Salvar Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb salvar means to save, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Salvar is a regular -ar verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of salvar 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. For example, in the present tense you say Yo salvo a su amigo — "I save his friend" — and in the preterite you say Yo salvé el partido — "I saved the match". 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: salvar
- English: to save
- Verb type: regular -ar verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: salvando
- Past participle: salvado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + salvado)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for salvar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for salvar. 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.
Gerund: salvando · Past participle: salvado
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | salvo |
| tú | salvas |
| él/ella/Ud. | salva |
| nosotros/as | salvamos |
| vosotros/as | salváis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | salvan |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | salvé |
| tú | salvaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | salvó |
| nosotros/as | salvamos |
| vosotros/as | salvasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | salvaron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | salvaba |
| tú | salvabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | salvaba |
| nosotros/as | salvábamos |
| vosotros/as | salvabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | salvaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | salvaré |
| tú | salvarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | salvará |
| nosotros/as | salvaremos |
| vosotros/as | salvaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | salvarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | salvaría |
| tú | salvarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | salvaría |
| nosotros/as | salvaríamos |
| vosotros/as | salvaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | salvarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he salvado |
| tú | has salvado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha salvado |
| nosotros/as | hemos salvado |
| vosotros/as | habéis salvado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han salvado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había salvado |
| tú | habías salvado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había salvado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos salvado |
| vosotros/as | habíais salvado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían salvado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré salvado |
| tú | habrás salvado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá salvado |
| nosotros/as | habremos salvado |
| vosotros/as | habréis salvado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán salvado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría salvado |
| tú | habrías salvado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría salvado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos salvado |
| vosotros/as | habríais salvado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían salvado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | salve |
| tú | salves |
| él/ella/Ud. | salve |
| nosotros/as | salvemos |
| vosotros/as | salvéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | salven |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | salvara |
| tú | salvaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | salvara |
| nosotros/as | salváramos |
| vosotros/as | salvarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | salvaran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | salva |
| él/ella/Ud. | salve |
| nosotros/as | salvemos |
| vosotros/as | salvad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | salven |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | salves |
| él/ella/Ud. | salve |
| nosotros/as | salvemos |
| vosotros/as | salvéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | salven |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | salvando | with estar for the progressive: estoy salvando |
| Past participle | salvado | with haber for the perfect tenses: he salvado |
How to use each tense
Present indicative
Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. It is the tense you will use most often in everyday conversation, for habits with words like todos los días and for statements that are true in general. For salvar, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo salvo el partido — "I save the match". Learn the present indicative 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 in the past — things that started and ended, often with time words like ayer, anoche or la semana pasada. The preterite moves a story forward, one completed event at a time. For salvar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Yo salvé mucho dinero — "I saved a lot of money". 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 words like antes, de niño or mientras. It describes how things used to be, not one finished event. For salvar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo salvaba a su amigo — "I used to save his friend". 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. It talks about what will happen, not what is happening now. For salvar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Yo salvaré el partido — "I will save the match". 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 in si clauses. It softens a request and describes imagined situations. For salvar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo salvaría mucho dinero — "I would save a lot of money". 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. It connects the past with the present moment. For salvar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo he salvado a su amigo — "I have saved his friend". 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. It is the past of the past, and it usually appears with antes de or ya. For salvar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo había salvado el partido — "I had saved the match". 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, often with para mañana or para el viernes. For salvar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habré salvado mucho dinero — "I will have saved a lot of money". 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. It looks back at a past that never happened. For salvar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría salvado a su amigo — "I would have saved his friend". 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. The subjunctive does not state a fact; it states an attitude towards the action. For salvar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él salve el partido — "I hope he saves the match". 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 salvar, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo salvara mucho dinero, todo cambiaría — "If I saved a lot of money, everything would change". Learn the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) 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. It tells someone to do something, and it has no yo form. For salvar, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Salve a su amigo — "Let him save his friend". Learn the imperative (affirmative) 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. It uses the subjunctive forms, so it looks different from the affirmative commands. For salvar, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No salves el partido — "Don't save the match". Learn the imperative (negative) 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 salvar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.
- Yo salvo mucho dinero — "I save a lot of money"
- Él salva a su amigo — "He saves his friend"
- Yo salvé el partido — "I saved the match"
- Yo salvaba mucho dinero — "I used to save a lot of money"
- Tú salvarás a su amigo — "You will save his friend"
- Yo salvaría el partido — "I would save the match"
- Él ha salvado mucho dinero — "He has saved a lot of money"
- Espero que él salve a su amigo — "I hope he saves his friend"
- Yo había salvado el partido — "I had saved the match"
- Ellos salvaban mucho dinero — "They used to save a lot of money"
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Ellos salva a su amigo — Right: Ellos salvan a su amigo — Ellos needs the ellos form salvan. The singular salva belongs with él, ella or a singular noun.
- Wrong: Ayer, yo salvo — Right: Ayer, yo salvé — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to salvé.
- Wrong: De niño, yo salvé todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo salvaba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (salvaba), not the preterite. The preterite (salvé) is for one finished action.
- Wrong: Yo soy salvado el partido. — Right: Yo he salvado el partido. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he salvado, has salvado, ha salvado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
- Wrong: Treating salvar and salvarse as identical in every context. — Right: Salvar means to save, while salvarse means to save oneself, to survive. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: salvar fits sentences such as Yo salvo a su amigo, while salvarse belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on salvar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a su amigo. (present tense) A. salvas B. salvo C. salvaré D. habrá salvado
Complete the sentence: Él ___ a su amigo. (preterite) A. salvaste B. salvaras C. salvó D. salva
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ a su amigo. (imperfect) A. habrá salvado B. salvarán C. salvábamos D. salvara
Complete the sentence: Tú ___ a su amigo. (future) A. he salvado B. salvaban C. salvarás D. salvad
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a su amigo. (conditional) A. salvabais B. salvé C. salvaría D. salvábamos
Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ a su amigo. (present subjunctive) A. habían salvado B. habréis salvado C. salve D. salvaras
Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ a su amigo, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. salvéis B. habréis salvado C. salvara D. salvarían
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ a su amigo. (present perfect) A. salváramos B. has salvado C. hemos salvado D. salvaste
Complete the command: No ___ a su amigo. (negative imperative, tú) A. salves B. salve C. salvéis D. salvemos
Which is the gerund of salvar, used with estar for the progressive? A. salvaré B. salvo C. salvando D. salvé
Answer key
- salvo — The yo present tense of salvar is salvo.
- salvó — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of salvar is salvó.
- salvábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of salvar is salvábamos.
- salvarás — The tú future of salvar is salvarás.
- salvaría — The yo conditional of salvar is salvaría.
- salve — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of salvar is salve.
- salvara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of salvar is salvara.
- hemos salvado — The nosotros/as present perfect of salvar is hemos salvado.
- salves — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: salves.
- salvando — The gerund of salvar is salvando: estoy salvando. The participle salvado is used with haber instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does salvar mean in English?
Salvar means to save. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo salvo a su amigo. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.
Is salvar regular?
Yes. Salvar is a regular -ar verb: salvo, salvas, salva. The only thing to learn is the pattern of endings, which is the same for every regular -ar verb.
What is the difference between salvar and salvarse?
Salvar means to save, while salvarse means to save oneself, to survive. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use salvar when you mean to save, as in Yo salvo a su amigo, and use salvarse for to save oneself, to survive. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.
How do I say “I save” in the past?
It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo salvé el partido. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo salvaba mucho dinero. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he salvado a su amigo.
How do I practise salvar?
Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the salvar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related links
- Salvar in the present tense — the full present-tense table for salvar.
- Salvar examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for salvar.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Salvarse conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with salvar.
- Sanar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with salvar.
- Secar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with salvar.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.
- Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.