Escapar Conjugation in Spanish

escapar is the Spanish verb for «to escape». As a regular -ar verb verb it follows the -ar endings, and the tables on this page list every form so you never have to guess. You will find the present, the past tenses, the future, the conditional, the perfect tenses, the subjunctive and the imperative, each with a short note on when to use it. Start with the present tense: «Yo escapo todos los días» — I escape every day. Then work down the page tense by tense, and finish with the quiz.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: escapar
  • English: to escape
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: escapando
  • Past participle: escapado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + escapado)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for escapar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for escapar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem.

Gerund: escapando · Past participle: escapado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo escapo
tú escapas
él/ella/Ud. escapa
nosotros/as escapamos
vosotros/as escapáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. escapan

The present is the tense you will use most with escapar. It covers daily routines, permanent facts and actions in progress. Learn the yo form escapo first, then the tú and él forms, which are the ones that change the stem in stem-changing verbs.

Preterite

Person Form
yo escapé
tú escapaste
él/ella/Ud. escapó
nosotros/as escapamos
vosotros/as escapasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. escaparon

The preterite of escapar reports what happened. «Ayer yo escapé por la tarde» places the action firmly in finished time. It is the tense of stories and reports, not of background description.

Imperfect

Person Form
yo escapaba
tú escapabas
él/ella/Ud. escapaba
nosotros/as escapábamos
vosotros/as escapabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. escapaban

The imperfect of escapar paints the background of a past scene: repeated actions, states and descriptions. «Antes, yo escapaba todos los días» is the pattern. Pair it with the preterite when one event interrupts another.

Future

Person Form
yo escaparé
tú escaparás
él/ella/Ud. escapará
nosotros/as escaparemos
vosotros/as escaparéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. escaparán

The future of escapar looks forward: what will happen tomorrow, next week or next year. «Mañana yo escaparé sin falta» is the pattern. Remember that the future can also express probability about the present in Spanish.

Conditional

Person Form
yo escaparía
tú escaparías
él/ella/Ud. escaparía
nosotros/as escaparíamos
vosotros/as escaparíais
ellos/ellas/Uds. escaparían

The conditional of escapar is the tense of «would»: what you would do, what would happen, what you would like. «Si pudiera, yo escaparía sin dudarlo» shows the pattern. It is built on the infinitive, just like the future.

Present Perfect

Person Form
yo he escapado
tú has escapado
él/ella/Ud. ha escapado
nosotros/as hemos escapado
vosotros/as habéis escapado
ellos/ellas/Uds. han escapado

The present perfect of escapar says «have done»: the action is finished but its result still matters now. «Hoy yo he escapado dos veces» is the pattern. Learn the participle escapado well — every perfect tense depends on it.

Pluperfect

Person Form
yo había escapado
tú habías escapado
él/ella/Ud. había escapado
nosotros/as habíamos escapado
vosotros/as habíais escapado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habían escapado

The pluperfect of escapar steps one event further back than the preterite. «Antes de salir, yo había escapado» is the pattern: first this happened, then the story moved on. It is haber in the imperfect plus escapado.

Future Perfect

Person Form
yo habré escapado
tú habrás escapado
él/ella/Ud. habrá escapado
nosotros/as habremos escapado
vosotros/as habréis escapado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán escapado

The future perfect of escapar combines the future of haber with escapado. «Para el viernes, yo habré escapado ya» is the pattern. Use it when the completion matters more than the action itself.

Conditional Perfect

Person Form
yo habría escapado
tú habrías escapado
él/ella/Ud. habría escapado
nosotros/as habríamos escapado
vosotros/as habríais escapado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrían escapado

The conditional perfect of escapar is the tense of «would have done». «Yo habría escapado si hubiera podido» is the pattern. It is built from haber in the conditional plus escapado.

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo escape
tú escapes
él/ella/Ud. escape
nosotros/as escapemos
vosotros/as escapéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. escapen

The present subjunctive of escapar is the mood of what is wished, doubted or demanded rather than stated as fact. «Espero que tú escapes» is the pattern. If the trigger is in the past, switch to the imperfect subjunctive instead.

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)

Person Form
yo escapara
tú escaparas
él/ella/Ud. escapara
nosotros/as escapáramos
vosotros/as escaparais
ellos/ellas/Uds. escaparan

The imperfect subjunctive of escapar handles the hypothetical past and the polite conditional. «Ojalá yo escapara más a menudo» is the pattern. The -ra forms in the table are the standard ones; the -se forms use the same stem with -se endings.

Imperative — Affirmative

Person Form
tú escapa
él/ella/Ud. escape
nosotros/as escapemos
vosotros/as escapad
ellos/ellas/Uds. escapen

There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.

The affirmative imperative of escapar is for orders and instructions. «¡escapa, por favor!» is the pattern. Remember there is no yo form in the imperative, and the nosotros form doubles as a suggestion: «¡escapemos!» means «let's do it».

Imperative — Negative

Person Form
tú escapes
él/ella/Ud. escape
nosotros/as escapemos
vosotros/as escapéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. escapen

There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.

The negative imperative of escapar is built on the present subjunctive: «¡No escapes!». Learn it as a set with the subjunctive table above, and never follow no with the affirmative command form.

Example sentences

  1. Yo escapo todos los días. — I escape every day.
  2. Ayer yo escapé por la tarde. — Yesterday I escaped in the afternoon.
  3. Antes, yo escapaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to escape every day.
  4. Mañana yo escaparé sin falta. — Tomorrow I will escape without fail.
  5. Si tuviera más tiempo, yo escaparía ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would escape right now.
  6. Hoy yo he escapado dos veces. — Today I have escaped twice.
  7. Espero que tú escapes pronto. — I hope You escape soon.
  8. Si yo escapara, todo sería distinto. — If I escaped, everything would be different.
  9. Ahora mismo yo estoy escapando. — Right now I am escaping.
  10. ¡escapa, por favor! — Escape, please!

Common mistakes

1. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer yo escapaba.

Right: Ayer yo escapé.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, escapé. The imperfect escapaba describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.

2. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que tú escapas.

Right: Espero que tú escapes.

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: escapes, not the indicative escapas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.

3. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No escapa.

Right: No escapes.

Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no escapes. The affirmative escapa can never follow no.

4. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

Wrong: Yo escapar todos los días.

Right: Yo escapo todos los días.

The infinitive escapar names the action; it never works as the main verb of a sentence. Conjugate it for the person: yo escapo.

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He escapando.

Right: He escapado.

The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he escapado. The gerund escapando goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy escapando»), never with haber.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of escapar in the present indicative?

- (a) escapa
- (b) escapas
- (c) escapo
- (d) escapan

2. What is the yo form of escapar in the preterite?

- (a) escapamos
- (b) escapó
- (c) escapé
- (d) escapaste

3. What is the tú form of escapar in the imperfect?

- (a) escapábamos
- (b) escapabas
- (c) escapaba
- (d) escapaba

4. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of escapar in the future?

- (a) escaparemos
- (b) escaparé
- (c) escaparás
- (d) escapará

5. What is the nosotros/as form of escapar in the conditional?

- (a) escaparía
- (b) escaparíamos
- (c) escaparías
- (d) escaparía

6. What is the vosotros/as form of escapar in the present perfect?

- (a) habéis escapado
- (b) has escapado
- (c) he escapado
- (d) ha escapado

7. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of escapar in the present subjunctive?

- (a) escape
- (b) escapes
- (c) escapen
- (d) escape

8. What is the yo form of escapar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)?

- (a) escapáramos
- (b) escapara
- (c) escaparas
- (d) escapara

9. What is the gerund of escapar?

- (a) escapo
- (b) escapado
- (c) escapar
- (d) escapando

10. What is the past participle of escapar?

- (a) escapado
- (b) escapar
- (c) escapando
- (d) escapé

Answer key

1. (d) — In the present indicative, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of escapar is escapan. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (c) — In the preterite, the yo form of escapar is escapé. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (b) — In the imperfect, the tú form of escapar is escapabas. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (d) — In the future, the él/ella/Ud. form of escapar is escapará. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (b) — In the conditional, the nosotros/as form of escapar is escaparíamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (a) — In the present perfect, the vosotros/as form of escapar is habéis escapado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (c) — In the present subjunctive, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of escapar is escapen. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (b) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the yo form of escapar is escapara. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (d) — The gerund of escapar is escapando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy escapando». 10. (a) — The past participle of escapar is escapado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he escapado».

Frequently asked questions

Is escapar regular or irregular?

Yes — escapar is a regular -ar verb. Learn the endings once and they work in every tense, with the stem escap unchanged throughout.

What are the gerund and past participle of escapar?

The gerund is escapando and the past participle is escapado. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy escapando») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he escapado»).

How do I say «I escape» in Spanish?

Say «Yo escapo todos los días». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.

What is the difference between the preterite and the imperfect of escapar?

Use the preterite (escapé) for a single finished event and the imperfect (escapaba) for habits and background. «Ayer yo escapé» reports something that happened and ended; «Antes, yo escapaba» describes what used to happen.

When do I use the subjunctive with escapar?

Use the subjunctive after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions — for example «Espero que tú escapes». The trigger sits in the main clause; once it is there, the subjunctive form is required, not a stylistic choice.

How do I use escapar in the present perfect?

Put haber in the present before the past participle: «Hoy yo he escapado». The participle escapado never changes for person — only haber changes — so once you know the participle, the whole perfect tense follows.

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