Introduction

conservar means “to preserve, to keep”. It belongs to the group of Spanish verbs that express “to preserve, to keep”, and once you can conjugate it you can say a surprising amount with a single verb. This page is the complete reference for conservar: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, with notes on usage, real example sentences, common mistakes, a quiz and frequently asked questions. conservar is a regular -ar verb. If it is irregular in a tense, the note under that table says so plainly, and the forms in the table are the correct ones — copy them, do not guess them from the infinitive. A first example to fix the verb in your mind: “Yo conservo la comida todos los días.” — “I preserve the food.”

Quick facts
Infinitive conservar
English to preserve, to keep
Verb type Regular -ar verb
Gerund conservando
Past participle conservado
Auxiliary verb haber

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: conservando · Past participle: conservado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo conservo
tú conservas
él/ella/Ud. conserva
nosotros/as conservamos
vosotros/as conserváis
ellos/ellas/Uds. conservan

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For conservar, the yo form is conservo, as in “Yo conservo la comida.” — “I preserve the food.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo conservé
tú conservaste
él/ella/Ud. conservó
nosotros/as conservamos
vosotros/as conservasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. conservaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For conservar, the yo form is conservé, as in “Yo conservé la comida.” — “I preserved the food.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo conservaba
tú conservabas
él/ella/Ud. conservaba
nosotros/as conservábamos
vosotros/as conservabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. conservaban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For conservar, the yo form is conservaba, as in “Yo conservaba la comida.” — “I used to preserve the food.”

Future

Person Form
yo conservaré
tú conservarás
él/ella/Ud. conservará
nosotros/as conservaremos
vosotros/as conservaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. conservarán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For conservar, the yo form is conservaré, as in “Yo conservaré la comida.” — “I will preserve the food.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo conservaría
tú conservarías
él/ella/Ud. conservaría
nosotros/as conservaríamos
vosotros/as conservaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. conservarían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For conservar, the yo form is conservaría, as in “Yo conservaría la comida.” — “I would preserve the food.”

Present Perfect

Person Form
yo he conservado
tú has conservado
él/ella/Ud. ha conservado
nosotros/as hemos conservado
vosotros/as habéis conservado
ellos/ellas/Uds. han conservado

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For conservar, the yo form is he conservado, as in “Yo he conservado la comida.” — “I have preserved the food.”

Pluperfect

Person Form
yo había conservado
tú habías conservado
él/ella/Ud. había conservado
nosotros/as habíamos conservado
vosotros/as habíais conservado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habían conservado

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For conservar, the yo form is había conservado, as in “Yo había conservado la comida.” — “I had preserved the food.”

Future Perfect

Person Form
yo habré conservado
tú habrás conservado
él/ella/Ud. habrá conservado
nosotros/as habremos conservado
vosotros/as habréis conservado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán conservado

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For conservar, the yo form is habré conservado, as in “Yo habré conservado la comida.” — “I will have preserved the food.”

Conditional Perfect

Person Form
yo habría conservado
tú habrías conservado
él/ella/Ud. habría conservado
nosotros/as habríamos conservado
vosotros/as habríais conservado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrían conservado

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For conservar, the yo form is habría conservado, as in “Yo habría conservado la comida.” — “I would have preserved the food.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo conserve
tú conserves
él/ella/Ud. conserve
nosotros/as conservemos
vosotros/as conservéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. conserven

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For conservar, the yo form is conserve, as in “Espero que yo conserve la comida.” — “I hope that I preserve the food.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo conservara
tú conservaras
él/ella/Ud. conservara
nosotros/as conserváramos
vosotros/as conservarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. conservaran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For conservar, the yo form is conservara, as in “Si yo conservara la comida, ...” — “If I preserved the food, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: conservara becomes conservase, and the same change applies to every person. Both variants mean the same thing; -ra is more common in everyday speech.

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú conserva
Ud. conserve
nosotros/as conservemos
vosotros/as conservad
Uds. conserven

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú conserves
Ud. conserve
nosotros/as conservemos
vosotros/as conservéis
Uds. conserven

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is conserva, as in “¡Conserva la comida” — “Preserve the food” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no conserves. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with conservar.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with conservar, covering different tenses and persons. Read each one out loud, then read the translation, and notice how the verb form changes while the meaning stays the same.

  1. “Yo conservo la comida cada día.” — “I preserve the food.”
  2. “Él conserva la comida todos los días.” — “He preserves the food.”
  3. “Yo conservé la comida ayer.” — “I preserved the food.”
  4. “Él conservó la comida ayer.” — “He preserved the food.”
  5. “Yo conservaba la comida cuando era joven.” — “I used to preserve the food.”
  6. “Nosotros conservaremos la comida mañana.” — “We will preserve the food.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo conservaría la comida.” — “If I could, i would preserve the food.”
  8. “Yo he conservado la comida hoy.” — “I have preserved the food.”
  9. “Espero que yo conserve la comida.” — “I hope that I preserve the food.”
  10. “estoy conservando la comida ahora mismo.” — “I am preserving the food.”

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

Is conservar regular or irregular?

conservar is a regular -ar verb. It follows the regular patterns for its ending in every tense. The tables on this page show the correct form for every person, so use them rather than guessing.

What is the past participle of conservar?

The past participle of conservar is conservado. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he conservado, había conservado, habré conservado — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund conservando and you have the two non-finite forms covered.

What is the gerund of conservar?

The gerund of conservar is conservando. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy conservando, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle conservado, which belongs with haber, not with estar.

What is the yo form of conservar in the present?

The yo form is conservo — “Yo conservo la comida.” means “I preserve the food.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú conservas, él conserva, nosotros conservamos, ellos conservan.

What is the difference between conservar and considerar?

conservar means “to preserve, to keep”, while considerar means “to consider”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to preserve, to keep”, use conservar; if it is about the meaning of considerar, use considerar instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.

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