Introduction

Learning to conjugate restaurar — “to restore” — opens up a whole set of sentences you will use in real Spanish. Whether you are talking about what you do every day, what happened yesterday, or what you plan to do tomorrow, restaurar is one of the verbs that carries those sentences, especially when the topic is the painting. On this page you will find the full conjugation of restaurar in all thirteen tenses, notes on when to use each one, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. restaurar is a regular -ar verb; the gerund is restaurando and the past participle is restaurado, and both appear in the tables and examples below. For example: “Yo restauro el cuadro todos los días.” — “I restore the painting.” Read the tables first, then the notes, and finish with the quiz to check what you have learned.

Quick facts

Infinitive restaurar
English to restore
Verb type Regular -ar verb
Gerund restaurando
Past participle restaurado
Auxiliary verb haber

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: restaurando · Past participle: restaurado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo restauro
tú restauras
él/ella/Ud. restaura
nosotros/as restauramos
vosotros/as restauráis
ellos/ellas/Uds. restauran

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For restaurar, the yo form is restauro, as in “Yo restauro el cuadro.” — “I restore the painting.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo restauré
tú restauraste
él/ella/Ud. restauró
nosotros/as restauramos
vosotros/as restaurasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. restauraron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For restaurar, the yo form is restauré, as in “Yo restauré el cuadro.” — “I restored the painting.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo restauraba
tú restaurabas
él/ella/Ud. restauraba
nosotros/as restaurábamos
vosotros/as restaurabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. restauraban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For restaurar, the yo form is restauraba, as in “Yo restauraba el cuadro.” — “I used to restore the painting.”

Future

Person Form
yo restauraré
tú restaurarás
él/ella/Ud. restaurará
nosotros/as restauraremos
vosotros/as restauraréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. restaurarán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For restaurar, the yo form is restauraré, as in “Yo restauraré el cuadro.” — “I will restore the painting.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo restauraría
tú restaurarías
él/ella/Ud. restauraría
nosotros/as restauraríamos
vosotros/as restauraríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. restaurarían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For restaurar, the yo form is restauraría, as in “Yo restauraría el cuadro.” — “I would restore the painting.”

Present Perfect

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

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For restaurar, the yo form is he restaurado, as in “Yo he restaurado el cuadro.” — “I have restored the painting.”

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For restaurar, the yo form is había restaurado, as in “Yo había restaurado el cuadro.” — “I had restored the painting.”

Future Perfect

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

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For restaurar, the yo form is habré restaurado, as in “Yo habré restaurado el cuadro.” — “I will have restored the painting.”

Conditional Perfect

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

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For restaurar, the yo form is habría restaurado, as in “Yo habría restaurado el cuadro.” — “I would have restored the painting.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo restaure
tú restaures
él/ella/Ud. restaure
nosotros/as restauremos
vosotros/as restauréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. restauren

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For restaurar, the yo form is restaure, as in “Espero que yo restaure el cuadro.” — “I hope that I restore the painting.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo restaurara
tú restauraras
él/ella/Ud. restaurara
nosotros/as restauráramos
vosotros/as restaurarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. restauraran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For restaurar, the yo form is restaurara, as in “Si yo restaurara el cuadro, ...” — “If I restored the painting, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: restaurara becomes restaurase, 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 restaura
Ud. restaure
nosotros/as restauremos
vosotros/as restaurad
Uds. restauren

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú restaures
Ud. restaure
nosotros/as restauremos
vosotros/as restauréis
Uds. restauren

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is restaura, as in “¡Restaura el cuadro” — “Restore the painting” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no restaures. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with restaurar.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with restaurar, 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 restauro el cuadro cada día.” — “I restore the painting.”
  2. “Él restaura el cuadro todos los días.” — “He restores the painting.”
  3. “Yo restauré el cuadro ayer.” — “I restored the painting.”
  4. “Él restauró el cuadro ayer.” — “He restored the painting.”
  5. “Yo restauraba el cuadro cuando era joven.” — “I used to restore the painting.”
  6. “Nosotros restauraremos el cuadro mañana.” — “We will restore the painting.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo restauraría el cuadro.” — “If I could, i would restore the painting.”
  8. “Yo he restaurado el cuadro hoy.” — “I have restored the painting.”
  9. “Espero que yo restaure el cuadro.” — “I hope that I restore the painting.”
  10. “estoy restaurando el cuadro ahora mismo.” — “I am restoring the painting.”

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

Is restaurar regular or irregular?

restaurar 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 restaurar?

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

What is the gerund of restaurar?

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

What is the yo form of restaurar in the present?

The yo form is restauro — “Yo restauro el cuadro.” means “I restore the painting.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú restauras, él restaura, nosotros restauramos, ellos restauran.

What is the difference between restaurar and resultar?

restaurar means “to restore”, while resultar means “to turn out, to result”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to restore”, use restaurar; if it is about the meaning of resultar, use resultar instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.

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