evitar Imperfect Conjugation
evitar — to avoid
The imperfect of evitar (evitaba, evitabas, evitaba, etc.) is regular and used for ongoing or habitual past actions and descriptions.
evitar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect tense for actions that were happening continuously in the past, habitual actions in the past, or to describe background settings. For example, 'Cuando era niño, evitaba comer verduras' (When I was a child, I used to avoid vegetables) or 'Él evitaba la zona porque era peligrosa' (He avoided the area because it was dangerous) describes a past state or ongoing action.
Notes on evitar in the Imperfect
Evitar is regular in the imperfect indicative. It follows the standard conjugation pattern for -ar verbs in this tense.
Example Sentences
Yo evitaba las multitudes cuando iba a la playa.
I used to avoid the crowds when I went to the beach.
yo
¿Tú evitabas el contacto visual con el profesor?
Did you avoid eye contact with the teacher?
tú
Ella evitaba el tema porque le ponía triste.
She avoided the topic because it made her sad.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros evitábamos ese camino porque estaba en mal estado.
We avoided that road because it was in bad condition.
nosotros
Ellos evitaban hacer ruido por la noche.
They used to avoid making noise at night.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the preterite instead of the imperfect for ongoing or habitual past actions.
Correct: For past habits or descriptions, use the imperfect: 'Yo evitaba...'.
Why: The imperfect describes the background or continuity, while the preterite describes a completed action.
Mistake: Confusing 'evitaba' (yo/él/ella/usted) with the imperfect subjunctive 'evitara'.
Correct: The imperfect indicative is for factual past actions ('Yo evitaba'), while the imperfect subjunctive is for hypothetical pasts ('Si yo evitara...').
Why: These forms look identical, but their grammatical function and usage context are completely different.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: evito
The present tense of evitar (evito, evitas, evita, etc.) is regular and used for habitual actions, current actions, and general truths.
Preterite
yo: evité
The preterite of evitar (evité, evitaste, evitó, etc.) is regular and used for completed actions in the past.
Future
yo: evitaré
The future tense of evitar (evitaré, evitarás, evitará, etc.) is regular and used for actions that will happen or to express probability.
Conditional
yo: evitaría
The conditional of evitar (evitaría, evitarías, evitaría, etc.) is regular and used for hypotheticals, polite requests, and future-in-the-past.
Present Subjunctive
yo: evite
The present subjunctive of evitar (evite, evites, evitemos, eviten) is used for wishes, doubts, emotions, and after impersonal expressions.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: evitara
The imperfect subjunctive of evitar (e.g., 'evitara', 'evitaras', 'evitara', 'evitaramos', 'evitaran') is used for past hypotheticals, wishes, or doubts.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: evita
Use 'evita' for direct commands to tú, 'evite' for usted, 'evitemos' for nosotros, 'eviten' for ustedes, and 'evitad' for vosotros.
Negative Imperative
yo: no evites
Negative commands use 'no' plus the present subjunctive: 'no evites' (tú), 'no evite' (usted), 'no evitemos' (nosotros), 'no eviten' (ustedes), 'no evitéis' (vosotros).