Acentuar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of acentuar — "to accentuate" 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 acentuar 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. Acentuar means to accentuate or stress something: acentuar la sílaba tónica, acentuar las diferencias. It is also the verb for putting the written accent on a word. To see it in a real sentence: Yo acentúo la sílaba tónica de la palabra — "I accentuate the stressed syllable of the word".
Present tense conjugation table: acentuar
Every person of acentuar in the present tense. The gerund is acentuando and the past participle is acentuado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | acentúo |
| tú | acentúas |
| él/ella/Ud. | acentúa |
| nosotros/as | acentuamos |
| vosotros/as | acentuáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | acentúan |
How the present of acentuar is formed
The present of acentuar is built from the stem acentu- 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 | acentúo |
| tú | -as | acentúas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | acentúa |
| nosotros/as | -amos | acentuamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | acentuáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | acentúan |
The gerund of acentuar is acentuando and the past participle is acentuado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of acentuar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and acentuar appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.
Habits and routines
The present describes things that happen regularly, as a habit or routine.
"Cada día, yo acentúo la sílaba tónica de la palabra" — "Every day, I accentuate the stressed syllable of the word"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo acentúa las diferencias entre ambos" — "My friend accentuates the differences between the two"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo acentúo la vocal en la última sílaba" — "Right now, I accentuate the vowel in the last syllable"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros acentuamos el problema con sus palabras" — "Tomorrow, we accentuate the problem with his words"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos acentúan la importancia del tema" — "They accentuate the importance of the topic"
The present tense vs the closest tenses
Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion
The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.
- Present — habit or general fact: {'pre_es': 'Cada día, ', 'pre_en': 'Every day, '}yo acentúo la sílaba tónica de la palabra — "I accentuate the stressed syllable of the word"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo acentué la sílaba tónica de la palabra — "I accentuated the stressed syllable of the word"
Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add "used to" in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.
- Present — now: {}tú acentúas las diferencias entre ambos — "You accentuate the differences between the two"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú acentuabas las diferencias entre ambos — "You used to accentuate the differences between the two"
Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen
The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.
- Present — now or a fixed plan: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él acentúa la vocal en la última sílaba — "He accentuates the vowel in the last syllable"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él acentuará la vocal en la última sílaba — "He will accentuate the vowel in the last syllable"
Examples: acentuar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show acentuar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo acentúo la sílaba tónica de la palabra — "I accentuate the stressed syllable of the word"
- Tú acentúas las diferencias entre ambos — "You accentuate the differences between the two"
- Él acentúa la vocal en la última sílaba — "He accentuates the vowel in the last syllable"
- Nosotros acentuamos el problema con sus palabras — "We accentuate the problem with his words"
- Vosotros acentuáis la importancia del tema — "You accentuate the importance of the topic"
- Ellos acentúan la sílaba tónica de la palabra — "They accentuate the stressed syllable of the word"
- Yo acentúo las diferencias entre ambos — "I accentuate the differences between the two"
Common mistakes with acentuar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with acentuar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo acentúo en la sílaba tónica de la palabra.
✓ Correct: Yo acentúo la sílaba tónica de la palabra.
acentuar takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo acentúo la sílaba tónica de la palabra.
✗ *Tú acentúa las diferencias entre ambos.
✓ Correct: Tú acentúas las diferencias entre ambos.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes acentúas, él takes acentúa.
✗ *Cada día, yo acentué la vocal en la última sílaba
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo acentúo la vocal en la última sílaba
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros acentuais el problema con sus palabras.
✓ Correct: Vosotros acentuáis el problema con sus palabras.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: acentuáis, not acentuais.
Quiz: acentuar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of acentuar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of acentuar for tú? A. acentuamos B. acentúas C. acentúo D. acentúa
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ la sílaba tónica de la palabra — "I accentuate the stressed syllable of the word" (present) A. acentuamos B. acentúo C. acentúas D. acentúa
Complete the sentence: Él ______ las diferencias entre ambos — "He accentuates the differences between the two" (present) A. acentúa B. acentúo C. acentúas D. acentuamos
Which is the correct present form of acentuar for nosotros? A. acentuamos B. acentúas C. acentúa D. acentúan
Which sentence uses acentuar correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo acentuaba la vocal en la última sílaba B. Mi amigo acentuamos la vocal en la última sílaba C. Mi amigo acentúa la vocal en la última sílaba D. Mi amigo acentúas la vocal en la última sílaba
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ el problema con sus palabras — "You accentuate the problem with his words" (present) A. acentúa B. acentuáis C. acentúo D. acentúas
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ la importancia del tema — "They accentuate the importance of the topic" (present) A. acentúa B. acentúan C. acentúo D. acentúas
What is the gerund of acentuar? A. acentuado B. acentúo C. acentué D. acentuando
Answer key
- acentúas — The tú form in the present is acentúas.
- acentúo — The present form for yo is acentúo.
- acentúa — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is acentúa.
- acentuamos — The nosotros form in the present is acentuamos.
- Mi amigo acentúa la vocal en la última sílaba — Mi amigo acentúa la vocal en la última sílaba is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- acentuáis — The present form for vosotros/as is acentuáis.
- acentúan — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is acentúan.
- acentuando — The gerund is acentuando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle acentuado.
Frequently asked questions
Is acentuar regular in the present tense?
Yes — in the present tense acentuar follows the regular endings for -ar verbs, as the table above shows.
What is the gerund and the past participle of acentuar?
The gerund is acentuando and the past participle is acentuado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I accentuate" in the present tense?
Say acentúo. For example: Yo acentúo la sílaba tónica de la palabra — "I accentuate the stressed syllable of the word".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of acentuar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo acentúo la sílaba tónica de la palabra — "I accentuate the stressed syllable of the word". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo acentué la sílaba tónica de la palabra — "Yesterday, I accentuated the stressed syllable of the word". Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once.
Related links
- Full conjugation of acentuar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- acentuar examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Present tense guide — how the present tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.