Evitamos esa tontería.

Evitamos is the nosotros form of evitar.

It can mean either:

• we avoid → present tense
• we avoided → preterite

So Evitamos esa tontería can mean We avoid that nonsense or We avoided that nonsense, depending on context.

This is normal in Spanish: some nosotros forms are identical in the present and the preterite for -ar verbs.

Examples:

• Siempre evitamos esa tontería. = We always avoid that nonsense.
• Ayer evitamos esa tontería. = Yesterday we avoided that nonsense.

Spanish often omits subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows who is doing the action.

• Evitamos already tells you it is we
• So nosotros is not necessary

You could say:

• Nosotros evitamos esa tontería

but it is usually only added for emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

For example:

• Nosotros evitamos esa tontería, pero ellos no.
  We avoided that nonsense, but they didn’t.

Tontería comes from tonto/a (silly, stupid), and it usually means:

• a silly thing
• nonsense
• stupidity
• foolishness

In this sentence, esa tontería could mean:

• that silly thing
• that nonsense
• that foolishness

It can refer to:

• a foolish action
• a stupid idea
• something trivial or ridiculous

In Spain, tontería is a very common everyday word.

Because tontería is a feminine singular noun.

So the demonstrative has to match it:

• esa tontería = feminine singular
• ese would be for a masculine singular noun

Compare:

• esa tontería = that silly thing / that nonsense
• ese problema = that problem

Agreement is very important in Spanish:

• feminine singular → esa
• masculine singular → ese
• feminine plural → esas
• masculine plural → esos

Both can mean that, but they suggest different kinds of distance.

Very roughly:

• esta = this
• esa = that
• aquella = that over there / that one farther away

So esa tontería is the most natural neutral choice for that nonsense.

Aquella tontería would usually sound more distant, either:

• physically far away
• more emotionally or mentally distant
• further back in time or conversation

In many everyday sentences, esa is the default choice for that.

The written accent in tontería shows where the stress goes:

• ton-te-RÍ-a

Without the accent, Spanish spelling rules would suggest a different stress pattern.

Also, -ía is pronounced as two syllables here:

• rí-a

So tontería has four syllables:

• ton - te - rí - a

The accent helps show the correct pronunciation.

No. Evitar is normally a direct transitive verb, so it takes a direct object without a preposition.

So you say:

• Evitamos esa tontería

Not:

• Evitamos a esa tontería
• Evitamos de esa tontería

That is different from some English patterns, where learners may expect an extra word like from.

More examples:

• Evito los problemas. = I avoid problems.
• Evitamos un error. = We avoid / avoided a mistake.

Usually not in the most direct sense.

Evitar most often means:

• to avoid
• to keep away from
• sometimes to prevent

But in Evitamos esa tontería, the most natural reading is that we avoided it, not that we stopped it from happening.

If you want to say we prevented that nonsense, context would need to make that clear, or Spanish might use a different structure.

So for a learner, the safest understanding here is:

• We avoid that nonsense or
• We avoided that nonsense

This is the normal Spanish order:

• verb + object

So:

• Evitamos = verb
• esa tontería = direct object

Spanish word order is flexible, but this version is the most neutral and natural.

Other orders are possible for emphasis, for example:

• Esa tontería la evitamos.
  = That nonsense, we avoid it / we avoided it.

But for a simple statement, Evitamos esa tontería is the standard form.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• eh-bee-TA-mos EH-sa ton-te-REE-a

A few useful notes:

• v in Spanish is pronounced much like b
• the stress in evitamos is on ta
• the stress in tontería is on rí
• the r in tontería is a single tapped r, not a strong rolled rr

In standard Spain pronunciation, it sounds roughly like:

• eh-bi-TA-mos EH-sa ton-te-RI-a

Yes. Spanish often uses tontería in the singular where English might use either a singular or an uncountable word.

So:

• esa tontería can mean that silly thing
• but it can also mean that nonsense

Spanish and English do not always divide ideas into countable and uncountable nouns in the same way.

For example:

• No digas tonterías. = Don’t say silly things / Don’t talk nonsense.
• Eso es una tontería. = That’s nonsense / That’s a silly thing.

So singular tontería is completely natural here.

It would be similar, but not exactly the same.

• tontería often sounds like silliness, nonsense, or something foolish
• estupidez usually sounds stronger, more like stupidity

So:

• Evitamos esa tontería = softer, more everyday
• Evitamos esa estupidez = stronger, harsher

In many contexts, tontería is the more natural conversational word.