El criminal escapó.

Escapó is the preterite (simple past), used for a completed action: the escape happened.

• El criminal escapó. = The criminal escaped.
• El criminal escapaba. would mean something more like The criminal was escaping or used to escape, depending on context.

So in this sentence, escapó is the natural choice because it describes a single finished event.

Escapó is:

• the verb escapar = to escape
• 3rd person singular
• preterite
• referring to él / ella / usted

So escapó means:

• he escaped
• she escaped
• it escaped
• or you escaped (formal), depending on context

Here, because the subject is El criminal, it means the criminal escaped.

The accent mark shows that the stress falls on the last syllable:

• es-ca-pó

It also helps distinguish this form from other forms of the verb:

• escapo = I escape
• escapó = he/she escaped

So the accent is important both for pronunciation and meaning.

El means the, while un means a or an.

• El criminal escapó. = The criminal escaped.
• Un criminal escapó. = A criminal escaped.

Use el when the person is seen as specific or already known in the context. Use un when introducing someone less specifically.

Here, criminal is a noun and means criminal.

In Spanish, some words can be both adjectives and nouns depending on how they are used.

• un acto criminal = a criminal act → adjective
• el criminal = the criminal → noun

In this sentence, because it comes after the article el, it is clearly being used as a noun.

Spanish often does not use subject pronouns when they are not needed, because the verb ending already gives that information.

• Escapó already tells us it is he/she/it/you (formal) in the past.
• The noun El criminal makes the subject explicit anyway.

So saying Él escapó would usually only be needed for emphasis or contrast.

The word order here is the standard subject + verb order:

• El criminal = subject
• escapó = verb

So it follows the same basic pattern as English:

• The criminal escaped.

Spanish can sometimes change word order for style or emphasis, but this version is the most neutral and natural.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• El → el
• criminal → kree-mee-NAL
• escapó → es-ka-PO

Approximate full pronunciation:

el kree-mee-NAL es-ka-PO

A few points:

• the r in criminal is a tapped Spanish r
• the stress in criminal is on the last syllable: crimiNAL
• the stress in escapó is also on the last syllable: escapÓ

It often is, especially if you say what someone escaped from.

For example:

• El criminal escapó de la cárcel. = The criminal escaped from prison.
• Escapó de la policía. = He escaped from the police.

But if the sentence does not mention the place or source, escapó can stand alone, as in:

• El criminal escapó.

Yes. Delincuente is also a very common word for criminal or offender.

Very roughly:

• criminal can sound a little broader or more formal
• delincuente often refers to someone who commits crimes or offences, and is very common in everyday Spanish

In many contexts, both would work:

• El criminal escapó.
• El delincuente escapó.

The exact best choice depends on tone and context.

Yes, se escapó is very common in Spanish.

• El criminal escapó.
• El criminal se escapó.

Both can mean The criminal escaped.

Very generally:

• escapó is a straightforward statement of the action
• se escapó often sounds a bit more like got away, managed to escape, or slipped away

In many everyday situations, the difference is small, but learners should know that both versions exist and are natural.