Ahuyentar Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb ahuyentar means to scare away, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. 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. Like every Spanish verb, ahuyentar changes its ending for each person and tense, and this page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say ahuyento a los pájaros del huerto, and in the preterite you say ahuyenté al perro con un grito. Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: ahuyentar
- English: to scare away
- Verb type: regular -ar verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: ahuyentando
- Past participle: ahuyentado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + ahuyentado)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for ahuyentar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Ahuyentar is fully regular: ahuyento, ahuyenta. It is scaring something away so it leaves; espantar is the close synonym.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for ahuyentar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ahuyento |
| tú | ahuyentas |
| él/ella/Ud. | ahuyenta |
| nosotros/as | ahuyentamos |
| vosotros/as | ahuyentáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ahuyentan |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ahuyenté |
| tú | ahuyentaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | ahuyentó |
| nosotros/as | ahuyentamos |
| vosotros/as | ahuyentasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ahuyentaron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ahuyentaba |
| tú | ahuyentabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | ahuyentaba |
| nosotros/as | ahuyentábamos |
| vosotros/as | ahuyentabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ahuyentaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ahuyentaré |
| tú | ahuyentarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | ahuyentará |
| nosotros/as | ahuyentaremos |
| vosotros/as | ahuyentaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ahuyentarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ahuyentaría |
| tú | ahuyentarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | ahuyentaría |
| nosotros/as | ahuyentaríamos |
| vosotros/as | ahuyentaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ahuyentarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he ahuyentado |
| tú | has ahuyentado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha ahuyentado |
| nosotros/as | hemos ahuyentado |
| vosotros/as | habéis ahuyentado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han ahuyentado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había ahuyentado |
| tú | habías ahuyentado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había ahuyentado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos ahuyentado |
| vosotros/as | habíais ahuyentado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían ahuyentado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré ahuyentado |
| tú | habrás ahuyentado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá ahuyentado |
| nosotros/as | habremos ahuyentado |
| vosotros/as | habréis ahuyentado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán ahuyentado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría ahuyentado |
| tú | habrías ahuyentado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría ahuyentado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos ahuyentado |
| vosotros/as | habríais ahuyentado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían ahuyentado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ahuyente |
| tú | ahuyentes |
| él/ella/Ud. | ahuyente |
| nosotros/as | ahuyentemos |
| vosotros/as | ahuyentéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ahuyenten |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | ahuyentara |
| tú | ahuyentaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | ahuyentara |
| nosotros/as | ahuyentáramos |
| vosotros/as | ahuyentarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ahuyentaran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | ahuyenta |
| él/ella/Ud. | ahuyente |
| nosotros/as | ahuyentemos |
| vosotros/as | ahuyentad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ahuyenten |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | ahuyentes |
| él/ella/Ud. | ahuyente |
| nosotros/as | ahuyentemos |
| vosotros/as | ahuyentéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | ahuyenten |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | ahuyentando | with estar for the progressive: estoy ahuyentando |
| Past participle | ahuyentado | with haber for the perfect tenses: he ahuyentado |
How to use each tense
Present indicative
Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For ahuyentar, the present looks like this in a real sentence: Ahuyento a los pájaros del huerto. Learn the present forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Preterite
Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For ahuyentar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, ahuyenté a los mosquitos con humo. Learn the preterite forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperfect
Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For ahuyentar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, ahuyentaba al perro con un grito. Learn the imperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Future
Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For ahuyentar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, ahuyentaré los malos pensamientos. Learn the future forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Conditional
Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For ahuyentar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Ahuyentaría a los pájaros del huerto si pudiera. Learn the conditional forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Present perfect
Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For ahuyentar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, he ahuyentado a los mosquitos con humo. Learn the present perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Pluperfect
Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For ahuyentar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Había ahuyentado al perro con un grito antes de salir. Learn the pluperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Future perfect
Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For ahuyentar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, habré ahuyentado los malos pensamientos. Learn the future perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Conditional perfect
Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For ahuyentar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Habría ahuyentado a los pájaros del huerto con más tiempo. Learn the conditional perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Present subjunctive
Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For ahuyentar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él ahuyente a los mosquitos con humo. Learn the present subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past, and note the -ra forms shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For ahuyentar, the imperfect subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Si él ahuyentara al perro con un grito, todo cambiaría. Learn the imperfect subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperative (affirmative)
Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For ahuyentar, the affirmative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: ¡Ahuyenta los malos pensamientos! Learn the affirmative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperative (negative)
Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For ahuyentar, the negative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: No ahuyentes a los pájaros del huerto. Learn the negative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with ahuyentar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.
- Ahuyento a los pájaros del huerto. — I scare away the birds from the vegetable garden.
- Ahuyenta a los mosquitos con humo. — He/she scares away the mosquitoes with smoke.
- Ayer, ahuyenté al perro con un grito. — Yesterday, I scared away the dog with a shout.
- Antes, nosotros ahuyentábamos los malos pensamientos. — Before, we used to scare away bad thoughts.
- Mañana, tú ahuyentarás a los pájaros del huerto. — Tomorrow, you will scare away the birds from the vegetable garden.
- Yo ahuyentaría a los mosquitos con humo si tuviera más tiempo. — I would scare away the mosquitoes with smoke if I had more time.
- Él ha ahuyentado al perro con un grito. — He has scared away the dog with a shout.
- Espero que él ahuyente los malos pensamientos. — I hope he scares away bad thoughts.
- Yo ya había ahuyentado a los pájaros del huerto antes de salir. — I had already scared away the birds from the vegetable garden before leaving.
- Ellos ahuyentaban a los mosquitos con humo cuando eran jóvenes. — They used to scare away the mosquitoes with smoke when they were young.
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Yo ahuyenta a los pájaros del huerto. — Right: Yo ahuyento a los pájaros del huerto. — The person matters: ahuyenta is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is ahuyento. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
- Wrong: Ayer yo ahuyento a los mosquitos con humo. — Right: 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.
- Wrong: Treating ahuyentar and espantar as identical in every context. — Right: 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.
- Wrong: Yo soy ahuyentado a los mosquitos con humo. — Right: Yo he ahuyentado a los mosquitos con humo. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he ahuyentado, has ahuyentado, ha ahuyentado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
- Wrong: De niño, yo ahuyenté al perro con un grito todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo ahuyentaba al perro con un grito todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (ahuyentaba), not the preterite. The preterite (ahuyenté) is for one finished action.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on ahuyentar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a los pájaros del huerto. (present tense) A. ahuyento B. ahuyentas C. ahuyenta D. ahuyentamos
Complete the sentence: Ayer, él ___ a los mosquitos con humo. (preterite) A. ahuyenté B. ahuyentaste C. ahuyentaron D. ahuyentó
Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ___ al perro con un grito. (imperfect) A. ahuyentabas B. ahuyentaban C. ahuyentábamos D. ahuyentaba
Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ___ los malos pensamientos. (future) A. ahuyentaremos B. ahuyentarás C. ahuyentaré D. ahuyentará
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a los pájaros del huerto si pudiera. (conditional) A. ahuyentaría B. ahuyentarías C. ahuyentarían D. ahuyento
Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ a los mosquitos con humo. (present subjunctive) A. ahuyentes B. ahuyentemos C. ahuyento D. ahuyente
Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ al perro con un grito, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. ahuyentáramos B. ahuyento C. ahuyentara D. ahuyentaras
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ los malos pensamientos. (present perfect) A. han ahuyentado B. hemos ahuyentado C. he ahuyentado D. has ahuyentado
Complete the command: ¡___ a los pájaros del huerto! (affirmative imperative, tú) A. ahuyenta B. ahuyente C. ahuyentemos D. ahuyentad
Which is the gerund of ahuyentar, used with estar for the progressive? A. ahuyentado B. ahuyento C. ahuyenté D. ahuyentando
Answer key
- ahuyento — The first-person present of ahuyentar is ahuyento. The other options are the tú, él/ella and nosotros forms.
- ahuyentó — The third-person preterite of ahuyentar is ahuyentó, the form for a single finished action in the past.
- ahuyentábamos — The nosotros imperfect of ahuyentar is ahuyentábamos, used here for a repeated past habit.
- ahuyentarás — The second-person future of ahuyentar is ahuyentarás.
- ahuyentaría — The first-person conditional of ahuyentar is ahuyentaría, the form for what would happen.
- ahuyente — After espero que, the subjunctive is required: the third-person present subjunctive of ahuyentar is ahuyente.
- ahuyentara — The first-person imperfect subjunctive (-ra) of ahuyentar is ahuyentara.
- hemos ahuyentado — The nosotros present perfect of ahuyentar is hemos ahuyentado: hemos + ahuyentado.
- ahuyenta — The affirmative tú imperative of ahuyentar is ahuyenta.
- ahuyentando — The gerund of ahuyentar is ahuyentando: estoy ahuyentando. The participle ahuyentado is used with haber instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does ahuyentar mean in English?
Ahuyentar means to scare away. It is used in everyday situations such as Ahuyento a los pájaros del huerto. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.
Is ahuyentar regular or irregular?
Ahuyentar is a fully regular -ar verb, so every tense follows the standard endings for its class. Once you know the regular pattern, you can produce every form on this page, including ahuyento in the present and ahuyenté in the preterite.
What is the difference between ahuyentar and espantar?
Ahuyentar means to scare away, while espantar means to frighten away. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use ahuyentar when you mean to scare away, as in Ahuyento a los pájaros del huerto, and use espantar for to frighten away. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.
How do I say “I scare away” in the past?
It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: yo ahuyenté a los mosquitos con humo. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: yo ahuyentaba al perro con un grito. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: yo he ahuyentado a los mosquitos con humo.
How do I practise ahuyentar?
Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the ahuyentar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related links
- Ahuyentar in the present tense — the full present-tense table for ahuyentar.
- Ahuyentar examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for ahuyentar.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- 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.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.