actuar
M009 OrthographicActuar — orthographic ú in stressed syllable (to act)
Accent: ú in stressed
13
verbs
Difficulty
Summary
ACTUAR is a -uar verb that keeps the u stressed with an accent mark in forms like actúo, actúas, actúa, actúen. The accent shows that u and the following vowel form two syllables (ac-tú-o), not a single diphthong *actuo.
Technical explanation
Orthographic pattern for many -uar verbs (excluding the -guar family):
- Present indicative: u→ú in stressed forms (1sg, 2sg, 3sg, 3pl): actúo, actúas, actúa, actúan; nosotros and vosotros remain unaccented (actuamos, actuáis).
- Present subjunctive: same accent pattern in yo/tú/él/ellos: actúe, actúes, actúe, actúen; actuemos, actuéis with plain u.
- Affirmative imperative: derived from those stems: (tú) actúa, (usted) actúe, (nosotros) actuemos, (vosotros) actuad, (ustedes) actúen.
- Negative imperative: identical to present subjunctive without “no”: (tú) actúes, (vosotros) actuéis, etc.
- All other tenses (preterite, imperfect, futures, compound tenses) conjugate as a regular -ar verb.
Note: verbs in -guar (e.g., averiguar, apaciguar) follow the averiguar model, not actuar; garuar is traditionally treated as impersonal in some grammars.
Examples
- The actor actúa in two films this year (El actor actúa en dos películas este año).
- It is important that the government act quickly (Es importante que el gobierno actúe con rapidez).
- Don't act without thinking about the consequences (No actúes sin pensar en las consecuencias).
Present Indicative
yo
actúo
tú
actúas
él/ella
actúa
Pattern cheat sheet
Most-used tenses for this model, with an optional comparison against the regular pattern.
Indicativo — Indicative
Presente
Present Indicative
yo
actúo
tú
actúas
él/ella
actúa
Pretérito perfecto simple
Preterite Indicative
yo
actué
tú
actuaste
él/ella
actuó
Pretérito imperfecto
Imperfect Indicative
yo
actuaba
tú
actuabas
él/ella
actuaba
Futuro simple
Future Indicative
yo
actuaré
tú
actuarás
él/ella
actuará
Condicional simple
Conditional
yo
actuaría
tú
actuarías
él/ella
actuaría
Subjuntivo — Subjunctive
Presente de subjuntivo
Present Subjunctive
yo
actúe
tú
actúes
él/ella
actúe
Imperativo — Imperative
Imperativo afirmativo
Imperative
yo
—
tú
actúa
él/ella
actúe
Imperativo negativo
Negative Imperative
yo
—
tú
actúes
él/ella
actúe
Tense availability
Supported for this model (informational). Open a verb page to view full conjugation tables by tense.
Supported
More tenses are rolling out over time.
Open a verb page to switch between tenses and see full tables.
Open a sample verb from this modelWhat this model teaches
Verbs following this model
13 verbsUnlock full access
- Complete conjugation tables for all tenses
- Unlimited practice drills
- Full verb lists for every model
- Progress tracking & mastery scores