Prevenir Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Prevenir means “to prevent, to warn”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Prevenir means to prevent or to warn, and it covers preventing accidents, warning someone about a danger and taking precautions. It follows the pattern of venir, with the present prevengo, the preterite previne and the future prevendré. This page shows prevenir in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct present-tense form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo prevengo accidentes en el trabajo.” — I prevent accidents at work.
Prevenir in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how prevenir is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.
In the present: everyday use
These sentences use prevenir in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Prevengo accidentes en el trabajo.” — I prevent accidents at work.
“¿Tú previenes a los vecinos del corte de agua?” — Do you prevent the neighbours about the water cut?
“Previene enfermedades con la vacuna.” — He/she prevents illnesses with the vaccine.
“Prevenimos a su hijo del peligro.” — We prevent his son about the danger.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show prevenir in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo previne accidentes en el trabajo.” — Yesterday, I prevented accidents at work. (preterite)
“Él prevenía a los vecinos del corte de agua todos los días.” — He used to prevent the neighbours about the water cut every day. (imperfect)
Plans and things already done
These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of prevenir stays the same.
“Nosotros prevendremos enfermedades con la vacuna mañana.” — We will prevent illnesses with the vaccine tomorrow. (future)
“¿Tú has prevenido a su hijo del peligro?” — Have you prevented his son about the danger? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Prevenís accidentes en el trabajo.” — You prevent accidents at work.
“Previenen a los vecinos del corte de agua.” — They prevent the neighbours about the water cut.
“Prevengo enfermedades con la vacuna.” — I prevent illnesses with the vaccine.
“Previene a su hijo del peligro.” — He/she prevents his son about the danger.
Prevenir in context
Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how prevenir appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú previenes accidentes en el trabajo?” — Do you prevent accidents at work?
Carlos: “Sí, yo prevengo accidentes en el trabajo.” — Yes, I prevent accidents at work.
Lucía: “Nosotros prevenimos a los vecinos del corte de agua.” — We prevent the neighbours about the water cut.
Carlos: “Y ellos previenen enfermedades con la vacuna.” — And they prevent illnesses with the vaccine.
Lucía: “Vosotros prevenís a su hijo del peligro.” — You prevent his son about the danger.
Carlos: “Sí, y él previene a los vecinos del corte de agua.” — Yes, and he prevents the neighbours about the water cut.
A short paragraph
Lucía previene accidentes en el trabajo, y Carlos previene a los vecinos del corte de agua. Nosotros prevenimos enfermedades con la vacuna, y ellos previenen a su hijo del peligro. Yo prevengo enfermedades con la vacuna, y mi padre previene a su hijo del peligro. Prevenir is part of everyday life, because to prevent, to warn is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with prevenir
These are the errors learners actually make with prevenir. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo previene accidentes en el trabajo.” Right: “Yo prevengo accidentes en el trabajo.” Why: The person matters: previene is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is prevengo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
Wrong: “Yo preveno a los vecinos del corte de agua.” Right: “Yo prevengo a los vecinos del corte de agua.” Why: Prevenir is a stem-changing verb (e → ie), so the stem changes in the present singular and third-person plural. The nosotros form keeps the original stem.
Wrong: “Treating prevenir and evitar as identical in every context.” Right: “Prevenir means to prevent, to warn, while evitar means to avoid.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: prevenir fits sentences such as Prevengo accidentes en el trabajo, while evitar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy prevenido a los vecinos del corte de agua.” Right: “Yo he prevenido a los vecinos del corte de agua.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he prevenido, has prevenido, ha prevenido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo previne enfermedades con la vacuna todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo prevenía enfermedades con la vacuna todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (prevenía), not the preterite. The preterite (previne) is for one finished action.
Quiz: prevenir in use
Ten questions on prevenir in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ accidentes en el trabajo.” (Accidents at work.)
- (a) prevenís
- (b) prevengo
- (c) previenes
Answer: prevenís — The vosotros/as form of prevenir in the present is prevenís.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ a los vecinos del corte de agua.” (The neighbours about the water cut.)
- (a) prevengo
- (b) previenes
- (c) previenen
Answer: previenen — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of prevenir in the present is previenen.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ accidentes en el trabajo.” (Accidents at work.)
- (a) previno
- (b) previne
- (c) previniste
Answer: previne — The yo form of prevenir in the preterite is previne.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ a los vecinos del corte de agua.” (The neighbours about the water cut.)
- (a) prevenía
- (b) prevenías
- (c) preveníamos
Answer: prevenía — The él/ella/Ud. form of prevenir in the imperfect is prevenía.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ enfermedades con la vacuna.” (Illnesses with the vaccine.)
- (a) prevendré
- (b) prevendrás
- (c) prevendremos
Answer: prevendremos — The nosotros/as form of prevenir in the future is prevendremos.
6. What does prevenir mean in English?
- (a) to agree, to suit
- (b) to prevent, to warn
- (c) to avoid
Answer: to prevent, to warn — Prevenir means “to prevent, to warn”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo prevengo accidentes en el trabajo.
- (b) Ellos previene accidentes en el trabajo.
- (c) Yo prevengo a los vecinos del corte de agua ayer.
Answer: Yo prevengo accidentes en el trabajo. — “Yo prevengo accidentes en el trabajo.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I prevent accidents at work.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo previenen accidentes en el trabajo.
- (b) Yo previne accidentes en el trabajo.
- (c) Yo prevengo accidentes en el trabajo.
Answer: Yo prevengo accidentes en el trabajo. — “Yo prevengo accidentes en el trabajo.” is the correct translation. The second option uses the wrong person's form, and the third uses the preterite.
9. What is the nosotros form of prevenir in the present tense?
- (a) previenes
- (b) prevenimos
- (c) prevengo
Answer: prevenimos — The nosotros form is prevenimos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo previne accidentes en el trabajo.
- (b) Nosotros prevendremos accidentes en el trabajo mañana.
- (c) Yo prevengo accidentes en el trabajo.
Answer: Yo prevengo accidentes en el trabajo. — “Yo prevengo accidentes en el trabajo.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I prevent' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo prevengo accidentes en el trabajo'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo prevengo accidentes en el trabajo todos los días'.
How do you say 'I prevent' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo previne a los vecinos del corte de agua'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo prevenía a los vecinos del corte de agua todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo he prevenido a los vecinos del corte de agua'.
What is the difference between prevenir and evitar?
Prevenir means to prevent, to warn, while evitar means to avoid. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use prevenir when you mean to prevent, to warn, as in Prevengo accidentes en el trabajo.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of prevenir — every tense of prevenir in one place.
- Prevenir in the preterite tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on prevenir and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of prevenir until they are automatic.