protegíais

Protegíais is the second person plural form of the Spanish verb proteger in the imperfect indicative tense, used with the pronoun vosotros. It corresponds to the English “you all were protecting” or “you all used to protect.” The form is typical of peninsular Spanish and is common in regions that still use the vos form in the past. In many Latin American varieties, the equivalent past tense for ustedes would be protegían, reflecting the different second-person plural pronoun usage.

Morphology and usage: proteger is a regular -er verb in the imperfect tense. For the vosotros form, the ending is -íais, yielding protegíais. The accent on í marks the imperfect stress. The imperfect tense describes past actions without specifying a definite end, often conveying habitual or progressive actions in the past, or setting background in narrative.

Common usage notes: protegíais is primarily associated with informal, plural reference to “you all” in Spain; in other dialects, vosotros may be replaced by ustedes, and the corresponding form would be protegían. The verb can appear in clauses introduced by cuando, mientras, o frecuentemente, to indicate ongoing protective actions in the past.

Examples:

- Cuando éramos jóvenes, vosotros protegíais a los más débiles sin esperar nada a cambio.

- En aquella época, protegíais la comunidad ante cualquier amenaza y recibíais reconocimiento por ello.

Related forms include protejo (present first-person singular), protegía (yo protegía), protegían (ustedes o ellos protegían). The root protec- derives from Latin protegere, meaning to shield or defend.