Guardar means 'to keep', 'to put away' and 'to save', and it is a versatile regular -ar verb. Guardo mis cosas en el armario (I keep my things in the wardrobe), guarda el archivo (save the file). It also appears in guardar un secreto ('to keep a secret') and guardar cama ('to stay in bed', when ill). Because keeping and storing things — including saving files — comes up across home, technology and everyday topics, guardar is genuinely useful. As a regular -ar verb the forms are predictable, and its range of meanings gives you good expressive flexibility.
Quick facts
Guardar (to keep) is a regular -ar verb.
Real sentences across different tenses — the kind of thing you'd actually say or write.
Guardo mis cosas (I keep my things).
Guarda el archivo (save the file).
Guardar un secreto (to keep a secret).
Guardar la ropa (to put away clothes).
Fixed expressions worth knowing — they come up in listening, reading and writing tasks.
Idiomatic expressions
Guardar is a regular verb. Make sure you know the endings for each tense — especially the preterite and subjunctive, which is where marks are most often lost.
guardar is a regular -ar verb — it follows the standard -ar pattern in every tense. That makes it a good one to drill: if you know guardar, you know the template for all regular -ar verbs.
Type conjugations from memory and get instant feedback. That's how you actually build the automatic recall the exam needs — not from reading tables.
Practice guardar now →Three questions. Press Enter to check each answer.
yo: guardo, tú: guardas, él: guarda, nosotros: guardamos, vosotros: guardáis, ellos: guardan
Guardar is a regular -ar verb following the standard -ar pattern.
Use guardar in multiple tenses to show range — present, preterite and future at minimum. This is a key criterion for higher GCSE marks.
Verbs that are easy to confuse with guardar or that behave like it.
This reference is written for UK GCSE and A-Level Spanish learners and their teachers. It is designed for exam revision: every form is checked against standard conjugation rules, and the examples reflect the registers and topics that come up in the AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas specifications. Guardar is a high-frequency verb and appears often in exam papers. For active recall, use the free practice tool rather than only reading the tables.
Last updated 2 August 2026. Written by Daniel Holmes for GCSE & A-Level Spanish students.