esquivar — Spanish conjugation

to evade

Frequency#726Regular

Indicative

Present (Presente) Regular

The present tense is the most versatile tense in Spanish. It covers actions happening right now, habitual actions, and even near-future plans. One form does the work of three English constructions.

Ella habla inglés — She speaks / is speaking English

PronounSpanishEnglish
yoesquivoI evade
esquivasyou evade
vosesquivásyou evade
él/ella/Ud.esquivahe/she/it evades
nosotrosesquivamoswe evade
vosotrosesquiváisyou (pl.) evade
ellos/ellas/Uds.esquivanthey evade

Preterite (Pretérito indefinido) Regular

Used for completed past actions with a defined endpoint — a single event, a series of events, or an action that interrupted another. Common with time expressions like ayer, el lunes, una vez.

Ella habló de ti ayer — She spoke about you yesterday

PronounSpanishEnglish
yoesquivéI evaded
esquivasteyou evaded
vosesquivasteyou evaded
él/ella/Ud.esquivóhe/she/it evaded
nosotrosesquivamoswe evaded
vosotrosesquivasteisyou (pl.) evaded
ellos/ellas/Uds.esquivaronthey evaded

Imperfect (Pretérito imperfecto) Regular

Describes ongoing or habitual past states — what things were like, background context, what used to happen. Contrasts with the preterite which marks completed events.

Cuando era niño vivía en Valencia — When I was a child I lived in Valencia

PronounSpanish
yoesquivaba
esquivabas
vosesquivabas
él/ella/Ud.esquivaba
nosotrosesquivábamos
vosotrosesquivabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.esquivaban

Conditional (Condicional) Regular

Expresses hypothetical actions, polite requests, and what would happen under certain conditions. Also used for reported speech about the future from a past perspective.

¿Podrías ayudarme? — Could you help me?

PronounSpanishEnglish
yoesquivaríaI would evade
esquivaríasyou would evade
vosesquivaríasyou would evade
él/ella/Ud.esquivaríahe/she/it would evade
nosotrosesquivaríamoswe would evade
vosotrosesquivaríaisyou (pl.) would evade
ellos/ellas/Uds.esquivaríanthey would evade

Future (Futuro) Regular

Expresses future actions, predictions, and probability about the present. Formed with the full infinitive as stem for most verbs. In spoken Spanish, ir a + infinitive is often preferred for near future.

Ella hablará en conferencia mañana — She will speak at the conference tomorrow

PronounSpanishEnglish
yoesquivaréI will evade
esquivarásyou will evade
vosesquivarásyou will evade
él/ella/Ud.esquivaráhe/she/it will evade
nosotrosesquivaremoswe will evade
vosotrosesquivaréisyou (pl.) will evade
ellos/ellas/Uds.esquivaránthey will evade

Present perfect (Pretérito perfecto) Regular

A compound past tense linking a past action to the present moment — something that has happened and still feels recent or relevant. More common in Spain than Latin America where preterite is preferred.

Hoy he hablado con el jefe — Today I have spoken with the boss

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohe esquivadoI have evaded
has esquivadoyou have evaded
voshas esquivadoyou have evaded
él/ella/Ud.ha esquivadohe/she/it has evaded
nosotroshemos esquivadowe have evaded
vosotroshabéis esquivadoyou (pl.) have evaded
ellos/ellas/Uds.han esquivadothey have evaded

Pluperfect (Pretérito pluscuamperfecto) Regular

The past of the past — describes an action that was already completed before another past event happened. Always implies a reference point in the past.

Ya había hablado cuando llegaste — She had already spoken when you arrived

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohabía esquivadoI had evaded
habías esquivadoyou had evaded
voshabías esquivadoyou had evaded
él/ella/Ud.había esquivadohe/she/it had evaded
nosotroshabíamos esquivadowe had evaded
vosotroshabíais esquivadoyou (pl.) had evaded
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían esquivadothey had evaded

Conditional perfect (Condicional perfecto) Regular

Expresses what would have happened — actions that were possible but did not occur, or regrets about the past. Formed with conditional of haber + past participle.

Habría hablado, pero no me dejaron — I would have spoken, but they did not let me

PronounSpanish
yohabría esquivado
habrías esquivado
voshabrías esquivado
él/ella/Ud.habría esquivado
nosotroshabríamos esquivado
vosotroshabríais esquivado
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrían esquivado

Future perfect (Futuro perfecto) Regular

Describes an action that will have been completed by a certain point in the future, or expresses probability about a recent past action.

Para el lunes habré terminado — By Monday I will have finished

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohabré esquivadoI will have evaded
habrás esquivadoyou will have evaded
voshabrás esquivadoyou will have evaded
él/ella/Ud.habrá esquivadohe/she/it will have evaded
nosotroshabremos esquivadowe will have evaded
vosotroshabréis esquivadoyou (pl.) will have evaded
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán esquivadothey will have evaded

Subjunctive

Present subjunctive (Subjuntivo presente) Regular

Used in subordinate clauses after expressions of desire, doubt, emotion, necessity, or impersonal statements. Triggered by a change of subject between the main and subordinate clause.

Espero que hable — I hope she speaks

PronounSpanish
yoesquive
esquives
vosesquives
él/ella/Ud.esquive
nosotrosesquivemos
vosotrosesquivéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.esquiven

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra) (Subjuntivo imperfecto (-ra)) Regular

The past subjunctive used after past main verbs, in if-clauses with conditional, and for polite softening. The -ra form is more common in everyday speech than the -se form.

Si pudiera, lo haría — If I could, I would do it

PronounSpanish
yoesquivara
esquivaras
vosesquivaras
él/ella/Ud.esquivara
nosotrosesquiváramos
vosotrosesquivarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.esquivaran

Imperfect subjunctive (-se) (Subjuntivo imperfecto (-se)) Regular

The alternative past subjunctive form. Interchangeable with -ra in most contexts but slightly more literary or formal. Both forms are grammatically correct in all regions.

Si pudiese, lo haría — If I could, I would do it

PronounSpanish
yoesquivase
esquivases
vosesquivases
él/ella/Ud.esquivase
nosotrosesquivásemos
vosotrosesquivaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.esquivasen

Perfect subjunctive (Pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) Regular

A compound subjunctive that expresses completed actions in a subjunctive context — used after present or future main verbs expressing doubt, emotion or desire.

Dudo que ya haya llegado — I doubt she has already arrived

PronounSpanish
yohaya esquivado
hayas esquivado
voshayas esquivado
él/ella/Ud.haya esquivado
nosotroshayamos esquivado
vosotroshayáis esquivado
ellos/ellas/Uds.hayan esquivado

Pluperfect subjunctive (Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) Regular

Expresses what had happened in hypothetical or unreal past contexts — the subjunctive equivalent of the pluperfect. Common in contrary-to-fact past conditions.

Si hubiera hablado, lo habrían creído — If she had spoken, they would have believed her

PronounSpanish
yohubiera esquivado
hubieras esquivado
voshubieras esquivado
él/ella/Ud.hubiera esquivado
nosotroshubiéramos esquivado
vosotroshubierais esquivado
ellos/ellas/Uds.hubieran esquivado

Other forms

Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo afirmativo) Regular

Direct commands and instructions. The imperative only exists for tú, usted, nosotros, vosotros and ustedes — yo has no command form. Affirmative and negative forms use different conjugations.

Habla más despacio — Speak more slowly

PronounSpanish
esquiva
vosesquivá
él/ella/Ud.esquive
nosotrosesquivemos
vosotrosesquivad
ustedesesquiven

Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Regular

Negative commands use the subjunctive forms for all persons. Formed with no + present subjunctive. This applies to all persons including tú where the affirmative uses a different form.

No hables tan rápido — Do not speak so fast

PronounSpanish
no esquives
vosno esquives
él/ella/Ud.no esquive
nosotrosno esquivemos
vosotrosno esquivéis
ustedesno esquiven

Present progressive (Presente progresivo) Regular

Emphasises that an action is happening right now at this very moment. Less common than in English since the present tense already covers ongoing actions in Spanish.

Estoy hablando contigo — I am speaking with you

PronounSpanish
yoestoy esquivando
estás esquivando
vosestás esquivando
él/ella/Ud.está esquivando
nosotrosestamos esquivando
vosotrosestáis esquivando
ellos/ellas/Uds.están esquivando

Preterite progressive (Pretérito indefinido progresivo) Regular

Describes an action that was in progress throughout a completed past period. Uses the preterite of estar + gerund to emphasise the ongoing nature within a defined timeframe.

Estuvo hablando toda la tarde — He was talking all afternoon

PronounSpanish
yoestuve esquivando
estuviste esquivando
vosestuviste esquivando
él/ella/Ud.estuvo esquivando
nosotrosestuvimos esquivando
vosotrosestuvisteis esquivando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estuvieron esquivando

Imperfect progressive (Pretérito imperfecto progresivo) Regular

Emphasises an ongoing background action using the imperfect of estar + gerund. Layered on top of the imperfect which already conveys continuity — used for extra emphasis on the progressive nature.

Estaba hablando cuando entró — I was speaking when he came in

PronounSpanish
yoestaba esquivando
estabas esquivando
vosestabas esquivando
él/ella/Ud.estaba esquivando
nosotrosestábamos esquivando
vosotrosestabais esquivando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estaban esquivando

Conditional progressive (Condicional progresivo) Regular

Expresses what would be in progress under hypothetical conditions. Uses the conditional of estar + gerund. Less common but used for emphasis on the ongoing nature of a hypothetical action.

Estaría hablando ahora si pudiera — I would be speaking now if I could

PronounSpanish
yoestaría esquivando
estarías esquivando
vosestarías esquivando
él/ella/Ud.estaría esquivando
nosotrosestaríamos esquivando
vosotrosestaríais esquivando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarían esquivando

Future progressive (Futuro progresivo) Regular

Describes an action that will be in progress at a future point, or expresses probability about an ongoing present action. Uses the future of estar + gerund.

Mañana a esta hora estaré viajando — At this time tomorrow I will be travelling

PronounSpanish
yoestaré esquivando
estarás esquivando
vosestarás esquivando
él/ella/Ud.estará esquivando
nosotrosestaremos esquivando
vosotrosestaréis esquivando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarán esquivando