How to conjugate Defenderse in Spanish
To defend (oneself) Irregular Verb
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Indicative tenses of Defenderse
- Defenderse in the Indicative Present
- Defenderse in the Indicative Preterite
- Defenderse in the Indicative Imperfect
- Defenderse in the Indicative Present Continuous
- Defenderse in the Indicative Informal Future
- Defenderse in the Indicative Future
- Defenderse in the Indicative Conditional
- Defenderse in the Indicative Present Perfect
- Defenderse in the Indicative Past Perfect
- Defenderse in the Indicative Future Perfect
- Defenderse in the Indicative Conditional Perfect
- Subjunctive tenses of Defenderse
- Imperative tenses of Defenderse
- Downloadable cheat sheet (PDF)
- Practice Defenderse conjugations (free mobile app)
Introduction
Defenderse is the Spanish verb for "to defend (oneself)". It is an irregular reflexive verb. Read on below to see how it is conjugated in the 18 major Spanish tenses!
| Item | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | defenderse | to defend (oneself) |
| Past participle | defendido | defended |
| Gerund | defendiendo | defending |
Indicative Tenses of Defenderse
Defenderse in the Indicative Present
The Indicative Present of defenderse is used to talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths. For example, "me defiendo", meaning "I defend".
In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me defiendo | I defend |
| Tú | te defiendes | you defend |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se defiende | s/he defends, you (formal) defend |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos defendemos | we defend |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os defendéis | you (plural) defend |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se defienden | they defend, |
The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.
Back to top
Defenderse in the Indicative Preterite
The Indicative Preterite of defenderse is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, "me defendí", meaning "I defended".
In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me defendí | I defended |
| Tú | te defendiste | you defended |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se defendió | s/he defended, you (formal) defended |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos defendimos | we defended |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os defendisteis | you (plural) defended |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se defendieron | they defended, |
Back to top
Defenderse in the Indicative Imperfect
The Indicative Imperfect of defenderse is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, "me defendía", meaning "I used to defend".
In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me defendía | I used to defend |
| Tú | te defendías | you used to defend |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se defendía | s/he used to defend, you (formal) used to defend |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos defendíamos | we used to defend |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os defendíais | you (plural) used to defend |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se defendían | they used to defend, |
Back to top
Defenderse in the Indicative Present Continuous
The Indicative Present Continuous of defenderse is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, "me estoy defendiendo", meaning "I am defending".
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me estoy defendiendo | I am defending |
| Tú | te estás defendiendo | you are defending |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se está defendiendo | s/he is defending, you (formal) are defending |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos estamos defendiendo | we are defending |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os estáis defendiendo | you (plural) are defending |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se están defendiendo | they are defending, |
Back to top
Defenderse in the Indicative Informal Future
The Indicative Informal Future of defenderse is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, "me voy a defender", meaning "I am going to defend".
In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me voy a defender | I am going to defend |
| Tú | te vas a defender | you are going to defend |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se va a defender | s/he is going to defend, you (formal) are going to defend |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos vamos a defender | we are going to defend |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os vais a defender | you (plural) are going to defend |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se van a defender | they are going to defend, |
Back to top
Defenderse in the Indicative Future
The Indicative Future of defenderse is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, "me defenderé", meaning "I will defend".
In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me defenderé | I will defend |
| Tú | te defenderás | you will defend |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se defenderá | s/he will defend, you (formal) will defend |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos defenderemos | we will defend |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os defenderéis | you (plural) will defend |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se defenderán | they will defend, |
Back to top
Defenderse in the Indicative Conditional
The Indicative Conditional of defenderse is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, "me defendería", meaning "I would defend".
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me defendería | I would defend |
| Tú | te defenderías | you would defend |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se defendería | s/he would defend, you (formal) would defend |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos defenderíamos | we would defend |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os defenderíais | you (plural) would defend |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se defenderían | they would defend, |
Back to top
Defenderse in the Indicative Present Perfect
The Indicative Present Perfect of defenderse is used to describe actions that started recently (in the past) and are still happening now or things that have been done recently. For example, "me he defendido", meaning "I have defended".
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me he defendido | I have defended |
| Tú | te has defendido | you have defended |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se ha defendido | s/he has defended, you (formal) have defended |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos hemos defendido | we have defended |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os habéis defendido | you (plural) have defended |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se han defendido | they have defended, |
Back to top
Defenderse in the Indicative Past Perfect
The Indicative Past Perfect of defenderse is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, "me había defendido", meaning "I had defended".
In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me había defendido | I had defended |
| Tú | te habías defendido | you had defended |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se había defendido | s/he had defended, you (formal) had defended |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos habíamos defendido | we had defended |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os habíais defendido | you (plural) had defended |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se habían defendido | they had defended, |
Back to top
Defenderse in the Indicative Future Perfect
The Indicative Future Perfect of defenderse is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, "me habré defendido", meaning "I will have defended".
In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me habré defendido | I will have defended |
| Tú | te habrás defendido | you will have defended |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se habrá defendido | s/he will have defended, you (formal) will have defended |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos habremos defendido | we will have defended |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os habréis defendido | you (plural) will have defended |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se habrán defendido | they will have defended, |
Back to top
Defenderse in the Indicative Conditional Perfect
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of defenderse is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, "me habría defendido", meaning "I would have defended".
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me habría defendido | I would have defended |
| Tú | te habrías defendido | you would have defended |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se habría defendido | s/he would have defended, you (formal) would have defended |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos habríamos defendido | we would have defended |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os habríais defendido | you (plural) would have defended |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se habrían defendido | they would have defended, |
Back to top
Subjunctive Tenses of Defenderse
Defenderse in the Subjunctive Present
The Subjunctive Present is used to talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about. For example, "me defienda", meaning "I defend".
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me defienda | I defend |
| Tú | te defiendas | you defend |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se defienda | s/he defends, you (formal) defend |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos defendamos | we defend |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os defendáis | you (plural) defend |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se defiendan | they defend, |
The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.
Back to top
Defenderse in the Subjunctive Imperfect
The Subjunctive Imperfect is used to speak about unlikely or uncertain events in the past or to cast an opinion (emotional) about something that happened in the past. For example, "me defendiera", meaning "I defended".
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me defendiera | I defended |
| Tú | te defendieras | you defended |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se defendiera | s/he defended, you (formal) defended |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos defendiéramos | we defended |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os defendierais | you (plural) defended |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se defendieran | they defended, |
Back to top
Defenderse in the Subjunctive Future
The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, "me defendiere", meaning "I will defend".
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me defendiere | I will defend |
| Tú | te defendieres | you will defend |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se defendiere | s/he will defend, you (formal) will defend |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos defendiéremos | we will defend |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os defendiereis | you (plural) will defend |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se defendieren | they will defend, |
Back to top
Defenderse in the Subjunctive Present Perfect
The Subjunctive Present Perfect is used to describe past actions or events that are still connected to the present day and to speak about an action that will have happened by a certain time in the future. For example, "me haya defendido", meaning "I have defended".
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me haya defendido | I have defended |
| Tú | te hayas defendido | you have defended |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se haya defendido | s/he has defended, you (formal) have defended |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos hayamos defendido | we have defended |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os hayáis defendido | you (plural) have defended |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se hayan defendido | they have defended, |
Back to top
Defenderse in the Subjunctive Past Perfect
The Subjunctive Past Perfect is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that occurred before other actions/events in the past. For example, "me hubiera defendido", meaning "I had defended".
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me hubiera defendido | I had defended |
| Tú | te hubieras defendido | you had defended |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se hubiera defendido | s/he had defended, you (formal) had defended |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos hubiéramos defendido | we had defended |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os hubierais defendido | you (plural) had defended |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se hubieran defendido | they had defended, |
Back to top
Defenderse in the Subjunctive Future Perfect
The Subjunctive Future Perfect is used to speak about something that will have happened if a hypothetical situations occurs in the future. For example, "me hubiere defendido", meaning "I will have defended".
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | me hubiere defendido | I will have defended |
| Tú | te hubieres defendido | you will have defended |
| Ella / Él / Usted | se hubiere defendido | s/he will have defended, you (formal) will have defended |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | nos hubiéremos defendido | we will have defended |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | os hubiereis defendido | you (plural) will have defended |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | se hubieren defendido | they will have defended, |
Back to top
Imperative Tenses of Defenderse
Defenderse in the Imperative Affirmative
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, "defiéndase", meaning "(to you formal) defend!".
In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | defiéndete | (to you) defend! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | defiéndase | (to you formal) defend! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | defendámonos | let's defend! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | defendeos | (to you plural) defend! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | defiéndanse | (to you plural formal) defend! |
The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.
Back to top
Defenderse in the Imperative Negative
The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, "no se defienda", meaning "(to you formal) don't defend!".
In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no te defiendas | (to you) don't defend! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no se defienda | (to you formal) don't defend! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no nos defendamos | let's not defend! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no os defendáis | (to you plural) don't defend! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no se defiendan | (to you plural formal) don't defend! |
The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.
Back to top
Downloadable cheat sheets
Download and print a cheat sheet of Defenderse Spanish conjugation tables in image or PDF format:
Back to top
Practice Defenderse conjugations (free mobile & web app)
Get full conjugation tables for Defenderse and 2,300+ other verbs on-the-go with Ella Verbs for iOS, Android, and web.
We also guide you through learning all Spanish tenses and test your knowledge with conjugation quizzes. Download it for free!
Back to top
About Ella Verbs
👋 Hola! We built Ella Verbs to help people (and ourselves!) master one of the hardest parts of Spanish – verb conjugation. It guides you through learning all tenses in an easy-to-follow way, giving you levels of bite-sized lessons and fun quizzes. Here is a 6 minute overview of all of the app's features:
It has changed a lot over the 6+ years we have been working on it, but the goal remains the same – to help you master Spanish conjugation! You can download and try it for free, and, if you do, please send any and all feedback our way!
- Jane & Brian
Back to top
Want to explore other verb conjugations?
Why not check out Definir – to define or see the complete list of verbs here.
Back to top
Defenderse: to defend (oneself)
Remove the mystery behind Spanish conjugation with Ella Verbs
- Learn how to conjugate (not just memorize)
- Discover & focus on your weaknesses
- Interactive quizzes that you actually learn from
- Free to try, and free forever for those who cannot afford it.
Download for free now
Join 100,000+ others and master your Spanish conjugation with the top-rated verb app, Ella Verbs
Great program that has and is helping me immensely. Four years [studying Spanish] and after just a couple of days with this app I finally am 'getting' the verb thing into my head. After the first couple of lessons I finally feel comfortable conversing with the natives here in Panama. I still have a long way to go but this application was the key for me. Thank you!
Google Play Store