evitar Negative Imperative Conjugation
evitar — to avoid
Negative commands use 'no' plus the present subjunctive: 'no evites' (tú), 'no evite' (usted), 'no evitemos' (nosotros), 'no eviten' (ustedes), 'no evitéis' (vosotros).
evitar Negative Imperative Forms
When to Use the Negative Imperative
You use the negative imperative to tell someone *not* to do something. It's formed using 'no' followed by the present subjunctive. For avoiding things, you might say, 'No evites la conversación' (Don't avoid the conversation) or 'No evitemos las responsabilidades' (Let's not avoid responsibilities).
Notes on evitar in the Negative Imperative
Evitar is regular in the negative imperative, as it follows the standard pattern of using the present subjunctive. The vosotros form 'no evitéis' has a written accent.
Example Sentences
Tú, no evites el tema.
You, don't avoid the topic.
tú
Por favor, no evite las preguntas difíciles.
Please, don't avoid the difficult questions.
usted
No evitemos el problema, vamos a solucionarlo.
Let's not avoid the problem, let's solve it.
nosotros
Ustedes, no eviten la fila.
You all, don't avoid the line.
ustedes
Vosotros, no evitéis la verdad.
You all (Spain), don't avoid the truth.
vosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the infinitive with 'no'.
Correct: Use 'no' + present subjunctive, e.g., 'no evites'.
Why: Spanish negative commands require the subjunctive mood.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'no evitéis' (vosotros).
Correct: The vosotros form needs an accent: 'no evitéis'.
Why: The accent marks the stressed syllable in this specific form.
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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.
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.