In Spanish, verbs that end in -uar take a written accent on the -u in most El Presente conjugations. Take a look at these two common verbs ending in -uar:
actuar (to act / perform) and continuar (to continue)
Conjugation of Spanish verbs "actuar" and "continuar" in El Presente
| ACTUAR | CONTINUAR | |
|
yo |
actúo | continúo |
| tú | actúas | continúas |
| él/ella/usted | actúa | continúa |
| nosotros | actuamos | continuamos |
| vosotros | actuáis | continuáis |
| ellos/ustedes | actúan | continúan |
Here are some examples:
Alex actúa en el Teatro Central. Es el personaje principal.Alex performs at Teatro Central. He is the main character.
Los guitarristas actúan cada sábado en el bar de Miguel.The guitarists perform each Saturday at Miguel's bar.
En unos minutos, después del intermedio, continúa la obra.In a few minutes, after the interval, the play will continue. [lit: continues]
Creo que estamos perdidos. ¿Continuamos o paramos a descansar?I think we are lost. Shall we continue or shall we stop for a rest? [lit: we continue or stop for a rest]
The verb in the infinitive has the stress on the -ar at the end of the word: actu-ar, continu-ar. However, when it is conjugated in the present, the stress is on the -u in: actúo, actúas, actúas, actúan / continúo, continúas, continúa, continúan. In the nosotros and vosotros forms, the stress is on the -a at the end of the verb: actuamos, actuáis / continuamos, continuáis.
In order to break the syllable into two (i.e. to break the diphthong) and make the -u the stressed vowel, we have to put a written accent on it. Have a look at: Accents on diphthongs
Here is a list of verbs ending in -uar.
Spanish -cuar and -guar verbs
Not all verbs that end in -uar follow this rule. For example, verbs that end in -cuar allow both conjugations, with accent and without, and verbs that end in -guar don't take on extra accents at all: they are conjugated like regular -ar verbs.
This irregularity also affects their conjugation in El Presente de Subjuntivo.
For this, see Spanish -uar verbs in the present subjuntive (El Presente de Subjuntivo: actuar, continuar)
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