Он избежал наказания.

he

Breakdown of Он избежал наказания.

• избежать: to avoid
• наказание: punishment

Questions & Answers about Он избежал наказания.

Why is the verb избежал and not избежать?

Избежать is the dictionary form, meaning to avoid / to escape.
In the sentence, we need the past tense, so избежать becomes избежал.

• избежать = infinitive
• избежал = past tense, masculine singular

So Он избежал наказания literally means He avoided punishment or He escaped punishment.

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Why does избежал end in -л?

In Russian, the past tense is usually formed with -л.

For this verb:

• избежал = he avoided
• избежала = she avoided
• избежало = it avoided
• избежали = they avoided

Because он means he, the masculine form избежал is used.

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Why is it наказания and not наказание?