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ITALIAN VERB

difendere

to defend

  • #375 most used
  • Irregular -ere verb
  • Past participle: difeso
  • Gerund: difendendo

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. io I defend
  2. tu you defend
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she defends
  4. noi we defend
  5. voi you all defend
  6. loro they defend

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

  1. io I defended
  2. tu you defended
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she defended
  4. noi we defended
  5. voi you all defended
  6. loro they defended

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. io I used to defend
  2. tu you used to defend
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she used to defend
  4. noi we used to defend
  5. voi you all used to defend
  6. loro they used to defend

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

  1. io I will defend
  2. tu you will defend
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she will defend
  4. noi we will defend
  5. voi you all will defend
  6. loro they will defend

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

  1. io I would defend
  2. tu you would defend
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she would defend
  4. noi we would defend
  5. voi you all would defend
  6. loro they would defend

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

  1. io (that) I defend
  2. tu (that) you defend
  3. lui, lei, Lei (that) he/she defend
  4. noi (that) we defend
  5. voi (that) you all defend
  6. loro (that) they defend

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders: tu, Lei, noi, voi

  1. tu defend!
  2. Lei defend! (formal)
  3. noi defend! (let’s)
  4. voi defend! (all of you)

How to use difendere

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Mia madre difende sempre mio fratello, qualunque cosa faccia.

    My mother always defends my brother, whatever he does.

  2. Past

    L'avvocato ha difeso bene il suo cliente.

    The lawyer defended his client well.

  3. Imperfect

    A scuola Luca mi difendeva dai ragazzi più grandi.

    At school, Luca defended me from the older boys.

  4. Future

    Difenderò le mie idee fino alla fine.

    I'll defend my ideas to the end.

  5. Conditional

    Un buon amico ti difenderebbe anche quando non ci sei.

    A good friend would defend you even when you're not there.

  6. Present subjunctive

    È giusto che tu difenda i tuoi diritti.

    It's right that you defend your rights.

  7. Imperative

    Difendi la tua squadra, ma rispetta gli avversari.

    Defend your team, but respect your opponents.

Good to know

  • Difendersi is to defend yourself; an avvocato difende whoever is in court.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -ere verb.