Accionar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of accionar — “to activate, to operate” in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for accionar with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Accionar means to activate or to operate, and it is the verb for switches, buttons, levers and mechanisms: you activate an alarm, operate a machine, press a trigger. It is a technical verb, common in manuals, engineering and safety instructions. Accionar is a regular -ar verb, so the notes below explain exactly where it follows the rules and where it breaks them. To see it in a real sentence: Acciono la alarma de incendios.

Present tense conjugation table: accionar

Every person of accionar in the present tense. The gerund is accionando and the past participle is accionado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo acciono
tú accionas
él/ella/Ud. acciona
nosotros/as accionamos
vosotros/as accionáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. accionan

How the present of accionar is formed

The present of accionar is built from the stem accion- plus the present endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.

Person Ending Form
yo -o acciono
tú -as accionas
él/ella/Ud. -a acciona
nosotros/as -amos accionamos
vosotros/as -áis accionáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an accionan

For accionar there are no surprises in the present: every form is the stem accion- plus the regular ending, so once you know the endings you know the whole tense.

When to use the present tense with accionar

Habits and routines

Use the present for things you do regularly.

Yo acciono la alarma de incendios. — I activate the fire alarm.

General facts

Use the present for facts and general truths that do not change.

Él/Ella acciona el interruptor de la luz. — He activates the light switch.

What is happening right now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment.

Ahora, Nosotros/as accionamos la máquina con el botón rojo. — Right now, We activate the machine with the red button.

Near-future plans

Use the present for fixed plans in the near future, especially with mañana or la semana que viene.

Mañana, Tú accionas el freno de emergencia. — Tomorrow, You activate the emergency brake.

Instructions and timeless statements

Use the present for instructions, rules and statements that are always true.

Él/Ella acciona la alarma de incendios. — He activates the fire alarm.

The present vs the preterite

The present and the preterite answer different questions: the present says what happens regularly or right now, while the preterite says what happened once and finished. Compare the same idea in both tenses with accionar.

  1. Yo acciono la alarma de incendios. — I activate the fire alarm. / Ayer, Yo accioné la alarma de incendios. — Yesterday, I activated the fire alarm.
  2. Yo acciono el interruptor de la luz. — I activate the light switch. / Ayer, Yo accioné el interruptor de la luz. — Yesterday, I activated the light switch.
  3. Yo acciono la máquina con el botón rojo. — I activate the machine with the red button. / Ayer, Yo accioné la máquina con el botón rojo. — Yesterday, I activated the machine with the red button.

Example sentences in the present tense

Seven sentences with accionar in the present tense only, covering all six persons.

  1. Yo acciono la alarma de incendios. — I activate the fire alarm.
  2. Tú accionas el interruptor de la luz. — You activate the light switch.
  3. Él/Ella acciona la máquina con el botón rojo. — He activates the machine with the red button.
  4. Nosotros/as accionamos el freno de emergencia. — We activate the emergency brake.
  5. Vosotros/as accionáis la alarma de incendios. — You activate the fire alarm.
  6. Ellos/as accionan el interruptor de la luz. — They activate the light switch.
  7. Yo acciono la máquina con el botón rojo. — I activate the machine with the red button.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo acciona la alarma de incendios. — Right: Yo acciono la alarma de incendios. — The person matters: acciona is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is acciono.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo acciono el interruptor de la luz. — Right: Ayer, yo accioné el interruptor de la luz. — With ayer, use the preterite (accioné), not the present. The present is for habits and for right now.
  3. Wrong: Using accionar where activar belongs. — Right: Accionar means to activate, to operate, while activar means to activate a device or system. — Check the meaning before you choose: accionar fits Acciono la alarma de incendios.
  4. Wrong: Espero que él acciona el interruptor de la luz. — Right: Espero que él accione el interruptor de la luz. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: accione, not the present indicative acciona.

Quiz: the present tense of accionar

Eight questions on the present tense of accionar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la alarma de incendios. (present tense, yo) A. acciono B. accionas C. acciona D. accionamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el interruptor de la luz. (present tense, tú) A. acciono B. acciona C. accionamos D. accionas

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ la máquina con el botón rojo. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. accionas B. accionamos C. acciona D. acciono

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ el freno de emergencia. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. acciona B. accionamos C. acciono D. accionas

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ la alarma de incendios. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. accionáis B. acciono C. accionas D. acciona

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ el interruptor de la luz. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. acciono B. accionas C. acciona D. accionan

  7. Which is the gerund of accionar? A. acciono B. accioné C. accionando D. accionado

  8. Which is the past participle of accionar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. accioné B. accionado C. accionando D. acciono

Answer key

  1. acciono — The yo present form of accionar is acciono.
  2. accionas — The tú present form of accionar is accionas.
  3. acciona — The él/ella/Ud. present form of accionar is acciona.
  4. accionamos — The nosotros/as present form of accionar is accionamos.
  5. accionáis — The vosotros/as present form of accionar is accionáis.
  6. accionan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of accionar is accionan.
  7. accionando — The gerund of accionar is accionando: estoy accionando.
  8. accionado — The past participle of accionar is accionado: he accionado, has accionado, ha accionado.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present tense of accionar formed?

Take the infinitive accionar, drop the -ar ending to get the stem accion-, then add the present endings: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an. The full table is above, with every person. No, the present of accionar is fully regular: the stem accion- plus the standard -ar endings gives every form.

When do I use the present tense of accionar?

Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Acciono la alarma de incendios.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of accionar?

The present (acciono) and the preterite (accioné) answer different questions: the present is for habits and for right now, while the preterite is for one finished action. Compare them in the contrast section above.

How do I practise the present of accionar?

Drill the six forms in the table until you can say them without looking, then use the full conjugation of accionar to see how the present fits with the other tenses, and the accionar examples and quiz page for more sentences. The Spanish Verb Quiz tests the forms under pressure.

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