Guardar Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb guardar means to keep, to save, to put away, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Guardar means to keep, to save or to put away, and it covers saving money for a trip, putting toys in a box, keeping a secret and storing food in the fridge. It is fully regular, and it is one of the most useful verbs for home and money contexts. Like every Spanish verb, guardar changes its ending for each person and tense, and this page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say guardo dinero para el viaje, and in the preterite you say guardé el secreto de su amiga. Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: guardar
  • English: to keep, to save, to put away
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: guardando
  • Past participle: guardado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + guardado)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for guardar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Guardar is fully regular: guardé, guardaba, guardaré. Guardar un secreto is to keep it, not to hide it physically.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for guardar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo guardo
tú guardas
él/ella/Ud. guarda
nosotros/as guardamos
vosotros/as guardáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. guardan

Preterite

Person Form
yo guardé
tú guardaste
él/ella/Ud. guardó
nosotros/as guardamos
vosotros/as guardasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. guardaron

Imperfect

Person Form
yo guardaba
tú guardabas
él/ella/Ud. guardaba
nosotros/as guardábamos
vosotros/as guardabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. guardaban

Future

Person Form
yo guardaré
tú guardarás
él/ella/Ud. guardará
nosotros/as guardaremos
vosotros/as guardaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. guardarán

Conditional

Person Form
yo guardaría
tú guardarías
él/ella/Ud. guardaría
nosotros/as guardaríamos
vosotros/as guardaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. guardarían

Present perfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Future perfect

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

Conditional perfect

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

Present subjunctive

Person Form
yo guarde
tú guardes
él/ella/Ud. guarde
nosotros/as guardemos
vosotros/as guardéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. guarden

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo guardara
tú guardaras
él/ella/Ud. guardara
nosotros/as guardáramos
vosotros/as guardarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. guardaran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú guarda
él/ella/Ud. guarde
nosotros/as guardemos
vosotros/as guardad
ellos/ellas/Uds. guarden

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú guardes
él/ella/Ud. guarde
nosotros/as guardemos
vosotros/as guardéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. guarden

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund guardando with estar for the progressive: estoy guardando
Past participle guardado with haber for the perfect tenses: he guardado

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For guardar, the present looks like this in a real sentence: Guardo dinero para el viaje. Learn the present forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For guardar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, guardé los juguetes en la caja. Learn the preterite forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For guardar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, guardaba el secreto de su amiga. Learn the imperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For guardar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, guardaré la comida en la nevera. Learn the future forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For guardar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Guardaría dinero para el viaje si pudiera. Learn the conditional forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For guardar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, he guardado los juguetes en la caja. Learn the present perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For guardar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Había guardado el secreto de su amiga antes de salir. Learn the pluperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For guardar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, habré guardado la comida en la nevera. Learn the future perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For guardar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Habría guardado dinero para el viaje con más tiempo. Learn the conditional perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For guardar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él guarde los juguetes en la caja. Learn the present subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past, and note the -ra forms shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For guardar, the imperfect subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Si él guardara el secreto de su amiga, todo cambiaría. Learn the imperfect subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For guardar, the affirmative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: ¡Guarda la comida en la nevera! Learn the affirmative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For guardar, the negative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: No guardes dinero para el viaje. Learn the negative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with guardar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Guardo dinero para el viaje. — I keep money for the trip.
  2. Guarda los juguetes en la caja. — He/she keeps the toys in the box.
  3. Ayer, guardé el secreto de su amiga. — Yesterday, I kept her friend's secret.
  4. Antes, nosotros guardábamos la comida en la nevera. — Before, we used to keep the food in the fridge.
  5. Mañana, tú guardarás dinero para el viaje. — Tomorrow, you will keep money for the trip.
  6. Yo guardaría los juguetes en la caja si tuviera más tiempo. — I would keep the toys in the box if I had more time.
  7. Él ha guardado el secreto de su amiga. — He has kept her friend's secret.
  8. Espero que él guarde la comida en la nevera. — I hope he keeps the food in the fridge.
  9. Yo ya había guardado dinero para el viaje antes de salir. — I had already kept money for the trip before leaving.
  10. Ellos guardaban los juguetes en la caja cuando eran jóvenes. — They used to keep the toys in the box when they were young.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo guarda dinero para el viaje. — Right: Yo guardo dinero para el viaje. — The person matters: guarda is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is guardo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Ayer yo guardo los juguetes en la caja. — Right: Ayer yo guardé los juguetes en la caja. — The present and the preterite are different tenses: guardo is happening now, while guardé is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
  3. Wrong: Treating guardar and esconder as identical in every context. — Right: Guardar means to keep, to save, to put away, while esconder means to hide, which implies secrecy. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: guardar fits sentences such as Guardo dinero para el viaje, while esconder belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy guardado los juguetes en la caja. — Right: Yo he guardado los juguetes en la caja. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he guardado, has guardado, ha guardado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo guardé el secreto de su amiga todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo guardaba el secreto de su amiga todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (guardaba), not the preterite. The preterite (guardé) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on guardar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ dinero para el viaje. (present tense) A. guardo B. guardas C. guarda D. guardamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, él ___ los juguetes en la caja. (preterite) A. guardé B. guardaste C. guardaron D. guardó

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ___ el secreto de su amiga. (imperfect) A. guardabas B. guardaban C. guardábamos D. guardaba

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ___ la comida en la nevera. (future) A. guardaremos B. guardarás C. guardaré D. guardará

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ dinero para el viaje si pudiera. (conditional) A. guardaría B. guardarías C. guardarían D. guardo

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ los juguetes en la caja. (present subjunctive) A. guardes B. guardemos C. guardo D. guarde

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ el secreto de su amiga, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. guardáramos B. guardo C. guardara D. guardaras

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ la comida en la nevera. (present perfect) A. han guardado B. hemos guardado C. he guardado D. has guardado

  9. Complete the command: ¡___ dinero para el viaje! (affirmative imperative, tú) A. guarda B. guarde C. guardemos D. guardad

  10. Which is the gerund of guardar, used with estar for the progressive? A. guardado B. guardo C. guardé D. guardando

Answer key

  1. guardo — The first-person present of guardar is guardo. The other options are the tú, él/ella and nosotros forms.
  2. guardó — The third-person preterite of guardar is guardó, the form for a single finished action in the past.
  3. guardábamos — The nosotros imperfect of guardar is guardábamos, used here for a repeated past habit.
  4. guardarás — The second-person future of guardar is guardarás.
  5. guardaría — The first-person conditional of guardar is guardaría, the form for what would happen.
  6. guarde — After espero que, the subjunctive is required: the third-person present subjunctive of guardar is guarde.
  7. guardara — The first-person imperfect subjunctive (-ra) of guardar is guardara.
  8. hemos guardado — The nosotros present perfect of guardar is hemos guardado: hemos + guardado.
  9. guarda — The affirmative tú imperative of guardar is guarda.
  10. guardando — The gerund of guardar is guardando: estoy guardando. The participle guardado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does guardar mean in English?

Guardar means to keep, to save, to put away. It is used in everyday situations such as Guardo dinero para el viaje. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is guardar regular or irregular?

Guardar is a fully regular -ar verb, so every tense follows the standard endings for its class. Once you know the regular pattern, you can produce every form on this page, including guardo in the present and guardé in the preterite.

What is the difference between guardar and esconder?

Guardar means to keep, to save, to put away, while esconder means to hide, which implies secrecy. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use guardar when you mean to keep, to save, to put away, as in Guardo dinero para el viaje, and use esconder for to hide, which implies secrecy. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.

How do I say “I keep” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: yo guardé los juguetes en la caja. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: yo guardaba el secreto de su amiga. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: yo he guardado los juguetes en la caja.

How do I practise guardar?

Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the guardar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.

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