eludir Imperfect Conjugation

When to Use the Imperfect

Use the imperfect to describe ongoing or habitual actions of avoiding in the past, or to set the scene. For example, 'Cuando era niño, eludía a los matones.' (When I was a child, I used to avoid bullies.) or 'El coche eludía los baches.' (The car was avoiding the potholes.)

Notes on eludir in the Imperfect

Eludir is regular in the imperfect. All forms are standard for -ir verbs.

Example Sentences

• Yo eludía las responsabilidades lo más que podía.

  I used to avoid responsibilities as much as I could.

  yo

• Tú eludías el contacto visual con el profesor.

  You avoided eye contact with the teacher.

  tú

• Él eludía las preguntas difíciles en clase.

  He avoided difficult questions in class.

  él/ella/usted

• Nosotros eludíamos el tema de la discusión.

  We used to avoid the topic of discussion.

  nosotros

• Ellos eludían las cámaras de seguridad.

  They were avoiding the security cameras.

  ellos/ellas/ustedes

Common Mistakes

• Mistake: Using the preterite for a habitual past action: 'Eludí las multitudes todos los días'.

  Correct: For habitual past actions, use the imperfect: 'Eludía las multitudes todos los días'.

  Why: The imperfect describes repeated or ongoing actions in the past, while the preterite describes single, completed events.

• Mistake: Confusing the imperfect forms with the conditional.

  Correct: Imperfect forms end in -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían. Conditional forms end in -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían, but are formed from the infinitive stem.

  Why: The spelling can look similar, but the verb stem and meaning are different.

Related Tenses