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Learn proteger conjugation in Presente

proteger means: to protect, to defend, to embosom, to enshroud, to secure, to snug
Click to see all conjugation charts of proteger in every tense

In this conjugation lesson we are going to learn how to inflect the verb proteger in the Presente tense of the Indicativo mood. It means we will see step by step how to create and translate forms of each grammatical person.

This lesson is specifically about the proteger verb conjugation. For a general overview of Simple Tenses conjugation have a look at our Simple Tenses Conjugation Chart.

You may also see this Video Presentation on how to conjugate verbs in Presente. It’s embedded below, but using the above link you can get additional information on conjugation in this tense and explanation of exceptions and special cases.

How to translate Presente to English

Notice that the phrases in English provided below next to each conjugation are not direct translations from Spanish to English. They are usually the closest general equivalents. The example differences are:
  • In Spanish conjugation, there is the form usted in the third person singular. But this person does not translate to the English third person singular. It translates to the so called formal you and uses the inflected form which is most often represented as he/she/it in English conjugation charts.
  • Similar situation happens in the third person plural, where ustedes translates to the English plural formal you but uses the form which corresponds to the they form in English.
  • Tenses are used differently in Spanish and English, so the actual translation should always take into account the context and focus on translating the meaning, not just words.
  • In both languages each verb may have multiple meanings and not every meaning translates directly to the other language. Here also, the context and focusing on the particular meaning helps to create the most accurate translation.

The Spanish Presente de Indicativo tense translates to one of the following:
  • The English Present tense, for instance:
    vosotras protegéis
    (feminine, plural) you protect
  • The English Present Progressive (or Present Continuous) tense, for instance:
    ahora tú proteges
    you are protecting now

    Note however, that the Spanish equivalent of the Present Progressive also exists and is in common use – that’s Presente Progresivo (a.k.a. Presente Continuo).
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Note the timeline

The ability to correctly locate the intended position on the timeline is a crucial skill for the right use of tenses. So note the timeline in our lessons and visualize it while listening, speaking, reading or writing. After some practice you’ll be capable of selecting the right tense to use much easier.timeline presente how to conjugate spanish verbs

Step by step instructions

Presente belongs to the simple tenses group, which means that all of the conjugated forms are one word long. There are also compound (compuesto) tenses in Spanish language, where each inflected verb form consists of two words.The verb proteger in the Presente tense of the Indicativo mood conjugates following the general rules for its conjugation group (-er), although one spelling correction is necessary. The spelling corrections are usually not considered to be irregularities because they are predictable and often happen only in spelling to match the pronounced forms. For instance these are modifications required to keep the same consonant sound before the letters a/o and e/i which influence how c/z, g/gu and a few others are pronounced. Other corrections are accent changes, adding or dropping letters, etc.
The basis for this conjugation is the stem of the verb, so we have to begin by splitting the infinitive into a stem and an ending. It’s very easy to do. Just remove two letters from the end of the infinitive form and you have the ending — one of -ar, -er or -ir. What’s left is the stem. So in case of our verb:
  • the stem is: proteg-
  • and the ending is: -er
Use the stem proteg- in each subject as the basis for the conjugations, the common prefix that each of the forms begins with.
Next, add to this regular stem the endings specific to each person. See the image on the side showing all the six endings. Notice both the shapes and colors of the letters. They are arranged to help you find patterns and make it easier to remember these endings.Each grammatical person has a specific ending in each of the three conjugation groups -ar, -er, -ir.
endings presente er how to conjugate spanish verbs
Add the regular ending -o for the first person singular to create protego:
  • yo protego – I protect
A spelling correction is necessary here.

Because the pronunciation is different when the letter g is followed by a/o/u and different when followed by e/i, we need to change the spelling of the stem to preserve the pronunciation of the infinitive. The letter j when followed by a/o/u is pronounced like the letter g when followed by e/i.So change g to j to get protejo:
  • yo protejo – I protect
Similarly add the regular ending -es for the second person singular to create proteges:
  • tú proteges – you protect
And similarly add the regular ending -e for the third person singular to create protege:
  • él protege – he protects
  • ella protege – she protects
  • usted protege – (formal) you protect
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Similarly add the regular ending -emos for the first person plural to create protegemos:
  • nosotros protegemos – we protect
  • nosotras protegemos – (feminine) we protect
Also as in the previous case add the regular ending -éis for the second person plural to create protegéis:
  • vosotros protegéis – (plural) you protect
  • vosotras protegéis – (feminine, plural) you protect
Also as in the previous case add the regular ending -en for the third person plural to create protegen:
  • ellos protegen – they protect
  • ellas protegen – (feminine) they protect
  • ustedes protegen – (formal, plural) you protect

That’s it! The conjugation is now done. Put together, the conjugation chart looks like this:

yoprotejoI protect
protegesyou protect
él/ella/ustedprotegehe/she/it protects
nosotros/nosotrasprotegemoswe protect
vosotros/vosotrasprotegéisyou protect
ellos/ellas/ustedesprotegenthey protect
Click to see all conjugation charts of proteger in every tense

But do not end your session yet – it is very important to repeat and practice the material in order to retain it. Check below for next steps.

Next Steps to Perfection

  • To practice this conjugation and test your knowledge try this Conjugation Exercise or the Memory Game
  • To see other conjugation lessons for this verb choose another tense:  
  • For exercises and examples related to proteger visit our Exercise section
  • To see conjugation charts in all tenses for proteger visit the Conjugator
  • To explore other learning materials visit the Study section

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