proteger Present Subjunctive Conjugation
proteger — to protect
The present subjunctive of proteger uses 'j' in all forms: proteja, protejas, proteja, protejamos, protejáis, protejan.
proteger Present Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Present Subjunctive
Use this when you want, hope, or doubt that someone is protecting something.
Notes on proteger in the Present Subjunctive
Because the subjunctive endings for -er verbs start with 'a', the 'g' must change to 'j' in every single form to maintain the soft 'h' sound.
Example Sentences
Espero que la policía nos proteja.
I hope the police protect us.
él/ella/usted
Es importante que protejamos la naturaleza.
It is important that we protect nature.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'protega' with a 'g'.
Correct: proteja
Why: In Spanish, 'ga' sounds like 'gah'. To get the 'ha' sound needed for this verb, you must use a 'j'.
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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.
Imperfect
yo: protegía
The imperfect of proteger is regular: protegía, protegías, protegía, protegíamos, protegíais, protegían.
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.
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.