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SPANISH VERB

evitar

to avoid

  • #129 most used
  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: evitando
  • Past participle: evitado

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I avoid
  2. tú you avoid
  3. usted, él, ella he/she avoids
  4. nosotros we avoid
  5. vosotros Spain you all avoid
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they avoid

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I avoided
  2. tú you avoided
  3. usted, él, ella he/she avoided
  4. nosotros we avoided
  5. vosotros Spain you all avoided
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they avoided

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to avoid
  2. tú you used to avoid
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to avoid
  4. nosotros we used to avoid
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to avoid
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to avoid

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will avoid
  2. tú you will avoid
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will avoid
  4. nosotros we will avoid
  5. vosotros Spain you all will avoid
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will avoid

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would avoid
  2. tú you would avoid
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would avoid
  4. nosotros we would avoid
  5. vosotros Spain you all would avoid
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would avoid

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I avoid
  2. tú (that) you avoid
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she avoid
  4. nosotros (that) we avoid
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all avoid
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they avoid

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I avoided
  2. tú (if) you avoided
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she avoided
  4. nosotros (if) we avoided
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all avoided
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they avoided

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú avoid!
  2. usted avoid! (formal)
  3. nosotros avoid! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain avoid! (all of you)
  5. ustedes avoid! (all of you)

How to use evitar

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

  1. Present

    Evito el centro a esa hora por el tráfico.

    I avoid downtown at that hour because of the traffic.

  2. Past

    Evitamos la lluvia por cinco minutos.

    We missed the rain by five minutes.

  3. Imperfect

    De niña evitaba los perros grandes.

    As a girl I used to avoid big dogs.

  4. Future

    Así evitaremos la fila de la mañana.

    That way we'll avoid the morning line.

  5. Conditional

    Yo evitaría ese restaurante, es muy caro.

    I'd avoid that restaurant, it's very expensive.

  6. Present subjunctive

    El médico quiere que evites el azúcar.

    The doctor wants you to avoid sugar.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Nos recomendaron que evitáramos la carretera de noche.

    They recommended we avoid the highway at night.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Evita las calles oscuras cuando vuelvas tarde!

    Avoid dark streets when you come back late!

Good to know

  • "Evitar" takes the infinitive: "evita comer tarde". "No pude evitarlo" is "I couldn't help it".

Verbs like this one

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