protegé

Protegí is the first-person singular preterite form of the Spanish verb proteger, meaning "I protected" or "I guarded." It is used to describe a completed action in the past in which the subject provided protection or security for someone or something. As a preterite form, it typically appears in narratives or reports of past events.

Conjugation in the preterite follows the regular -er verb pattern with a distinctive yo form: yo protegí, tú protegiste, él protegió, nosotros protegimos, vosotros protegisteis, ellos protegieron. The yo form carries an accent on the i (protegí) to preserve the stress pattern, while the other forms use standard endings (-í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron). The stem remains proteg- before the endings, and the pronunciation retains the hard g before the vowels e, i, and o.

Etymology and related forms: Proteger derives from Latin protegere, passing into Spanish as proteger and its conjugations. In modern Spanish, proteger behaves as a regular -er verb in most tenses, though it features a spelling-adjusted stem across some forms to preserve the soft pronunciation of the g. Present-tense forms, such as protejo, proteges, protege, protecemos, protegéis, protegen, illustrate the broader stem proteg-.

Usage notes: Protegí is common in personal narratives, reports, and descriptions of safeguarding actions. Examples include protecting someone from harm, shielding information, or defending rights. In all cases, the form agrees with the first-person subject and denotes a completed past action.