In Spanish, verbs that end in -uar take a written accent on the -u in most El Presente de Subjuntivo conjugations. Take a look at these two common verbs ending in -uar:
actuar (to act / perform) and continuar (to continue)
| ACTUAR | CONTINUAR | |
|
yo |
actúe | continúe |
| tú | actúes | continúes |
| él/ella/usted | actúe | continúe |
| nosotros | actuemos | continuemos |
| vosotros | actuéis | continuéis |
| ellos/ustedes | actúen | continúen |
Here are some examples:
Es posible que actúe en la representación de navidad del colegio.I may play a part (act) in the Nativity play at school.
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 El Presente de Subjuntivo, the stress is on the -u- for all forms except the nosotros and vosotros forms. For example: actúe, actúes, actúes, actúen / continúe, continúes, continúe, continúen. In the nosotros and vosotros forms, the stress is on the -e at the end of the verb: actuemos, actuéis / continuemos, continuéis.
Other examples with verbs evaluar, insinuar, tatuar:
No es conveniente que insinúes que ella es la culpable de todo.It isn't convenient that you insinuate that it is completely her fault.
Here is a list of Verbs ending in -uar
Important:
Not all verbs that end in -uar follow this rule. For example, some verbs that end in -cuar allow for spellings both (e.g. licuar, adecuar, promiscuar) with and without the written accent, and verbs that end in -guar do not need extra accents at all! They are conjugated like regular -ar verbs.Take a look at these conjugations for adecuar and averiguar:
| ADECUAR | AVERIGUAR | |
|
yo |
adecúe/ adecue | averigüe |
| tú | adecúes/adecues |
averigües |
| él/ella/usted | adecúe/adecue | averigüe |
| nosotros | adecuemos | averigüemos |
| vosotros | adecuéis | averigüéis |
| ellos/ustedes | adecúen/adecuen | averigüen |
Important:
For verbs ending in -guar, like averiguar or apaciguar, their conjugation in El Presente de Subjuntivo has a diéresis on the letter u [ü], that's the name of the symbol formed by the two dots above the letter. In Spanish, the diéresis is only used with the letter u. Omitting it is a spelling mistake. The diéresis on the u means that the letter u must be pronounced (it's not a silence u like in guerra or Guernica)
See also -uar verbs in El Presente (actuar, continuar)
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Examples and resources
Es posible que actúe en la representación de navidad del colegio.I may play a part (act) in the Nativity play at school.
Espero que todos actuemos de forma cordial en la reunión de mañana.I hope we all proceed (act) in a cordial way tomorrow at the meeting.
Es esencial que evaluemos la situación con mucha precisión.It's essential that we evaluate the situation with a lot of precision.
