Escaparse Conjugation in Spanish

escaparse means «to escape». It is a regular -ar verb, reflexive verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of escaparse in all thirteen tenses, notes on when to use each one, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. For example: «Me escapo todos los días» — I escape every day.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: escaparse
  • English: to escape
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb, reflexive
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: escapando
  • Past participle: escapado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + escapado)
  • Reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nos, os, se — one before every conjugated form, matching the person.

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

escaparse is reflexive: Me escapo todos los días; te escapas todos los días. Without the pronoun, the verb means doing the action to someone else rather than to yourself, so keep the pronoun with the form.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for escaparse. 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.

Gerund: escapando · Past participle: escapado

Present Indicative

Person Pronoun Form
yo me escapo
tú te escapas
él/ella/Ud. se escapa
nosotros/as nos escapamos
vosotros/as os escapáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se escapan

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For escaparse, the yo form is escapo, as in the examples below. Use the present for routines («todos los días») and for general truths, and remember that Spanish often uses the present where English would use a progressive or a near future.

Preterite

Person Pronoun Form
yo me escapé
tú te escapaste
él/ella/Ud. se escapó
nosotros/as nos escapamos
vosotros/as os escapasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se escaparon

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo escapé» is the classic use. Do not confuse it with the imperfect: the preterite moves the story forward, one finished event at a time.

Imperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me escapaba
tú te escapabas
él/ella/Ud. se escapaba
nosotros/as nos escapábamos
vosotros/as os escapabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se escapaban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. «De pequeño, yo escapaba» shows the habitual use. It sets the scene while the preterite reports what happened inside it.

Future

Person Pronoun Form
yo me escaparé
tú te escaparás
él/ella/Ud. se escapará
nosotros/as nos escaparemos
vosotros/as os escaparéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se escaparán

The future tense states what will happen. For escaparse the future is built on the infinitive: «Mañana yo escaparé». It is also used for predictions and promises, and in spoken Spanish it often alternates with ir a + infinitive.

Conditional

Person Pronoun Form
yo me escaparía
tú te escaparías
él/ella/Ud. se escaparía
nosotros/as nos escaparíamos
vosotros/as os escaparíais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se escaparían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo escaparía» is the typical pattern. It shares its stem with the future and changes only the endings.

Present Perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me he escapado
tú te has escapado
él/ella/Ud. se ha escapado
nosotros/as nos hemos escapado
vosotros/as os habéis escapado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se han escapado

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. It is haber in the present plus the past participle: «Hoy yo he escapado». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.

Pluperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me había escapado
tú te habías escapado
él/ella/Ud. se había escapado
nosotros/as nos habíamos escapado
vosotros/as os habíais escapado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habían escapado

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había escapado». It is haber in the imperfect plus the past participle, and it is the tense for explaining what had already happened when something else took place.

Future Perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habré escapado
tú te habrás escapado
él/ella/Ud. se habrá escapado
nosotros/as nos habremos escapado
vosotros/as os habréis escapado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrán escapado

The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré escapado» is the pattern — haber in the future plus the past participle. It is less common in speech but regular in formal writing.

Conditional Perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habría escapado
tú te habrías escapado
él/ella/Ud. se habría escapado
nosotros/as nos habríamos escapado
vosotros/as os habríais escapado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrían escapado

The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría escapado si hubiera podido». It is haber in the conditional plus the past participle, and it is the tense for regrets and missed chances.

Present Subjunctive

Person Pronoun Form
yo me escape
tú te escapes
él/ella/Ud. se escape
nosotros/as nos escapemos
vosotros/as os escapéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se escapen

The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él escape». The trigger is in the main clause; the subjunctive is the mood of uncertainty, desire and influence. Learn the yo form first — most of the table follows from it.

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)

Person Pronoun Form
yo me escapara
tú te escaparas
él/ella/Ud. se escapara
nosotros/as nos escapáramos
vosotros/as os escaparais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se escaparan

The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él escapara, todo sería distinto». The table above shows the -ra forms, the ones you will hear most often. There is also a less common -se set built on the same stem.

Imperative — Affirmative

Person Pronoun Form
tú te escapa
él/ella/Ud. se escape
nosotros/as nos escapemos
vosotros/as os escapad
ellos/ellas/Uds. se escapen

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

In real speech the reflexive pronoun attaches to the end of an affirmative command; the table shows the pronoun and the form separately so you can see both parts.

The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡escapa!». There is no yo form — you cannot command yourself. The tú form is the one you will use with friends and family, and the usted form with people you address formally.

Imperative — Negative

Person Pronoun Form
tú te escapes
él/ella/Ud. se escape
nosotros/as nos escapemos
vosotros/as os escapéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se escapen

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

In real speech the reflexive pronoun attaches to the end of an affirmative command; the table shows the pronoun and the form separately so you can see both parts.

The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No escapes!». Unlike the affirmative imperative, the negative forms come from the present subjunctive, which is why they look different. Never use the affirmative form after no.

Example sentences

  1. Me escapo todos los días. — I escape every day.
  2. Ayer me escapé por la tarde. — Yesterday I escaped in the afternoon.
  3. Antes, me escapaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to escape every day.
  4. Mañana me escaparé sin falta. — Tomorrow I will escape without fail.
  5. Si tuviera más tiempo, me escaparía ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would escape right now.
  6. Hoy me he escapado dos veces. — Today I have escaped twice.
  7. Espero que te escapes pronto. — I hope You escape soon.
  8. Si me escapara, todo sería distinto. — If I escaped, everything would be different.
  9. Ahora mismo me estoy escapando. — Right now I am escaping.
  10. ¡No te escapes! — Don't escape!

Common mistakes

1. Forgetting the reflexive pronoun

Wrong: yo escapo todos los días.

Right: me escapo todos los días.

escaparse is reflexive: the pronoun me belongs before every conjugated form. Without it, you are using the non-reflexive verb, which means something different — doing the action to someone else instead of to yourself.

2. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer me escapaba.

Right: Ayer me 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.

3. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que te escapas.

Right: Espero que te escapes.

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

4. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No te escapa.

Right: No te escapes.

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

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 yo form of escaparse in the present indicative?

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

2. What is the tú form of escaparse in the preterite?

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

3. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of escaparse in the imperfect?

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

4. What is the nosotros/as form of escaparse in the future?

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

5. What is the vosotros/as form of escaparse in the conditional?

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

6. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of escaparse in the present perfect?

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

7. What is the yo form of escaparse in the present subjunctive?

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

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

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

9. What is the gerund of escaparse?

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

10. What is the past participle of escaparse?

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

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

Is escaparse regular or irregular?

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

What are the gerund and past participle of escaparse?

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 «Me 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 escaparse?

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 escaparse?

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.

What does the -se in escaparse mean?

The -se marks escaparse as reflexive: the action comes back to the subject. You always pair the form with its pronoun — me, te, se, nos, os, se — placed before the conjugated verb. Dropping the pronoun changes the meaning, so treat the pronoun as part of the verb.

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