Skip to content
fluentbyear

SPANISH VERB

defender

to defend

  • #186 most used
  • Irregular -er verb
  • Gerund: defendiendo
  • Past participle: defendido

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I defend
  2. tú you defend
  3. usted, él, ella he/she defends
  4. nosotros we defend
  5. vosotros Spain you all defend
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they defend

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I defended
  2. tú you defended
  3. usted, él, ella he/she defended
  4. nosotros we defended
  5. vosotros Spain you all defended
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they defended

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to defend
  2. tú you used to defend
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to defend
  4. nosotros we used to defend
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to defend
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to defend

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will defend
  2. tú you will defend
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will defend
  4. nosotros we will defend
  5. vosotros Spain you all will defend
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will defend

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would defend
  2. tú you would defend
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would defend
  4. nosotros we would defend
  5. vosotros Spain you all would defend
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would defend

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I defend
  2. tú (that) you defend
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she defend
  4. nosotros (that) we defend
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all defend
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they defend

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I defended
  2. tú (if) you defended
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she defended
  4. nosotros (if) we defended
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all defended
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they defended

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú defend!
  2. usted defend! (formal)
  3. nosotros defend! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain defend! (all of you)
  5. ustedes defend! (all of you)

How to use defender

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

  1. Present

    Mi hermano mayor siempre me defiende.

    My big brother always defends me.

  2. Past

    El abogado defendió muy bien a su cliente.

    The lawyer defended his client very well.

  3. Imperfect

    De niña defendía a mi hermanito en la escuela.

    As a girl I used to stick up for my little brother at school.

  4. Future

    Yo te defenderé si alguien te molesta.

    I'll defend you if anyone bothers you.

  5. Conditional

    Un buen amigo te defendería sin pensarlo.

    A good friend would defend you without thinking.

  6. Present subjunctive

    No necesito que nadie me defienda.

    I don't need anyone to defend me.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Le agradecí que me defendiera delante del jefe.

    I thanked him for defending me in front of the boss.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Defiende tu idea, es buena!

    Defend your idea, it's good!

Good to know

  • "Defenderse" is also to get by: "me defiendo en inglés", I can get by in English.

Verbs like this one

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