defendas

Defendas is a Portuguese verb form used as the second-person singular present subjunctive of the verb defender, meaning "you defend." It appears in subordinate clauses that express doubt, necessity, wish, or conditionality, typically after expressions such as é necessário que, é importante que, duvida se, or para que. In standard usage, tu defendas is paired with você defenda in the present subjunctive, with tú forms more common in some dialects and você often used in informal speech.

Grammatical notes on defendas:

It marks the present subjunctive mood and governs subordinate clauses. The corresponding forms in other persons are defenda (ele/ela/você), defendamos (nós), defendais (vós), defendam (eles/elas/vocês). In many dialects, the polite or third-person form defenda is used for você, while defendas is specifically the second-person singular form. Defendas should not be confused with defesas, the plural of defesa, which means defenses or protective measures.

Usage and style:

Defendas is common in written Portuguese and in formal speech, especially in regions where the tu form remains productive. In informal spoken Brazilian Portuguese, speakers may avoid subjunctive forms in favor of other constructions, but defendas remains standard in careful writing and in contexts requiring a subjunctive mood.

Examples:

- Quero que tu defendas a posição com argumentos sólidos.

- É necessário que tu defendas teu ponto de vista com evidências.

See also:

Defender, Defesa, Defesas, Subjuntivo (Portuguese mood).

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