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FRENCH VERB

éviter

to avoid

  • #403 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: évité
  • Present participle: évitant

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

  1. je I avoid
  2. tu you avoid
  3. il, elle, on he/she avoids
  4. nous we avoid
  5. vous you avoid
  6. ils, elles they avoid

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

  1. je I avoided
  2. tu you avoided
  3. il, elle, on he/she avoided
  4. nous we avoided
  5. vous you avoided
  6. ils, elles they avoided

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. je I used to avoid
  2. tu you used to avoid
  3. il, elle, on he/she used to avoid
  4. nous we used to avoid
  5. vous you used to avoid
  6. ils, elles they used to avoid

Future

Futur simple · plans; in speech, “je vais parler” is just as common

  1. je I will avoid
  2. tu you will avoid
  3. il, elle, on he/she will avoid
  4. nous we will avoid
  5. vous you will avoid
  6. ils, elles they will avoid

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

  1. je I would avoid
  2. tu you would avoid
  3. il, elle, on he/she would avoid
  4. nous we would avoid
  5. vous you would avoid
  6. ils, elles they would avoid

Present subjunctive

Subjonctif présent · wishes, doubts, “il faut que …”

  1. je (that) I avoid
  2. tu (that) you avoid
  3. il, elle, on (that) he/she avoid
  4. nous (that) we avoid
  5. vous (that) you avoid
  6. ils, elles (that) they avoid

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

  1. tu avoid!
  2. nous avoid! (let’s)
  3. vous avoid! (plural, or formal)

How to use éviter

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    J'évite le sucre depuis le mois de janvier.

    I've been avoiding sugar since January.

  2. Past

    On a évité les bouchons en partant à six heures.

    We avoided the traffic jams by leaving at six.

  3. Imperfect

    Il évitait son ex depuis des mois.

    He'd been avoiding his ex for months.

  4. Future

    On évitera l'autoroute, c'est plus joli par la côte.

    We'll avoid the motorway, it's prettier along the coast.

  5. Conditional

    Tu éviterais bien des soucis en lisant le contrat.

    You'd avoid a lot of trouble by reading the contract.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Le médecin veut que j'évite l'alcool pendant un mois.

    The doctor wants me to avoid alcohol for a month.

  7. Imperative

    Évitez la place centrale, il y a une manifestation.

    Avoid the main square, there's a demonstration.

Good to know

  • Éviter de faire : évite de manger trop tard. Ça m'évite de… is it saves me from….

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -er verb.