salvé
sal-VAY
Quick Reference
📝 In Action
Yo salvé a mi perro del río anoche.
A1I saved my dog from the river last night.
Gracias a ese dinero, salvé mi negocio.
B1Thanks to that money, I saved my business.
Pensé que perdería el juego, pero salvé el punto en el último segundo.
B2I thought I would lose the game, but I saved the point at the last second.
💡 Grammar Points
Preterite Tense Focus
"Salvé" tells you that the action of saving was completed at a specific moment in the past. It means 'I saved (and the saving is now finished).'
The Crucial Accent Mark
For all regular '-ar' verbs, the 'yo' form in this past tense needs an accent mark on the final 'e': 'salvé'. This tells you to stress the last syllable and distinguishes it from other forms.
❌ Common Pitfalls
Missing the Accent
Mistake: "Escribir 'salve' para el pasado."
Correction: Always write 'salvé' when you mean 'I saved' in the past. 'Salve' without an accent is a command form (Subjunctive/Imperative).
⭐ Usage Tips
Using 'Salvé' vs. 'Salvaba'
Use 'salvé' when you talk about a single, finished event ('I saved him yesterday'). Use 'salvaba' (the imperfect tense) if you were describing a continuous past state or habit ('I used to save money').
🔄 Conjugations
subjunctive
imperfect
present
indicative
imperfect
present
preterite
✏️ Quick Practice
💡 Quick Quiz: salvé
Question 1 of 1
Which sentence correctly uses 'salvé'?
📚 More Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 'salvé' always about physical rescue?
No. While 'salvé' often means 'I rescued someone,' it is also commonly used to mean 'I saved money,' 'I saved a file,' or 'I saved a situation' (I fixed a problem).
Why does 'nosotros salvamos' look the same in the present and preterite tenses?
This is a tricky feature of regular '-ar' verbs! The 'we' (nosotros) form is identical in the present tense ('we save') and the preterite past tense ('we saved'). You must rely on context or time expressions (like 'yesterday' or 'now') to know which one is meant.