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 Spanish conjugation lesson we will learn how to inflect the verb proteger in the Pretérito 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 see the Simple Tenses Conjugation Chart.

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

How to translate Pretérito to English

Notice that the English phrases 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 accurately locate the intended position on the timeline is an important skill for the right use of tenses. So note the timeline in our lessons and visualize it while speaking, listening, writing and reading. After some practice you’ll be able to select the right tense to use much easier.

Step by step instructions

Pretérito belongs to the simple tenses group, which means that all of the inflected forms are one word long. There are also compound (compuesto) tenses in the Spanish language, where each inflected verb form consists of two words.The verb proteger has regular conjugation in the Pretérito tense of the Indicativo mood. It means that this verb simply follows the basic rules for its conjugation group (-er) without any exceptions, spelling corrections and the like. The basis for the conjugation in this tense is the stem of the verb, so we need to start by splitting the infinitive into a stem and an ending. It’s 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 conjugation, 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 colors and shapes of the letters. It will 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. Add the regular ending -í for the first person singular to create protegí:

• yo protegí – I protected

Like previously add the regular ending -iste for the second person singular to create protegiste:

• tú protegiste – you protected

One more time add the regular ending -ió for the third person singular to create protegió:

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

And again add the regular ending -imos for the first person plural to create protegimos:

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

One more time add the regular ending -isteis for the second person plural to create protegisteis:

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

Like in the previous case add the regular ending -ieron for the third person plural to create protegieron:

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

¡Ya está! The conjugation is now done. That’s the final result:

yo	protegí	I protected
tú	protegiste	you protected
él/ella/usted	protegió	he/she/it protected
nosotros/nosotras	protegimos	we protected
vosotros/vosotras	protegisteis	you protected
ellos/ellas/ustedes	protegieron	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 retain it. Check below for suggestions.

Next Steps to Perfection To practice this conjugation and test your knowledge check this Conjugation Exercise or the Memory Game To see other conjugation lessons for this verb choose another tense: PresenteImperfectoCondicionalFuturoPretérito 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

---