espantar Present Conjugation
espantar — to scare away
Espanto, espantas, espanta, espantamos, espantáis, espantan describe current actions or habits of scaring away.
espantar Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present tense for actions happening right now, habitual actions, or general truths. For 'espantar,' it's about things you regularly do or that happen generally.
Notes on espantar in the Present
Espantar is a regular -ar verb. All its present tense forms are predictable and follow the standard conjugation rules.
Example Sentences
Yo espanto a las moscas con un abanico.
I scare away the flies with a fan.
yo
¿Tú espantas a los cuervos de tu huerto?
Do you scare away the crows from your vegetable garden?
tú
El ruido espanta a los animales salvajes.
Noise scares away wild animals.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros espantamos a los mosquitos todas las noches.
We scare away the mosquitoes every night.
nosotros
Vosotros espantáis a los pájaros de las cerezas.
You all scare away the birds from the cherries.
vosotros
Ellos espantan a los gatos del tejado.
They scare away the cats from the roof.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the present progressive ('estoy espantando') for habitual actions.
Correct: For habits like 'I scare away birds daily,' use the simple present 'espanto'.
Why: The present progressive is for actions in progress *right now*, not for routines.
Mistake: Incorrectly conjugating the 'vosotros' form.
Correct: It's 'espantáis' with an accent on the 'a', not 'espantas'.
Why: The vosotros ending for -ar verbs is -áis.
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: espanté
Espanté, espantaste, espantó, espantamos, espantasteis, espantaron are the completed past actions for espantar.
Imperfect
yo: espantaba
Espantaba, espantabas, espantaba, espantábamos, espantabais, espantaban describe ongoing or habitual past actions of scaring away.
Future
yo: espantaré
Espantaré, espantarás, espantará, espantaremos, espantaréis, espantarán predict future actions of scaring away.
Conditional
yo: espantaría
Espantaría, espantarías, espantaría, espantaríamos, espantaríais, espantarían express hypothetical 'would' scenarios for espantar.
Present Subjunctive
yo: espante
Espante, espantes, espantemos, espanten, espantéis are the present subjunctive forms of espantar.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: espantara
Espantara, espantaras, espantáramos, espantaran, espantarais are the imperfect subjunctive forms of espantar.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: espanta
Espanta, espante, espantemos, espanten, espantad are the imperative commands for espantar.
Negative Imperative
yo: no espantes
No espantes, no espante, no espantemos, no espanten, no espantéis are negative commands for espantar.