preservar Imperfect Conjugation
preservar — to preserve
The imperfect of preservar is regular: preservaba, preservabas, preservaba, preservábamos, preservabais, preservaban.
preservar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe ongoing or habitual actions in the past related to preserving. Think about how something *used to be* preserved, or a description of a scene where preservation was happening.
Notes on preservar in the Imperfect
Preservar is regular in the imperfect tense. All endings are standard for -ar verbs.
Example Sentences
Yo preservaba cuidadosamente las flores secas.
I used to carefully preserve the dried flowers.
yo
¿Tú preservabas la calma en situaciones difíciles?
Did you used to preserve your calm in difficult situations?
tú
Él preservaba la leña para el invierno.
He used to preserve firewood for the winter.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros preservábamos la tradición oral.
We used to preserve the oral tradition.
nosotros
Ellos preservaban el secreto familiar.
They used to preserve the family secret.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the preterite for a description or ongoing past action.
Correct: Use 'preservaba' for ongoing or habitual past actions, like 'He used to preserve...', not 'preservó'.
Why: The imperfect describes the background or continuous nature of past events, unlike the preterite's focus on completion.
Mistake: Incorrect accent on 'preservábamos'.
Correct: The correct form is 'preservábamos' with an accent on the first 'a'.
Why: The accent marks the stressed syllable in the nosotros form of the imperfect.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: preservo
The present indicative of preservar is regular: preservo, preservas, preserva, preservamos, preserváis, preservan.
Preterite
yo: preservé
The preterite of preservar is regular: preservé, preservaste, preservó, preservamos, preservasteis, preservaron.
Future
yo: preservaré
The future tense of preservar is regular, adding endings to the infinitive: preservaré, preservarás, preservará, preservaremos, preservaréis, preservarán.
Conditional
yo: preservaría
The conditional of preservar is regular: preservaría, preservarías, preservaría, preservaríamos, preservaríais, preservarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: preserve
The present subjunctive of preservar uses regular -ar endings: preserve, preserves, preservemos, preservéis, preserven.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: preservara
The imperfect subjunctive of preservar uses -ra or -se endings: preservara/preservase, preservaras/preservases, etc.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: preserva
The imperative of preservar uses regular -ar endings: preserva, preserve, preservemos, preservad, preserven.
Negative Imperative
yo: no preserves
Negative commands for preservar use 'no' + present subjunctive: no preserves, no preserve, no preservemos, no preservéis, no preserven.