Restauramos y preservamos el negativo.

Because both verbs are conjugated for nosotros/nosotras in the present tense:

• restauramos = we restore
• preservamos = we preserve

They come from the infinitives:

• restaurar
• preservar

For regular -ar verbs, the nosotros ending in the present is -amos.

Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed. The verb ending already tells you who the subject is.

So:

• Restauramos y preservamos el negativo
  means
• We restore and preserve the negative

Adding nosotros is possible, but it usually sounds more emphatic:

• Nosotros restauramos y preservamos el negativo

That would be more like we restore and preserve the negative.

Yes. This is a very common question.

For regular -ar verbs, the nosotros form is the same in:

• the present: we restore
• the preterite: we restored

So restauramos can mean either:

• we restore / are restoring
• we restored

Context tells you which one is meant. In a standalone sentence like this, both are grammatically possible, but if the meaning shown to the learner is present-time, then it is being understood as we restore and preserve the negative.

The same is true for preservamos:

• we preserve
• we preserved

They are related, but not the same.

• restaurar = to restore, repair, bring something back to a better or earlier condition
• preservar = to preserve, protect, keep something from damage or deterioration

So the sentence suggests two separate actions:

1. We restore the negative if it has damage or deterioration.
2. We preserve it so it stays in good condition.

This pair is very natural in contexts like film, archives, photographs, or historical materials.

Because negativo is a masculine singular noun here, so it takes the masculine singular definite article el.

• el negativo = the negative

In this kind of context, negativo usually refers to a photographic or film negative.

The article el works just like the in English, but in Spanish it must match the noun’s gender and number.

Because both verbs share the same direct object:

• Restauramos el negativo
• preservamos el negativo

Instead of repeating the object twice, Spanish uses it once after both verbs:

• Restauramos y preservamos el negativo

This is exactly like English:

• We restore and preserve the negative

You could repeat it, but it would usually sound unnecessary:

• Restauramos el negativo y preservamos el negativo

That is grammatical, but less natural unless you want extra emphasis.

Yes, Spanish word order is somewhat flexible, but this is the most neutral and natural order:

• verb + verb + object

So:

• Restauramos y preservamos el negativo

You could change it for emphasis, for example:

• El negativo lo restauramos y preservamos

That gives special focus to el negativo, but it is less neutral.

You could also reverse the verbs:

• Preservamos y restauramos el negativo

That is grammatically fine, but it slightly changes the order of ideas. The original version sounds like: first we restore it, then we preserve it.

The normal word for and is y:

• restauramos y preservamos

Spanish changes y to e only before words that begin with an i sound, such as i- or hi-:

• padre e hijo
• España e Italia

But here the next word is preservamos, which begins with a p sound, so it stays y.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• Restauramos → reh-stow-RA-mos
• y → ee
• preservamos → preh-sehr-VA-mos
• el → ehl
• negativo → neh-gah-TI-vo

A few useful notes for Spain Spanish:

• r in restauramos and preservamos is a tapped/flapped r
• v is not pronounced like a strong English v; it is much closer to Spanish b
• stress falls on:
  • restauRAmos
  • preservaVAmos
  • negaTIvo

Here it is a noun.

In other contexts, negativo can also be an adjective:

• un resultado negativo = a negative result
• una actitud negativa = a negative attitude

But in el negativo, it is being used as a noun meaning the negative, usually in a photographic or film sense.

So in this sentence:

• el negativo is the direct object of both verbs.