proteger Preterite Conjugation
proteger — to protect
The preterite of proteger is regular: protegí, protegiste, protegió, protegimos, protegisteis, protegieron.
proteger Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite when talking about a specific moment in the past when something was protected or saved from danger.
Notes on proteger in the Preterite
Proteger is regular in the preterite. Unlike the present tense, the letter 'g' remains throughout because it is followed by 'i' or 'e', which keeps the soft 'h' sound naturally.
Example Sentences
El perro me protegió del extraño.
The dog protected me from the stranger.
él/ella/usted
Protegimos los muebles durante la mudanza.
We protected the furniture during the move.
nosotros
Ayer protegí mis plantas del frío.
Yesterday I protected my plants from the cold.
yo
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'protejí' with a 'j'.
Correct: protegí
Why: In the preterite, the 'g' is followed by 'í', which already produces the correct sound, so no spelling change to 'j' is needed.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: protejo
Proteger has a spelling change in the 'yo' form: protejo, proteges, protege, protegemos, protegéis, protegen.
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.
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.