Ahuyentar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of ahuyentar — “to scare away” in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for ahuyentar with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Ahuyentar means to scare away, to frighten an animal or a person so they leave. It is used for birds, dogs, mosquitoes and fears, and it is fully regular. To see it in a real sentence: Ahuyento a los pájaros del huerto. — “I scare away the birds from the vegetable garden.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of ahuyentar will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: ahuyentar
Every person of ahuyentar in the present tense. The gerund is ahuyentando and the past participle is ahuyentado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ahuyento |
| tú | ahuyentas |
| él/ella/Ud. | ahuyenta |
| nosotros/as | ahuyentamos |
| vosotros/as | ahuyentáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ahuyentan |
How the present indicative of ahuyentar is formed
The present indicative of ahuyentar is built from the stem plus the present indicative endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.
| Person | Ending | Form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | ahuyento |
| tú | -as | ahuyentas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | ahuyenta |
| nosotros/as | -amos | ahuyentamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | ahuyentáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | ahuyentan |
Ahuyentar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the table above is completely regular. The stem is ahuyent- and the endings are the normal -ar endings, so once you know the pattern you can produce every form on this page.
The gerund of ahuyentar is ahuyentando and the past participle is ahuyentado. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.
When to use the present tense of ahuyentar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and ahuyentar appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.
Routines and habits
Use the present for things you do regularly, every day or every week. The present is the tense of routine, and ahuyentar fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo ahuyento a los pájaros del huerto todos los días.” — “I scare away the birds from the vegetable garden every day.”
General facts
Use the present for facts that are true in general, not just today. When you state how something is, the present is the tense to use.
“Él ahuyenta a los mosquitos con humo.” — “He/she scares away the mosquitoes with smoke.”
What is happening right now
Use the present for what is happening at this moment. Spanish often uses the simple present where English uses the progressive, so ahuyento can mean both “I scare away” and “I am scare awaying”.
“Ahora mismo, yo ahuyento al perro con un grito.” — “Right now, I scare away the dog with a shout.”
Fixed plans in the near future
Use the present for a plan that is already fixed, such as something arranged for tomorrow. Spanish uses the present for near-future plans much more freely than English does.
“Mañana, yo ahuyento los malos pensamientos.” — “Tomorrow, I will scare away bad thoughts.”
Questions and negatives
Use the present to ask about habits and to say what does not happen. The question and the negative use exactly the same forms as the statement.
“¿Tú ahuyentas a los pájaros del huerto?” — “Do you scare away the birds from the vegetable garden?”
The present tense vs the closest tenses
Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion
The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.
- Present — habit or general fact: Ahuyenta a los mosquitos con humo. — “He/she scares away the mosquitoes with smoke.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Ahuyentó a los mosquitos con humo. — the same idea, placed in the preterite.
Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add “used to” in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.
- Present — now: Ahuyentan al perro con un grito. — “They scare away the dog with a shout.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Ahuyentaban al perro con un grito. — the same idea, placed in the imperfect.
Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen
The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.
- Present — now or a fixed plan: Ahuyentas los malos pensamientos. — “You scare away bad thoughts.”
- Future — what will happen: Ahuyentarás los malos pensamientos. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: ahuyentar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show ahuyentar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo ahuyento a los pájaros del huerto. — “I scare away the birds from the vegetable garden.”
- Tú ahuyentas a los mosquitos con humo. — “You scare away the mosquitoes with smoke.”
- Él ahuyenta al perro con un grito. — “He scares away the dog with a shout.”
- Nosotros ahuyentamos los malos pensamientos. — “We scare away bad thoughts.”
- Vosotros ahuyentáis a los pájaros del huerto. — “You (plural) scare away the birds from the vegetable garden.”
- Ellos ahuyentan a los mosquitos con humo. — “They scare away the mosquitoes with smoke.”
- ¿Tú ahuyentas al perro con un grito? — “Do you scare away the dog with a shout?”
Common mistakes with ahuyentar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with ahuyentar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo ahuyentar a los pájaros del huerto. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo ahuyento a los pájaros del huerto.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of ahuyentar is ahuyento, not the infinitive ahuyentar.
✗ Vosotros ahuyentais a los pájaros del huerto. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros ahuyentáis a los pájaros del huerto.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: ahuyentáis, not ahuyentais. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo ahuyento a los mosquitos con humo. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo ahuyenté a los mosquitos con humo.
The present and the preterite are different tenses: ahuyento is happening now, while ahuyenté is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
✗ Treating ahuyentar and espantar as identical in every context. (confusing ahuyentar with espantar).
✓ Correct: Ahuyentar means to scare away, while espantar means to frighten away.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: ahuyentar fits sentences such as Ahuyento a los pájaros del huerto, while espantar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: ahuyentar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of ahuyentar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
1. Which is the correct present tense form of ahuyentar for tú?
- a) ahuyentas
- b) ahuyento
- c) ahuyenta
- d) ahuyentan
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a los pájaros del huerto. — “I scare away the birds from the vegetable garden.”
- a) ahuyenta
- b) ahuyentamos
- c) ahuyentas
- d) ahuyento
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ a los mosquitos con humo. — “He/she scares away the mosquitoes with smoke.” (present tense)
- a) ahuyentaba
- b) ahuyentará
- c) ahuyenta
- d) ahuyentó
4. Which is the correct present tense form of ahuyentar for nosotros?
- a) ahuyentan
- b) ahuyentamos
- c) ahuyento
- d) ahuyenta
5. Which sentence uses ahuyentar correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él ahuyentó a los mosquitos con humo.
- b) Él ahuyenta a los mosquitos con humo.
- c) Él ahuyentará a los mosquitos con humo.
- d) Ellos ahuyenta a los mosquitos con humo.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ al perro con un grito. — “They scare away the dog with a shout.”
- a) ahuyento
- b) ahuyenta
- c) ahuyentamos
- d) ahuyentan
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ los malos pensamientos? — “Do you scare away bad thoughts?”
- a) ahuyenta
- b) ahuyentarás
- c) ahuyentas
- d) ahuyento
8. What is the gerund of ahuyentar?
- a) ahuyenté
- b) ahuyentando
- c) ahuyentado
- d) ahuyento
Answer key
a) ahuyentas — The tú form is ahuyentas. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; ahuyento is yo, ahuyenta is él/ella and ahuyentan is ellos/ellas.
d) ahuyento — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: ahuyento. The other options are the wrong person.
c) ahuyenta — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: ahuyenta. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) ahuyentamos — Nosotros takes ahuyentamos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ar verbs is -amos, attached to the stem.
b) Él ahuyenta a los mosquitos con humo. — Él ahuyenta a los mosquitos con humo. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) ahuyentan — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is ahuyentan.
c) ahuyentas — The question needs the tú form in the present: ahuyentas.
b) ahuyentando — The gerund is ahuyentando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle ahuyentado.
Frequently asked questions
Is ahuyentar regular in the present tense?
Yes. Ahuyentar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: ahuyento, ahuyentas, ahuyenta, ahuyentamos, ahuyentáis and ahuyentan.
What is the gerund and the past participle of ahuyentar?
The gerund is ahuyentando and the past participle is ahuyentado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I scare away” in Spanish?
Say ahuyento. For example: Ahuyento a los pájaros del huerto. — “I scare away the birds from the vegetable garden.”
What is the difference between ahuyentar and espantar?
Ahuyentar means “to scare away”, while espantar means “to frighten away”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use ahuyentar when you mean “to scare away” and espantar when you mean “to frighten away”. The full conjugation of ahuyentar is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of ahuyentar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- ahuyentar examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Present tense guide — how the present tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.
- Agravar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with ahuyentar.
- Aislar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with ahuyentar.
- Agobiar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with ahuyentar.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.