Espantar Conjugation in Spanish

espantar is the Spanish verb for «to frighten». 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 espanto todos los días» — I frighten every day. Then work down the page tense by tense, and finish with the quiz.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: espantar
  • English: to frighten
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: espantando
  • Past participle: espantado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + espantado)

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

Full conjugation tables

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

Gerund: espantando · Past participle: espantado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo espanto
tú espantas
él/ella/Ud. espanta
nosotros/as espantamos
vosotros/as espantáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. espantan

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For espantar, the yo form is espanto, 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 Form
yo espanté
tú espantaste
él/ella/Ud. espantó
nosotros/as espantamos
vosotros/as espantasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. espantaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo espanté» 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 Form
yo espantaba
tú espantabas
él/ella/Ud. espantaba
nosotros/as espantábamos
vosotros/as espantabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. espantaban

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

Future

Person Form
yo espantaré
tú espantarás
él/ella/Ud. espantará
nosotros/as espantaremos
vosotros/as espantaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. espantarán

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

Conditional

Person Form
yo espantaría
tú espantarías
él/ella/Ud. espantaría
nosotros/as espantaríamos
vosotros/as espantaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. espantarían

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

Present Perfect

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

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 espantado». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había espantado». 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 Form
yo habré espantado
tú habrás espantado
él/ella/Ud. habrá espantado
nosotros/as habremos espantado
vosotros/as habréis espantado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán espantado

The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré espantado» 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 Form
yo habría espantado
tú habrías espantado
él/ella/Ud. habría espantado
nosotros/as habríamos espantado
vosotros/as habríais espantado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrían espantado

The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría espantado 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 Form
yo espante
tú espantes
él/ella/Ud. espante
nosotros/as espantemos
vosotros/as espantéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. espanten

The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él espante». 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 Form
yo espantara
tú espantaras
él/ella/Ud. espantara
nosotros/as espantáramos
vosotros/as espantarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. espantaran

The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él espantara, 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 Form
tú espanta
él/ella/Ud. espante
nosotros/as espantemos
vosotros/as espantad
ellos/ellas/Uds. espanten

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

The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡espanta!». 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 Form
tú espantes
él/ella/Ud. espante
nosotros/as espantemos
vosotros/as espantéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. espanten

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

The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No espantes!». 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. Yo espanto todos los días. — I frighten every day.
  2. Ayer yo espanté por la tarde. — Yesterday I frightenned in the afternoon.
  3. Antes, yo espantaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to frighten every day.
  4. Mañana yo espantaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will frighten without fail.
  5. Si tuviera más tiempo, yo espantaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would frighten right now.
  6. Hoy yo he espantado dos veces. — Today I have frightenned twice.
  7. Espero que tú espantes pronto. — I hope You frighten soon.
  8. Si yo espantara, todo sería distinto. — If I frightenned, everything would be different.
  9. Ahora mismo yo estoy espantando. — Right now I am frightenning.
  10. ¡espanta, por favor! — Frighten, please!

Common mistakes

1. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer yo espantaba.

Right: Ayer yo espanté.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, espanté. The imperfect espantaba 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 espantas.

Right: Espero que tú espantes.

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

3. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No espanta.

Right: No espantes.

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

4. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

Wrong: Yo espantar todos los días.

Right: Yo espanto todos los días.

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

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He espantando.

Right: He espantado.

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

Quiz

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

1. What is the nosotros/as form of espantar in the present indicative?

- (a) espanto
- (b) espanta
- (c) espantas
- (d) espantamos

2. What is the vosotros/as form of espantar in the preterite?

- (a) espantasteis
- (b) espanté
- (c) espantó
- (d) espantaste

3. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of espantar in the imperfect?

- (a) espantabas
- (b) espantaba
- (c) espantaba
- (d) espantaban

4. What is the yo form of espantar in the future?

- (a) espantarás
- (b) espantará
- (c) espantaré
- (d) espantaremos

5. What is the tú form of espantar in the conditional?

- (a) espantaríamos
- (b) espantarías
- (c) espantaría
- (d) espantaría

6. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of espantar in the present perfect?

- (a) has espantado
- (b) he espantado
- (c) ha espantado
- (d) hemos espantado

7. What is the nosotros/as form of espantar in the present subjunctive?

- (a) espante
- (b) espantemos
- (c) espantes
- (d) espante

8. What is the vosotros/as form of espantar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)?

- (a) espantarais
- (b) espantaras
- (c) espantara
- (d) espantara

9. What is the gerund of espantar?

- (a) espanto
- (b) espantar
- (c) espantado
- (d) espantando

10. What is the past participle of espantar?

- (a) espantar
- (b) espanté
- (c) espantando
- (d) espantado

Answer key

1. (d) — In the present indicative, the nosotros/as form of espantar is espantamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (a) — In the preterite, the vosotros/as form of espantar is espantasteis. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (d) — In the imperfect, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of espantar is espantaban. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (c) — In the future, the yo form of espantar is espantaré. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (b) — In the conditional, the tú form of espantar is espantarías. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (c) — In the present perfect, the él/ella/Ud. form of espantar is ha espantado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (b) — In the present subjunctive, the nosotros/as form of espantar is espantemos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (a) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the vosotros/as form of espantar is espantarais. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (d) — The gerund of espantar is espantando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy espantando». 10. (d) — The past participle of espantar is espantado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he espantado».

Frequently asked questions

Is espantar regular or irregular?

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

What are the gerund and past participle of espantar?

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

How do I say «I frighten» in Spanish?

Say «Yo espanto 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 espantar?

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

When do I use the subjunctive with espantar?

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

How do I use espantar in the present perfect?

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

Related links