Impedir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

impedir means "to prevent" in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Impedir means to prevent something. With a que-clause it takes the subjunctive: impedir que su hijo salga. With a noun it is direct: impedir el progreso del proyecto. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by use, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of impedir; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the impedir present tense page.

impedir in everyday use: examples with translations

Everyday present uses

How the verb sounds in the present, the future and in hypotheticals — the forms you will use most often.

  1. Yo impido el paso por la carretera — "I prevent passage along the road"
  2. Mi amigo impide que su hijo salga de noche — "My friend prevents his son from going out at night"
  3. Mañana, tú impedirás la entrada a los visitantes — "Tomorrow, you will prevent visitors from entering"
  4. Yo impediría el progreso del proyecto si pudiera — "I would prevent the project's progress if I could"

Talking about the past

The same verb in the past: one finished action, a habit, something that has just happened, and something that had already happened.

  1. Ayer, yo impedí el paso por la carretera — "Yesterday, I prevented passage along the road"
  2. Antes, nosotros impedíamos que su hijo salga de noche — "Before, we used to prevent his son from going out at night"
  3. Él ha impedido la entrada a los visitantes — "He has prevented visitors from entering"
  4. Yo ya había impedido el progreso del proyecto antes de salir — "I already had prevented the project's progress before leaving"

Wishes, conditions and commands

The verb after espero que, in si clauses, as a command — and in the conditional perfect, for what would have happened.

  1. Espero que él impida el paso por la carretera — "I hope he prevents passage along the road"
  2. Si yo impidiera que su hijo salga de noche, todo cambiaría — "If I prevented his son from going out at night, everything would change"
  3. Impide la entrada a los visitantes. — "Prevent visitors from entering."
  4. Yo habría impedido el progreso del proyecto con más tiempo — "I would have prevented the project's progress with more time"

impedir in conversation

Two short dialogues that use impedir the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

Two friends talk about it.

  • Lucía: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Lucía: Yo impido el paso por la carretera — "I prevent passage along the road"
  • Marcos: Él impide que su hijo salga de noche — "He prevents his son from going out at night"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo impedí la entrada a los visitantes — "Yesterday, I prevented visitors from entering"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú impedirás el progreso del proyecto — "Tomorrow, you will prevent the project's progress"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Impide que el agua entre en la casa. — "Prevent water from entering the house."
  • Lucía: Él ha impedido el paso por la carretera — "He has prevented passage along the road"
  • Marcos: Espero que él impida que su hijo salga de noche — "I hope he prevents his son from going out at night"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo impedía la entrada a los visitantes — "Before, I used to prevent visitors from entering"

Common mistakes with impedir

The errors learners actually make with impedir, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ *Yo impedo el progreso del proyecto.

✓ Correct: Yo impido el progreso del proyecto.

impedir is a stem-changing verb (e → i): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is impido, not impedo.

✗ *Espero que él impide el progreso del proyecto

✓ Correct: Espero que él impida el progreso del proyecto

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él impida el progreso del proyecto — not the indicative Espero que él impide el progreso del proyecto.

✗ *Ayer, yo impido que el agua entre en la casa

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo impedí que el agua entre en la casa

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo impedí que el agua entre en la casa.

✗ *De niño, yo impedí el paso por la carretera todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo impedía el paso por la carretera todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo impedía el paso por la carretera todos los días.

✗ *Yo impido en la entrada a los visitantes.

✓ Correct: Yo impido la entrada a los visitantes.

impedir takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo impido la entrada a los visitantes.

Quiz: impedir in use

Ten questions on impedir — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el paso por la carretera — "I prevent passage along the road" (present) A. impides B. impide C. impedimos D. impido

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ que su hijo salga de noche — "Yesterday, I prevented his son from going out at night" (preterite) A. impedimos B. impedí C. impediste D. impidió

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ la entrada a los visitantes — "Before, we used to prevent visitors from entering" (imperfect) A. impedíamos B. impedía C. impedías D. impedíais

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ el progreso del proyecto — "Tomorrow, you will prevent the project's progress" (future) A. impediré B. impedirá C. impediremos D. impedirás

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ que el agua entre en la casa — "I would prevent water from entering the house" (conditional) A. impediría B. impedirías C. impediríamos D. impediríais

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ el paso por la carretera — "He has prevented passage along the road" (present perfect) A. ha impedido B. he impedido C. has impedido D. hemos impedido

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ que su hijo salga de noche — "I hope he prevents his son from going out at night" (present subjunctive) A. impida B. impidas C. impidamos D. impidáis

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ la entrada a los visitantes. — "Prevent visitors from entering." (affirmative imperative) A. impide B. impida C. impidamos D. impedid

  9. Which is the gerund of impedir, used with estar for the progressive? A. impidiendo B. impedido C. impido D. impedí

  10. What does impedir mean in English? A. to enjoy B. to cross C. to prevent D. to avoid

Answer key

  1. impido — The present form for yo is impido.
  2. impedí — The preterite form for yo is impedí.
  3. impedíamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is impedíamos.
  4. impedirás — The future form for tú is impedirás.
  5. impediría — The conditional form for yo is impediría.
  6. ha impedido — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha impedido.
  7. impida — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is impida.
  8. impide — The affirmative imperative form is impide.
  9. impidiendo — The gerund of impedir is impidiendo: estoy impidiendo. The participle impedido is used with haber instead.
  10. to prevent — impedir means to prevent.

Frequently asked questions

What does impedir mean in English?

impedir means to prevent. For example: Yo impido el paso por la carretera — "I prevent passage along the road". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with impedir?

impedir takes its complement directly, with no preposition, as in the examples above. Adding an extra preposition is a common learner error.

Is impedir regular?

No. impedir is a stem-changing -ir verb (e → i). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: impido, impides, impide and impiden — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: impedimos, impedís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: impidió, impidieron, and the gerund is impidiendo.

How do I practise impedir?

Start with the present tense table on the full conjugation page, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure, and come back to the sentences above until you can say them without looking.

Related links