What is the vosotros form of conservar in the present perfect?

  • A. he conservado
  • B. has conservado
  • C. ha conservado
  • D. habéis conservado

6. What is the ellos form of conservar in the present subjunctive?

  • A. conserve
  • B. conserven
  • C. conserve
  • D. conserves

7. What is the yo form of conservar in the preterite?

  • A. conservaste
  • B. conservó
  • C. conservamos
  • D. conservé

8. What is the tu form of conservar in the imperfect?

  • A. conservábamos
  • B. conservabas
  • C. conservaba
  • D. conservaba

9. What is the el form of conservar in the future?

  • A. conservaré
  • B. conservarás
  • C. conservaremos
  • D. conservará

10. What is the nosotros form of conservar in the conditional?

  • A. conservaría
  • B. conservaríamos
  • C. conservaría
  • D. conservarías

Answer key

  1. conservo — The present table gives yo = conservo.
  2. conservaste — The preterite table gives tu = conservaste.
  3. conservaba — The imperfect table gives el = conservaba.
  4. conservaremos — The future table gives nosotros = conservaremos.
  5. habéis conservado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis conservado.
  6. conserven — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = conserven.
  7. conservé — The preterite table gives yo = conservé.
  8. conservabas — The imperfect table gives tu = conservabas.
  9. conservará — The future table gives el = conservará.
  10. conservaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = conservaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use conservar in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo conservo la comida.” — “I preserve the food.” Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

What is the most useful form of conservar to learn first?

Learn the present yo form conservo first, then the preterite yo form conservé and the participle conservado. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund conservando next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is conservar reflexive?

No — conservar is not reflexive. It takes a direct object, not a reflexive pronoun: yo conservo la comida. Do not add me or se to it unless the sentence genuinely needs a pronoun for another reason.

Where can I see the full conjugation of conservar?

On the main conjugation page for conservar, which has every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, plus notes, examples and a quiz. The present-tense page covers one tense in depth if that is what you need right now.

Related links