Defender Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb defender means to defend, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. 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. Like every Spanish verb, defender changes its ending for each person and tense, and this page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say Yo defiendo a su cliente en el juicio — "I defend his client at the trial". Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.

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.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: defender
  • English: to defend
  • Verb type: stem-changing -er verb (e → ie)
  • Ending: -er
  • Gerund: defendiendo
  • Past participle: defendido
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + defendido)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for defender, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for defender. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem.

Present indicative

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | defiendo | | tú | defiendes | | él/ella/Ud. | defiende | | nosotros/as | defendemos | | vosotros/as | defendéis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | defienden |

Preterite

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | defendí | | tú | defendiste | | él/ella/Ud. | defendió | | nosotros/as | defendimos | | vosotros/as | defendisteis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | defendieron |

Imperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | defendía | | tú | defendías | | él/ella/Ud. | defendía | | nosotros/as | defendíamos | | vosotros/as | defendíais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | defendían |

Future

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | defenderé | | tú | defenderás | | él/ella/Ud. | defenderá | | nosotros/as | defenderemos | | vosotros/as | defenderéis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | defenderán |

Conditional

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | defendería | | tú | defenderías | | él/ella/Ud. | defendería | | nosotros/as | defenderíamos | | vosotros/as | defenderíais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | defenderían |

Present perfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | he defendido | | tú | has defendido | | él/ella/Ud. | ha defendido | | nosotros/as | hemos defendido | | vosotros/as | habéis defendido | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | han defendido |

Pluperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | había defendido | | tú | habías defendido | | él/ella/Ud. | había defendido | | nosotros/as | habíamos defendido | | vosotros/as | habíais defendido | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían defendido |

Future perfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | habré defendido | | tú | habrás defendido | | él/ella/Ud. | habrá defendido | | nosotros/as | habremos defendido | | vosotros/as | habréis defendido | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán defendido |

Conditional perfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | habría defendido | | tú | habrías defendido | | él/ella/Ud. | habría defendido | | nosotros/as | habríamos defendido | | vosotros/as | habríais defendido | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían defendido |

Present subjunctive

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | defienda | | tú | defiendas | | él/ella/Ud. | defienda | | nosotros/as | defendamos | | vosotros/as | defendáis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | defiendan |

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | defendiera | | tú | defendieras | | él/ella/Ud. | defendiera | | nosotros/as | defendiéramos | | vosotros/as | defendierais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | defendieran |

Imperative (affirmative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | defiende | | él/ella/Ud. | defienda | | nosotros/as | defendamos | | vosotros/as | defended | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | defiendan |

Imperative (negative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | defiendas | | él/ella/Ud. | defienda | | nosotros/as | defendamos | | vosotros/as | defendáis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | defiendan |

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund defendiendo with estar for the progressive: está defendiendo
Past participle defendido with haber for the perfect tenses: he defendido

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. 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. For defender, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo defiendo a su cliente en el juicio — "I defend his client at the trial".

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For defender, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, yo defendí su tesis ante el tribunal — "Yesterday, I defended his thesis before the panel".

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For defender, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, yo defendía la portería en el partido — "As a child, I used to defend the goal in the match".

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For defender, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, yo defenderé sus ideas con pasión — "Tomorrow, I will defend his ideas passionately".

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For defender, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo defendería a su cliente en el juicio si pudiera — "I would defend his client at the trial if I could".

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For defender, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, yo he defendido su tesis ante el tribunal — "Today, I have defended his thesis before the panel".

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For defender, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo ya había defendido la portería en el partido antes de salir — "I already had defended the goal in the match before leaving".

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For defender, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, yo habré defendido sus ideas con pasión — "By tomorrow, I will have defended his ideas passionately".

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For defender, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría defendido a su cliente en el juicio con más tiempo — "I would have defended his client at the trial with more time".

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. 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. For defender, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él defienda su tesis ante el tribunal — "I hope he defends his thesis before the panel".

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past. The -ra forms are shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For defender, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo defendiera la portería en el partido, todo cambiaría — "If I defended the goal in the match, everything would change".

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. 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. For defender, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Defiende sus ideas con pasión. — "Defend his ideas passionately.".

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. 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. For defender, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No defiendas a su cliente en el juicio. — "Do not defend his client at the trial.".

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with defender, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Yo defiendo a su cliente en el juicio — "I defend his client at the trial"
  2. Mi amigo defiende su tesis ante el tribunal — "My friend defends his thesis before the panel"
  3. Ayer, yo defendí la portería en el partido — "Yesterday, I defended the goal in the match"
  4. Antes, nosotros defendíamos sus ideas con pasión — "Before, we used to defend his ideas passionately"
  5. Mañana, tú defenderás el castillo del enemigo — "Tomorrow, you will defend the castle from the enemy"
  6. Yo defendería a su cliente en el juicio si tuviera más tiempo — "I would defend his client at the trial if I had more time"
  7. Él ha defendido su tesis ante el tribunal — "He has defended his thesis before the panel"
  8. Espero que él defienda la portería en el partido — "I hope he defends the goal in the match"
  9. Yo ya había defendido sus ideas con pasión antes de salir — "I already had defended his ideas passionately before leaving"
  10. Ellos defendían el castillo del enemigo cuando eran jóvenes — "They used to defend the castle from the enemy when they were young"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo defendo su tesis ante el tribunal. — Right: Yo defiendo su tesis ante el tribunal. — 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.
  2. Wrong: Espero que él defiende su tesis ante el tribunal — Right: Espero que él defienda su tesis ante el tribunal — After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él defienda su tesis ante el tribunal — not the indicative Espero que él defiende su tesis ante el tribunal.
  3. Wrong: Ayer, yo defiendo la portería en el partido — Right: Ayer, yo defendí la portería en el partido — Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo defendí la portería en el partido.
  4. Wrong: De niño, yo defendí sus ideas con pasión todos los días — Right: De niño, yo defendía sus ideas con pasión todos los días — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo defendía sus ideas con pasión todos los días.
  5. Wrong: Yo defiendo su cliente en el juicio. — Right: Yo defiendo a su cliente en el juicio. — defender takes a before this complement: Yo defiendo a su cliente en el juicio. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on defender. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. 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

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ______ su tesis ante el tribunal — "He defended his thesis before the panel" (preterite) A. defendimos B. defendió C. defendí D. defendiste

  3. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ la portería en el partido — "We used to defend the goal in the match" (imperfect) A. defendíais B. defendíamos C. defendía D. defendías

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú ______ sus ideas con pasión — "You will defend his ideas passionately" (future) A. defenderé B. defenderá C. defenderemos D. defenderás

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el castillo del enemigo — "I would defend the castle from the enemy" (conditional) A. defenderíais B. defendería C. defenderías D. defenderíamos

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ a su cliente en el juicio — "I hope he defends his client at the trial" (present subjunctive) A. defiendas B. defendamos C. defendáis D. defienda

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ______ su tesis ante el tribunal, todo cambiaría — "If I defended his thesis before the panel, everything would change" (imperfect subjunctive) A. defendierais B. defendiera C. defendieras D. defendiéramos

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ la portería en el partido — "We have defended the goal in the match" (present perfect) A. ha defendido B. hemos defendido C. he defendido D. has defendido

  9. Complete the sentence: No ______ sus ideas con pasión. — "Do not defend his ideas passionately." (negative imperative) A. defienda B. defendamos C. defendáis D. defiendas

  10. Which is the gerund of defender, used with estar for the progressive? A. defendí B. defendiendo C. defendido D. defiendo

Answer key

  1. defiendo — The present form for yo is defiendo.
  2. defendió — The preterite form for él/ella/Ud. is defendió.
  3. defendíamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is defendíamos.
  4. defenderás — The future form for tú is defenderás.
  5. defendería — The conditional form for yo is defendería.
  6. defienda — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is defienda.
  7. defendiera — The imperfect subjunctive form for yo is defendiera.
  8. hemos defendido — The present perfect form for nosotros/as is hemos defendido.
  9. defiendas — The negative imperative form is defiendas.
  10. defendiendo — The gerund of defender is defendiendo: estoy defendiendo. The participle defendido is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does defender mean in English?

defender means to defend. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo defiendo a su cliente en el juicio — "I defend his client at the trial". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is defender regular?

No. defender is a stem-changing -er verb (e → ie). 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, which is the part learners most often get right by accident.

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 I say "I defend" in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Ayer, yo defendí su tesis ante el tribunal — "Yesterday, I defended his thesis before the panel". For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: De niño, yo defendía la portería en el partido — "As a child, I used to defend the goal in the match". For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Hoy, yo he defendido su tesis ante el tribunal — "Today, I have defended his thesis before the panel".

What is the difference between defender and proteger?

Proteger is to protect something from harm in general. Defender is to defend it actively, in court, in a debate or on the field. 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.

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