proteger Imperfect Conjugation
proteger — to protect
The imperfect of proteger is regular: protegía, protegías, protegía, protegíamos, protegíais, protegían.
proteger Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use this for ongoing protection in the past or to describe how things used to be kept safe.
Notes on proteger in the Imperfect
Proteger is regular in the imperfect. All -er verbs use the -ía endings.
Example Sentences
Mi abuelo siempre protegía su jardín.
My grandfather always used to protect his garden.
él/ella/usted
Antes, los muros protegían la ciudad.
Before, the walls protected (were protecting) the city.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'protegaba' instead of 'protegía'.
Correct: protegía
Why: Only -ar verbs use -aba; -er verbs like proteger always use -ía.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: protejo
Proteger has a spelling change in the 'yo' form: protejo, proteges, protege, protegemos, protegéis, protegen.
Preterite
yo: protegí
The preterite of proteger is regular: protegí, protegiste, protegió, protegimos, protegisteis, protegieron.
Future
yo: protegeré
The future of proteger is regular: protegeré, protegerás, protegerá, protegeremos, protegeréis, protegerán.
Conditional
yo: protegería
The conditional of proteger is regular: protegería, protegerías, protegería, protegeríamos, protegeríais, protegerían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: proteja
The present subjunctive of proteger uses 'j' in all forms: proteja, protejas, proteja, protejamos, protejáis, protejan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: protegiera
The imperfect subjunctive of proteger is regular: protegiera, protegieras, protegiera, protegiéramos, protegierais, protegieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: protege
The imperative uses 'g' for 'tú' and 'vosotros', but 'j' for 'usted' and 'nosotros': protege, proteja, protejamos, proteged, protejan.
Negative Imperative
yo: no protejas
The negative imperative always uses 'j': no protejas, no proteja, no protejamos, no protejáis, no protejan.