preservar Present Conjugation
preservar — to preserve
The present indicative of preservar is regular: preservo, preservas, preserva, preservamos, preserváis, preservan.
preservar Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present indicative for actions happening right now, habitual actions, or general truths related to preserving things. For example, how a museum preserves artifacts or how you typically preserve leftovers.
Notes on preservar in the Present
Preservar is regular in the present indicative. The 'nosotros' form 'preservamos' is the same as the preterite, so context is crucial.
Example Sentences
Yo preservo mi energía para el final.
I conserve my energy for the end.
yo
¿Tú preservas las semillas cada año?
Do you preserve the seeds every year?
tú
El museo preserva obras de arte importantes.
The museum preserves important artworks.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros preservamos los alimentos en el sótano.
We preserve the food in the basement.
nosotros
Ellos preservan su cultura a través de la música.
They preserve their culture through music.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the present subjunctive instead of the present indicative.
Correct: For habitual actions, use 'él preserva', not 'él preserve'.
Why: The indicative mood is used for facts and regular occurrences, while the subjunctive is for uncertainty or desire.
Mistake: Confusing the 'nosotros' form with the preterite.
Correct: Understand from context if 'preservamos' refers to a past completed action or a present habitual one.
Why: The identical form requires contextual clues to determine the tense.
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: preservé
The preterite of preservar is regular: preservé, preservaste, preservó, preservamos, preservasteis, preservaron.
Imperfect
yo: preservaba
The imperfect of preservar is regular: preservaba, preservabas, preservaba, preservábamos, preservabais, preservaban.
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.