defender Preterite Conjugation
defender — defend
Defender is regular in the preterite: defendí, defendiste, defendió, defendimos, defendisteis, defendieron.
defender Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to describe a specific instance where someone was defended or a position was protected at a distinct point in time.
Notes on defender in the Preterite
Unlike the present tense, defender is completely regular in the preterite. The 'e' does not change to 'ie'.
Example Sentences
El abogado defendió al cliente con éxito.
The lawyer defended the client successfully.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros defendimos nuestra tesis ayer.
We defended our thesis yesterday.
nosotros
Los soldados defendieron la base durante la noche.
The soldiers defended the base during the night.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'defiendió' instead of 'defendió'.
Correct: defendió
Why: The e > ie stem change only happens in the present tense, not the preterite.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: defiendo
Defender has an e > ie stem change in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Imperfect
yo: defendía
Defender is regular in the imperfect: defendía, defendías, defendía, defendíamos, defendíais, defendían.
Future
yo: defenderé
The future of defender is regular: defenderé, defenderás, defenderá, defenderemos, defenderéis, defenderán.
Conditional
yo: defendería
The conditional of defender is regular: defendería, defenderías, defendería, defenderíamos, defenderíais, defenderían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: defienda
The present subjunctive of defender follows the e > ie stem change: defienda, defiendas, defienda, defendamos, defendáis, defiendan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: defendiera
The imperfect subjunctive is regular based on the preterite stem: defendiera, defendieras, defendiera, defendiéramos, defendierais, defendieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: defiende
The imperative uses the stem change (e > ie) for most commands: defiende, defienda, defendamos, defended, defiendan.
Negative Imperative
yo: no defiendas
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive forms: no defiendas, no defienda, no defendamos, no defendáis, no defiendan.