escaparon

Escaparon is the third-person plural preterite form of the Spanish verb escapar, meaning they escaped. It is used in narrative and past-tense contexts to describe that a group of people or animals succeeded in getting away from confinement, danger, or capture. The form appears in sentences such as Los prisioneros escaparon de la prisión, indicating that they managed to flee in the past.

Conjugation overview: Escapar is a regular -ar verb. Its present tense forms are escapo, escapas, escapa, escapamos, escapáis, escapan. In the preterite, the principal forms include escapé, escapaste, escapó, escapamos, escapasteis, escaparon. The form escaparon is specifically for ellos, ellas, or ustedes in the past tense. Other related past forms include the imperfect escapaba, escapabas, escapaba, escapábamos, escapabais, escapaban, which describe ongoing or habitual past escapes.

Usage notes: Escapar and escaparon can be used for physical escapes (from prison, a trap, or danger) as well as figurative escapes (escaping attention, consequences, or a difficult situation). The verb often pairs with prepositions such as de (to escape from) or a, in contexts describing moving away from something or someone. In literary writing, escaparon can convey swift or decisive action, depending on surrounding verbs and adverbs.

Etymology: Escapar derives from the combination of ex- meaning out and capere meaning to seize or take, via Latin roots that passed into Spanish. The resulting sense is to slip away or to break free from restraint or capture.

In summary, escaparon is the standard past-tense form for “they escaped,” used across Spanish-speaking regions with similar meaning and function to other -ar verb endings in the preterite.