Defender Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of defender — "to defend" in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for defender with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Defender means to defend: a lawyer defiende a su cliente, a goalkeeper defiende la portería, a student defiende su tesis. It takes a direct object for what is defended. To see it in a real sentence: Yo defiendo a su cliente en el juicio — "I defend his client at the trial".
Present tense conjugation table: defender
Every person of defender in the present tense. The gerund is defendiendo and the past participle is defendido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | defiendo |
| tú | defiendes |
| él/ella/Ud. | defiende |
| nosotros/as | defendemos |
| vosotros/as | defendéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | defienden |
How the present of defender is formed
The present of defender is built from the stem defend- plus the present endings for -er verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -er ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.
| Person | Ending | Form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | defiendo |
| tú | -es | defiendes |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | defiende |
| nosotros/as | -emos | defendemos |
| vosotros/as | -éis | defendéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | defienden |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: defiendo, defiendes, defiende and defienden — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: defendemos, defendéis.
The gerund of defender is defendiendo and the past participle is defendido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of defender
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and defender appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.
Habits and routines
The present describes things that happen regularly, as a habit or routine.
"Cada día, yo defiendo a su cliente en el juicio" — "Every day, I defend his client at the trial"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo defiende su tesis ante el tribunal" — "My friend defends his thesis before the panel"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo defiendo la portería en el partido" — "Right now, I defend the goal in the match"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros defendemos sus ideas con pasión" — "Tomorrow, we defend his ideas passionately"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos defienden el castillo del enemigo" — "They defend the castle from the enemy"
The present tense vs the closest tenses
Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion
The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.
- Present — habit or general fact: {'pre_es': 'Cada día, ', 'pre_en': 'Every day, '}yo defiendo a su cliente en el juicio — "I defend his client at the trial"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo defendí a su cliente en el juicio — "I defended his client at the trial"
Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add "used to" in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.
- Present — now: {}tú defiendes su tesis ante el tribunal — "You defend his thesis before the panel"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú defendías su tesis ante el tribunal — "You used to defend his thesis before the panel"
Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen
The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.
- Present — now or a fixed plan: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él defiende la portería en el partido — "He defends the goal in the match"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él defenderá la portería en el partido — "He will defend the goal in the match"
Examples: defender in the present tense
Seven sentences that show defender in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo defiendo a su cliente en el juicio — "I defend his client at the trial"
- Tú defiendes su tesis ante el tribunal — "You defend his thesis before the panel"
- Él defiende la portería en el partido — "He defends the goal in the match"
- Nosotros defendemos sus ideas con pasión — "We defend his ideas passionately"
- Vosotros defendéis el castillo del enemigo — "You defend the castle from the enemy"
- Ellos defienden a su cliente en el juicio — "They defend his client at the trial"
- Yo defiendo su tesis ante el tribunal — "I defend his thesis before the panel"
Common mistakes with defender in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with defender in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo defendo a su cliente en el juicio.
✓ Correct: Yo defiendo a su cliente en el juicio.
defender is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is defiendo, not defendo.
✗ *Tú defiende su tesis ante el tribunal.
✓ Correct: Tú defiendes su tesis ante el tribunal.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes defiendes, él takes defiende.
✗ *Cada día, yo defendí la portería en el partido
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo defiendo la portería en el partido
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros defendeis sus ideas con pasión.
✓ Correct: Vosotros defendéis sus ideas con pasión.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: defendéis, not defendeis.
Quiz: defender in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of defender. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of defender for tú? A. defiendo B. defiende C. defendemos D. defiendes
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a su cliente en el juicio — "I defend his client at the trial" (present) A. defiendes B. defiende C. defendemos D. defiendo
Complete the sentence: Él ______ su tesis ante el tribunal — "He defends his thesis before the panel" (present) A. defiendes B. defendemos C. defiende D. defiendo
Which is the correct present form of defender for nosotros? A. defiende B. defienden C. defendemos D. defiendes
Which sentence uses defender correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo defiende la portería en el partido B. Mi amigo defiendes la portería en el partido C. Mi amigo defendía la portería en el partido D. Mi amigo defendemos la portería en el partido
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ sus ideas con pasión — "You defend his ideas passionately" (present) A. defendéis B. defiendo C. defiendes D. defiende
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ el castillo del enemigo — "They defend the castle from the enemy" (present) A. defiendo B. defiendes C. defiende D. defienden
What is the gerund of defender? A. defendí B. defendiendo C. defendido D. defiendo
Answer key
- defiendes — The tú form in the present is defiendes.
- defiendo — The present form for yo is defiendo.
- defiende — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is defiende.
- defendemos — The nosotros form in the present is defendemos.
- Mi amigo defiende la portería en el partido — Mi amigo defiende la portería en el partido is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- defendéis — The present form for vosotros/as is defendéis.
- defienden — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is defienden.
- defendiendo — The gerund is defendiendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle defendido.
Frequently asked questions
Is defender regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: defiendo, defiendes, defiende and defienden — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: defendemos, defendéis. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of defender?
The gerund is defendiendo and the past participle is defendido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I defend" in the present tense?
Say defiendo. For example: Yo defiendo a su cliente en el juicio — "I defend his client at the trial".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of defender?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo defiendo a su cliente en el juicio — "I defend his client at the trial". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo defendí a su cliente en el juicio — "Yesterday, I defended his client at the trial". Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once.
Related links
- Full conjugation of defender — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- defender examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Present tense guide — how the present tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.