Introduction

restaurar means “to restore”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to restore” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows restaurar 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 restauro el cuadro por la mañana.” — “I restore the painting.”

restaurar in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how restaurar 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 restauro el cuadro cada día.” — “I restore the painting.”
  2. “Tú restauras el cuadro cada día.” — “you restore the painting.”
  3. “Él restaura el cuadro siempre.” — “He restores the painting.”
  4. “Nosotros restauramos el cuadro todos los días.” — “We restore the painting.”

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 restauré el cuadro ayer.” — “I restored the painting.” (preterite) 6. “Él restauró el cuadro ayer.” — “He restored the painting.” (preterite) 7. “Yo restauraba el cuadro cuando era joven.” — “I used to restore the painting.” (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 restauraremos el cuadro mañana.” — “We will restore the painting.” (future) 9. “Tú has restaurado el cuadro hoy.” — “you have restored the painting.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo restaure el cuadro.” — “I hope that I restore the painting.” (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 restauráis el cuadro cada semana.” — “You restore the painting.” 12. “Ellos restauran el cuadro normalmente.” — “They restore the painting.”

restaurar 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 restaurar appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.

Dialogue on the phone

Lucía: “¿Tú restauras el cuadro?” — Do you restore the painting?

Pedro: “Sí, yo restauro el cuadro cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I restore the painting every day. It is part of my routine.

Lucía: “¿Y ayer? ¿También restauras el cuadro?” — And yesterday? Did you restore the painting too?

Pedro: “Sí, ayer yo restauré el cuadro. Mañana nosotros restauraremos el cuadro otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I restored the painting. Tomorrow we will restore the painting again.

A short paragraph

Él restaura el cuadro cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how restaurar 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 restauro el cuadro — 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 restaurar yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is restauré, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — restaure — 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 restaurar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For restaurar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: restauramos. 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 restaurado el cuadro. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy restaurado is not the present perfect of restaurar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing restaurar with resultar

restaurar and resultar 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 restaurar — restore — the sentence needs restaurar; if it needs the meaning of resultar, use that verb instead.

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo restaure el cuadro. Using the indicative — Espero que yo restauro — is one of the most frequent learner errors with restaurar. 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 restaurar in the present?

  • A. restauras
  • B. restaura
  • C. restauramos
  • D. restauro

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

  • A. restauramos
  • B. restauraste
  • C. restauré
  • D. restauró

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

  • A. restaurabas
  • B. restaurábamos
  • C. restaurabais
  • D. restauraba

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

  • A. restaurará
  • B. restauraremos
  • C. restauraré
  • D. restaurarás

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

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

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

  • A. restaure
  • B. restauren
  • C. restaure
  • D. restaures

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

  • A. restauraste
  • B. restauró
  • C. restauramos
  • D. restauré

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

  • A. restaurábamos
  • B. restaurabas
  • C. restauraba
  • D. restauraba

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

  • A. restauraré
  • B. restaurarás
  • C. restauraremos
  • D. restaurará

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

  • A. restauraría
  • B. restauraríamos
  • C. restauraría
  • D. restaurarías

Answer key

  1. restauro — The present table gives yo = restauro.
  2. restauraste — The preterite table gives tu = restauraste.
  3. restauraba — The imperfect table gives el = restauraba.
  4. restauraremos — The future table gives nosotros = restauraremos.
  5. habéis restaurado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis restaurado.
  6. restauren — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = restauren.
  7. restauré — The preterite table gives yo = restauré.
  8. restaurabas — The imperfect table gives tu = restaurabas.
  9. restaurará — The future table gives el = restaurará.
  10. restauraríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = restauraríamos.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use restaurar in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo restauro el cuadro.” — “I restore the painting.” Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

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

Learn the present yo form restauro first, then the preterite yo form restauré and the participle restaurado. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund restaurando next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is restaurar reflexive?

No — restaurar is not reflexive. It takes a direct object, not a reflexive pronoun: yo restauro el cuadro. 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 restaurar?

On the main conjugation page for restaurar, 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