Key facts

Protéger

To protect

B1Irregular
Stem
protég
Past participle
protégé

Examples

Je protège mon chat.

I protect my cat.

Il ne protège pas ses mains.

He doesn't protect his hands.

Nous protégions tout.

We were protecting everything.

Nous avons protégé ça.

We protected that.

This verb is highly irregular. Prioritize repetition and active recall.

Présent

Indicative present — everyday actions, ongoing situations, and habits; the tense you rely on most in conversation.

Group 1
Jeprotège
Iprotect
Tuprotèges
Youprotect
Ilprotège
Heprotects
Nousprotégeons
Weprotect
Vousprotégez
Youprotect
Ilsprotègent
Theyprotect

Futur proche

Near future with aller + infinitive — what you are about to do, very soon after the moment of speaking.

Jevais protéger
Iam going to protect
Tuvas protéger
Youare going to protect
Ilva protéger
Heis going to protect
Nousallons protéger
Weare going to protect
Vousallez protéger
Youare going to protect
Ilsvont protéger
Theyare going to protect

Passé récent

Recent past with venir de + infinitive — something that has just finished, still fresh in the speaker’s mind.

Jeviens de protéger
Ihave just protected
Tuviens de protéger
Youhave just protected
Ilvient de protéger
Hehas just protected
Nousvenons de protéger
Wehave just protected
Vousvenez de protéger
Youhave just protected
Ilsviennent de protéger
Theyhave just protected

Passé composé

Compound past with être or avoir + past participle — completed, one-off events and the backbone of spoken storytelling.

J'ai protégé
Ihave protected
Tuas protégé
Youhave protected
Ila protégé
Hehas protected
Nousavons protégé
Wehave protected
Vousavez protégé
Youhave protected
Ilsont protégé
Theyhave protected

Conditionnel présent

Conditional mood — polite requests, imagined outcomes, and what would happen under certain conditions.

Jeprotègerais
Iwould protect
Tuprotègerais
Youwould protect
Ilprotègerait
Hewould protect
Nousprotègerions
Wewould protect
Vousprotègeriez
Youwould protect
Ilsprotègeraient
Theywould protect

Futur simple

Simple future — often more formal or literary than the near future; states intentions farther ahead in time.

Jeprotègerai
Iwill protect
Tuprotègeras
Youwill protect
Ilprotègera
Hewill protect
Nousprotègerons
Wewill protect
Vousprotègerez
Youwill protect
Ilsprotègeront
Theywill protect

Imparfait

Imperfect — repeated habits in the past, background description, and actions still in progress when something else occurred.

Jeprotégeais
Iwas protecting
Tuprotégeais
Youwere protecting
Ilprotégeait
Hewas protecting
Nousprotégions
Were protecting
Vousprotégiez
Youwere protecting
Ilsprotégeaient
Theywere protecting

Impératif présent

Present imperative — direct commands and friendly requests; only tu, nous, and vous person forms exist.

(Tu)protège
Youprotect
(Nous)protégeons
Weprotect
(Vous)protégez
Youprotect

Participe présent

Present participle — the -ant form in subordinate clauses, compound tenses, and many fixed expressions.

protégeant
protecting

Gérondif présent

Gerund with en + present participle — simultaneous action, manner, or cause while something else is going on.

en protégeant
protecting

Similar conjugation models (Irregular)

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