The preterite of preservar is used to express when someone preserved or maintained something at a specific moment in the past. For example, “The museum preserved the ancient artifacts” – “El museo preservó los artefactos antiguos.”
This verb follows the regular -ar conjugation pattern in the preterite tense. All forms maintain the stem preserv- and add the standard -ar endings.
Conjugations
Conjugations of Preservar (to preserve) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Yo | preservé |
| Tú | preservaste |
| Él / Ella / Usted | preservó |
| Nosotros / Nosotras | preservamos |
| Vosotros / Vosotras | preservasteis |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | preservaron |
Boost Your Memorization with Audio!
We’ve included audio recordings of the the conjugations of Preservar (to preserve) in the Preterite (Past) Tense to help you learn faster.
Pro Tip: Play the audio on a loop as you study the chart. This repetition will solidify the correct conjugations in your memory.
Usage of Preservar in the Preterite (Past) Tense
The Preterite of preservar indicates completed actions of preserving or maintaining.
To preserve/maintain: Used for specific instances of preservation, for example Preservaron los documentos antiguos (They preserved the ancient documents).
To protect/safeguard: Describes protecting something for future use, for example Preservé la evidencia (I preserved the evidence).
Examples
Examples of Preservar in the Preterite (Past) Tense
El museo preservó las obras de arte antiguas. (The museum preserved the ancient artworks.)
Preservaron las tradiciones de su cultura. (They preserved their cultural traditions.)
La familia preservó las recetas por generaciones. (The family preserved the recipes for generations.)
Preservamos los documentos históricos. (We preserved the historical documents.)
La comunidad preservó el edificio histórico. (The community preserved the historic building.)
El científico preservó las muestras en hielo. (The scientist preserved the samples in ice.)
Preservaste muy bien los recuerdos familiares. (You preserved the family memories very well.)
La ciudad preservó sus monumentos antiguos. (The city preserved its ancient monuments.)
Preservé las fotografías en un álbum especial. (I preserved the photographs in a special album.)
Los arqueólogos preservaron los artefactos. (The archaeologists preserved the artifacts.)
Preservamos la calidad del agua. (We preserved the water quality.)
La biblioteca preservó los manuscritos antiguos. (The library preserved the ancient manuscripts.)
Preservaron el bosque para futuras generaciones. (They preserved the forest for future generations.)
El chef preservó los ingredientes en vinagre. (The chef preserved the ingredients in vinegar.)
Preservaste la esencia del proyecto original. (You preserved the essence of the original project.)
Conjugations with English Translations
Conjugations of Preservar (to preserve) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Yo preservé | I preserved |
| Tú preservaste | You preserved |
| Él / Ella / Usted preservó | He / She / You (formal) preserved |
| Nosotros / Nosotras preservamos | We preserved |
| Vosotros / Vosotras preservasteis | You all preserved |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes preservaron | They / You all (formal) preserved |
This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American Spanish, click here
Synonyms
The Preterite tense is also known as the Simple Past, Past Simple, Definite Past, Absolute Past, or Past Tense Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Perfecto Simple, Pretérito Indefinido, Pretérito Simple, Pasado Simple, or Pretérito de Indicativo in Spanish.