guardar Imperfect Conjugation
guardar — to put away
In the imperfect, guardar uses standard -aba endings: guardaba, guardabas, guardaba, guardábamos, guardabais, guardaban.
guardar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use this to describe where you used to keep things or a situation where you were in the middle of putting something away when something else happened.
Notes on guardar in the Imperfect
Guardar is regular in the imperfect. Remember the accent only on the 'nosotros' form: guardábamos.
Example Sentences
De niño, yo guardaba mis juguetes debajo de la cama.
As a child, I used to keep my toys under the bed.
yo
Nosotros guardábamos las herramientas en el garaje.
We used to keep the tools in the garage.
nosotros
Ustedes guardaban la comida en cajas.
You all used to keep the food in boxes.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'guardía' instead of 'guardaba'.
Correct: guardaba
Why: Learners often confuse -ar and -er/-ir endings in the imperfect.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: guardo
Guardar is completely regular in the present: guardo, guardas, guarda, guardamos, guardáis, guardan.
Preterite
yo: guardé
The preterite of guardar is regular: guardé, guardaste, guardó, guardamos, guardasteis, guardaron.
Future
yo: guardaré
The future of guardar uses the infinitive as the stem: guardaré, guardarás, guardará, guardaremos, guardaréis, guardarán.
Conditional
yo: guardaría
The conditional of guardar adds -ía endings to the infinitive: guardaría, guardarías, guardaría, guardaríamos, guardaríais, guardarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: guarde
The present subjunctive of guardar uses 'e' endings: guarde, guardes, guarde, guardemos, guardéis, guarden.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: guardara
The imperfect subjunctive of guardar is formed from the preterite 'ellos' form: guardara, guardaras, guardara, guardáramos, guardarais, guardaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: guarda
The imperative of guardar provides direct commands: guarda, guarde, guardemos, guardad, guarden.
Negative Imperative
yo: no guardes
The negative imperative of guardar uses present subjunctive forms: no guardes, no guarde, no guardemos, no guardéis, no guarden.