Acentuar Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb acentuar means to accentuate, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. 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. Like every Spanish verb, acentuar changes its ending for each person and tense, and this page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say Yo acentúo la sílaba tónica de la palabra — "I accentuate the stressed syllable of the word". Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: acentuar
  • English: to accentuate
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: acentuando
  • Past participle: acentuado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + acentuado)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for acentuar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for acentuar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem.

Present indicative

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | acentúo | | tú | acentúas | | él/ella/Ud. | acentúa | | nosotros/as | acentuamos | | vosotros/as | acentuáis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | acentúan |

Preterite

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | acentué | | tú | acentuaste | | él/ella/Ud. | acentuó | | nosotros/as | acentuamos | | vosotros/as | acentuasteis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | acentuaron |

Imperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | acentuaba | | tú | acentuabas | | él/ella/Ud. | acentuaba | | nosotros/as | acentuábamos | | vosotros/as | acentuabais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | acentuaban |

Future

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | acentuaré | | tú | acentuarás | | él/ella/Ud. | acentuará | | nosotros/as | acentuaremos | | vosotros/as | acentuaréis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | acentuarán |

Conditional

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | acentuaría | | tú | acentuarías | | él/ella/Ud. | acentuaría | | nosotros/as | acentuaríamos | | vosotros/as | acentuaríais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | acentuarían |

Present perfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | he acentuado | | tú | has acentuado | | él/ella/Ud. | ha acentuado | | nosotros/as | hemos acentuado | | vosotros/as | habéis acentuado | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | han acentuado |

Pluperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | había acentuado | | tú | habías acentuado | | él/ella/Ud. | había acentuado | | nosotros/as | habíamos acentuado | | vosotros/as | habíais acentuado | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían acentuado |

Future perfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | habré acentuado | | tú | habrás acentuado | | él/ella/Ud. | habrá acentuado | | nosotros/as | habremos acentuado | | vosotros/as | habréis acentuado | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán acentuado |

Conditional perfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | habría acentuado | | tú | habrías acentuado | | él/ella/Ud. | habría acentuado | | nosotros/as | habríamos acentuado | | vosotros/as | habríais acentuado | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían acentuado |

Present subjunctive

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | acentúe | | tú | acentúes | | él/ella/Ud. | acentúe | | nosotros/as | acentuemos | | vosotros/as | acentuéis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | acentúen |

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | acentuara | | tú | acentuaras | | él/ella/Ud. | acentuara | | nosotros/as | acentuáramos | | vosotros/as | acentuarais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | acentuaran |

Imperative (affirmative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | acentúa | | él/ella/Ud. | acentúe | | nosotros/as | acentuemos | | vosotros/as | acentuad | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | acentúen |

Imperative (negative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | acentúes | | él/ella/Ud. | acentúe | | nosotros/as | acentuemos | | vosotros/as | acentuéis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | acentúen |

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund acentuando with estar for the progressive: está acentuando
Past participle acentuado with haber for the perfect tenses: he acentuado

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For acentuar, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo acentúo la sílaba tónica de la palabra — "I accentuate the stressed syllable of the word".

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For acentuar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, yo acentué las diferencias entre ambos — "Yesterday, I accentuated the differences between the two".

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For acentuar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, yo acentuaba la vocal en la última sílaba — "As a child, I used to accentuate the vowel in the last syllable".

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For acentuar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, yo acentuaré el problema con sus palabras — "Tomorrow, I will accentuate the problem with his words".

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For acentuar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo acentuaría la sílaba tónica de la palabra si pudiera — "I would accentuate the stressed syllable of the word if I could".

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For acentuar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, yo he acentuado las diferencias entre ambos — "Today, I have accentuated the differences between the two".

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For acentuar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo ya había acentuado la vocal en la última sílaba antes de salir — "I already had accentuated the vowel in the last syllable before leaving".

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For acentuar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, yo habré acentuado el problema con sus palabras — "By tomorrow, I will have accentuated the problem with his words".

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For acentuar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría acentuado la sílaba tónica de la palabra con más tiempo — "I would have accentuated the stressed syllable of the word with more time".

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For acentuar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él acentúe las diferencias entre ambos — "I hope he accentuates the differences between the two".

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past. The -ra forms are shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For acentuar, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo acentuara la vocal en la última sílaba, todo cambiaría — "If I accentuated the vowel in the last syllable, everything would change".

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For acentuar, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Acentúa el problema con sus palabras. — "Accentuate the problem with his words.".

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For acentuar, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No acentúes la sílaba tónica de la palabra. — "Do not accentuate the stressed syllable of the word.".

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with acentuar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Yo acentúo la sílaba tónica de la palabra — "I accentuate the stressed syllable of the word"
  2. Mi amigo acentúa las diferencias entre ambos — "My friend accentuates the differences between the two"
  3. Ayer, yo acentué la vocal en la última sílaba — "Yesterday, I accentuated the vowel in the last syllable"
  4. Antes, nosotros acentuábamos el problema con sus palabras — "Before, we used to accentuate the problem with his words"
  5. Mañana, tú acentuarás la importancia del tema — "Tomorrow, you will accentuate the importance of the topic"
  6. Yo acentuaría la sílaba tónica de la palabra si tuviera más tiempo — "I would accentuate the stressed syllable of the word if I had more time"
  7. Él ha acentuado las diferencias entre ambos — "He has accentuated the differences between the two"
  8. Espero que él acentúe la vocal en la última sílaba — "I hope he accentuates the vowel in the last syllable"
  9. Yo ya había acentuado el problema con sus palabras antes de salir — "I already had accentuated the problem with his words before leaving"
  10. Ellos acentuaban la importancia del tema cuando eran jóvenes — "They used to accentuate the importance of the topic when they were young"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Espero que él acentúa las diferencias entre ambos — Right: Espero que él acentúe las diferencias entre ambos — After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él acentúe las diferencias entre ambos — not the indicative Espero que él acentúa las diferencias entre ambos.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo acentúo la vocal en la última sílaba — Right: Ayer, yo acentué la vocal en la última sílaba — Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo acentué la vocal en la última sílaba.
  3. Wrong: De niño, yo acentué el problema con sus palabras todos los días — Right: De niño, yo acentuaba el problema con sus palabras todos los días — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo acentuaba el problema con sus palabras todos los días.
  4. Wrong: Yo acentúo en la sílaba tónica de la palabra. — Right: Yo acentúo la sílaba tónica de la palabra. — acentuar takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo acentúo la sílaba tónica de la palabra.
  5. Wrong: Vosotros acentuais la importancia del tema. — Right: Vosotros acentuáis la importancia del tema. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: acentuáis, not acentuais.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on acentuar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. 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

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ______ las diferencias entre ambos — "He accentuated the differences between the two" (preterite) A. acentuó B. acentué C. acentuaste D. acentuamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ la vocal en la última sílaba — "We used to accentuate the vowel in the last syllable" (imperfect) A. acentuábamos B. acentuaba C. acentuabas D. acentuabais

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú ______ el problema con sus palabras — "You will accentuate the problem with his words" (future) A. acentuarás B. acentuaré C. acentuará D. acentuaremos

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ la importancia del tema — "I would accentuate the importance of the topic" (conditional) A. acentuarías B. acentuaríamos C. acentuaríais D. acentuaría

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ la sílaba tónica de la palabra — "I hope he accentuates the stressed syllable of the word" (present subjunctive) A. acentuéis B. acentúe C. acentúes D. acentuemos

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ______ las diferencias entre ambos, todo cambiaría — "If I accentuated the differences between the two, everything would change" (imperfect subjunctive) A. acentuara B. acentuaras C. acentuáramos D. acentuarais

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ la vocal en la última sílaba — "We have accentuated the vowel in the last syllable" (present perfect) A. ha acentuado B. hemos acentuado C. he acentuado D. has acentuado

  9. Complete the sentence: No ______ el problema con sus palabras. — "Do not accentuate the problem with his words." (negative imperative) A. acentúes B. acentúe C. acentuemos D. acentuéis

  10. Which is the gerund of acentuar, used with estar for the progressive? A. acentuado B. acentúo C. acentué D. acentuando

Answer key

  1. acentúo — The present form for yo is acentúo.
  2. acentuó — The preterite form for él/ella/Ud. is acentuó.
  3. acentuábamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is acentuábamos.
  4. acentuarás — The future form for tú is acentuarás.
  5. acentuaría — The conditional form for yo is acentuaría.
  6. acentúe — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is acentúe.
  7. acentuara — The imperfect subjunctive form for yo is acentuara.
  8. hemos acentuado — The present perfect form for nosotros/as is hemos acentuado.
  9. acentúes — The negative imperative form is acentúes.
  10. acentuando — The gerund of acentuar is acentuando: estoy acentuando. The participle acentuado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does acentuar mean in English?

acentuar means to accentuate. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo acentúo la sílaba tónica de la palabra — "I accentuate the stressed syllable of the word". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is acentuar regular?

Yes. acentuar is a regular -ar verb, so once you know the endings for its class you can conjugate it in every tense. The only thing to watch is the written accent on some forms, such as acentuáis.

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 I say "I accentuate" in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Ayer, yo acentué las diferencias entre ambos — "Yesterday, I accentuated the differences between the two". For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: De niño, yo acentuaba la vocal en la última sílaba — "As a child, I used to accentuate the vowel in the last syllable". For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Hoy, yo he acentuado las diferencias entre ambos — "Today, I have accentuated the differences between the two".

What is the difference between acentuar and resaltar?

Resaltar is to highlight or stand out. Acentuar is to stress or emphasise a syllable, a difference or a point. 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.

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