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 will learn how to inflect the verb proteger in the Imperfecto 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 conjugation. For an overview of all the Simple Tenses conjugation check our Simple Tenses Conjugation Chart.

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

How to translate Imperfecto to English

Note 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.

Note the timeline

The ability to properly locate the intended position on the timeline is a crucial skill for the right choice of tenses. So pay attention to the timeline in our lessons and visualize it while listening, speaking, writing and reading. After some practice you will be able to select the right tense to use much easier.

Step by step instructions

Imperfecto belongs to the simple tenses group, which means that all of its inflected forms are one word long. There are also compound (compuesto) tenses in the Spanish language, where each inflected form consists of two words.The verb proteger has a completely regular conjugation in the Imperfecto tense of the Indicativo mood. It means this verb simply follows the general rules for its group (-er) without any exceptions, spelling corrections and the like. This tense is really easy, as there are only three exceptions! The basis for this conjugation is the stem of the verb, so we have to start by splitting the infinitive into a stem and an ending. It’s easy to do. Simply remove two letters from the end of the infinitive and you have the ending — one of -ar, -er or -ir. What’s left is the stem. So for proteger:

• the stem is: proteg-
• and the ending is: -er

Use the stem proteg- in each subject as the basis for conjugations, the common prefix that each of the forms begins with. Next, add to this regular stem the endings specific to each person. Check out the image showing all the endings. Notice both the colors and shapes of the letters. It should help you find patterns and make it easier to remember these endings.

Also notice that in verb groups -er and -ir all the endings in both Pretéterito Imperfecto and Condicional tenses are the same. Good tip to remember! The only difference is that the Condicional uses the entire infinitive as the stem.Each grammatical person has a specific ending in each of the three conjugation groups -ar, -er, -ir. Add the regular ending -ía for the first person singular to create protegía:

• yo protegía – I protected

Like previously add the regular ending -ías for the second person singular to create protegías:

• tú protegías – you protected

And similarly add the regular ending -ía for the third person singular to create protegía:

• él protegía – he protected
• ella protegía – she protected
• usted protegía – (formal) you protected

And similarly add the regular ending -íamos for the first person plural to create protegíamos:

• nosotros protegíamos – we protected
• nosotras protegíamos – (feminine) we protected

As before add the regular ending -íais for the second person plural to create protegíais:

• vosotros protegíais – (plural) you protected
• vosotras protegíais – (feminine, plural) you protected

And as before add the regular ending -ían for the third person plural to create protegían:

• ellos protegían – they protected
• ellas protegían – (feminine) they protected
• ustedes protegían – (formal, plural) you protected

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

yo	protegía	I protected
tú	protegías	you protected
él/ella/usted	protegía	he/she/it protected
nosotros/nosotras	protegíamos	we protected
vosotros/vosotras	protegíais	you protected
ellos/ellas/ustedes	protegían	they protected

Click to see all conjugation charts of proteger in every tense
But do not end your session yet – it’s important to repeat and practice the material in order to remember it. Check below for suggestions.

Next Steps to Perfection To practice this conjugation and test your skills check this Conjugation Exercise or the Memory Game To see other conjugation lessons for this verb choose another tense: PresentePretéritoCondicionalFuturoPretérito Perfecto CompuestoPretérito PluscuamperfectoFuturo PerfectoCondicional PerfectoPretérito Perfecto Compuesto (subjuntivo)Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto A (subjuntivo)Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto B (subjuntivo)Futuro Perfecto (subjuntivo)  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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