défendais

Défendais is a French verb that belongs to the first conjugation group. It is the imperfect tense form of the verb "défendre," which means "to defend" or "to protect." The imperfect tense in French is used to describe ongoing actions in the past, similar to the present perfect continuous in English. For example, "Il défendait son pays" translates to "He was defending his country."

The conjugation of "défendais" follows the typical pattern for first conjugation verbs in the imperfect tense. The verb "défendre" has the following conjugation in the imperfect tense:

- Je défendais

- Tu défendais

- Il/Elle défendait

- Nous défendions

- Vous défendiez

- Ils/Elles défendaient

The imperfect tense is often used to describe habitual actions, past events, or actions that were interrupted. For instance, "Quand j'étais enfant, je défendais toujours mes amis" means "When I was a child, I always defended my friends."

In modern French, the imperfect tense is less commonly used than it was in the past, and the passé composé (compound past tense) is often preferred. However, the imperfect tense remains an important part of the French language and is still taught in French grammar courses.