evitar Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation
evitar — to avoid
The imperfect subjunctive of evitar (e.g., 'evitara', 'evitaras', 'evitara', 'evitaramos', 'evitaran') is used for past hypotheticals, wishes, or doubts.
evitar Imperfect Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Imperfect Subjunctive
This tense is for talking about hypothetical situations in the past, expressing past wishes, or in subordinate clauses after verbs of doubt or emotion that occurred in the past. For example, 'Si yo evitara los riesgos, estaría más seguro' (If I avoided the risks, I would be safer) or 'Dudaba que él evitara el peligro' (I doubted that he would avoid the danger).
Notes on evitar in the Imperfect Subjunctive
Evitar is regular in the imperfect subjunctive. Both the -ra and -se forms exist (e.g., 'evitara' and 'evitase'), but the -ra form is more common.
Example Sentences
Si yo evitara comer tanto, no me dolería el estómago.
If I avoided eating so much, my stomach wouldn't hurt.
yo
Me pidió que evitara hacer ruido.
He asked me to avoid making noise.
él/ella/usted
Sería mejor si evitáramos ese tema.
It would be better if we avoided that topic.
nosotros
Esperaba que ustedes evitaran el conflicto.
I hoped that you all would avoid the conflict.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Si tú evitaras los charcos, no te mojarías los pies.
If you avoided the puddles, your feet wouldn't get wet.
tú
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect indicative instead of the imperfect subjunctive.
Correct: In hypothetical 'if' clauses or after verbs of doubt, use the imperfect subjunctive like 'si evitara'.
Why: The subjunctive mood is required for non-factual or hypothetical situations.
Mistake: Confusing the -ra and -se endings.
Correct: Both are correct, but 'evitara' is generally more common than 'evitase'.
Why: While both are grammatically valid, regional and stylistic preferences exist.
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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.
Imperfect
yo: evitaba
The imperfect of evitar (evitaba, evitabas, evitaba, etc.) is regular and used for ongoing or habitual past actions and descriptions.
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.
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).