Actuar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of actuar — "to act" 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 actuar 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. Actuar means to act, and it covers acting in a play or a film, performing on stage and, figuratively, acting in a certain way in a situation. It is a regular -ar verb with an accent on the u in some forms, such as actúo, which is its main spelling point. To see it in a real sentence: Él actúa en la obra del colegio. — "He/she acts in the school play." Work through the table below, then the formation notes, the usage rules and the contrast with the preterite, and test yourself at the end.

Present tense conjugation table: actuar

Every person of actuar in the present tense. The gerund is actuando and the past participle is actuado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo actúo
tú actúas
él/ella/Ud. actúa
nosotros/as actuamos
vosotros/as actuáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. actúan

How the present indicative of actuar is formed

The present indicative of actuar is built from the stem actu- 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 actúo
tú -as actúas
él/ella/Ud. -a actúa
nosotros/as -amos actuamos
vosotros/as -áis actuáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an actúan

The gerund of actuar is actuando and the past participle is actuado. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.

When to use the present tense of actuar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and actuar 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 tense describes things you do regularly. If you do it every day, every week or every morning, the present is the tense to use. For actuar, this use looks like this: "Yo actúo en la obra del colegio." — "I act in the school play." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

General facts

The present tense states facts that are generally true, not tied to one moment. It is the tense for definitions and permanent situations. For actuar, this use looks like this: "Él actúa en una película de comedia." — "He/she acts in a comedy film." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

What is happening now

The present tense also covers what is happening at this moment, especially with verbs that describe an action in progress. For actuar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros actuamos con calma en la crisis." — "We act calmly in the crisis." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Timetables and schedules

The present tense is used for fixed plans and timetables, such as trains, classes and opening times, even when they refer to the future. For actuar, this use looks like this: "Ellos actúan en el teatro de la ciudad." — "They act in the city theatre." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Instructions and requests

The present tense appears in instructions and polite requests, where it sounds softer than a direct command. For actuar, this use looks like this: "Tú actúas en la obra del colegio." — "You act in the school play." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

The present tense vs the preterite

Learners often mix up the present and the preterite with actuar. The rule is simple: the present is for habits, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite is for one finished action in the past. The three pairs below show the same idea in both tenses, so you can feel the difference.

Pair 1: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Yo actúo en la obra del colegio." — "I act in the school play."
  • Preterite: "Yo actué en la obra del colegio." — "I acted in the school play." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 2: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Él actúa en una película de comedia." — "He/she acts in a comedy film."
  • Preterite: "Él actuó en una película de comedia." — "He/she acted in a comedy film." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 3: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Nosotros actuamos con calma en la crisis." — "We act calmly in the crisis."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros actuamos con calma en la crisis." — "We acted calmly in the crisis." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Example sentences in the present tense

Eight natural sentences with actuar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo actúo en la obra del colegio. — I act in the school play.
  2. Tú actúas en una película de comedia. — You act in a comedy film.
  3. Él actúa con calma en la crisis. — He/she acts calmly in the crisis.
  4. Nosotros actuamos en el teatro de la ciudad. — We act in the city theatre.
  5. Vosotros actuáis en la obra del colegio. — You all act in the school play.
  6. Ellos actúan en una película de comedia. — They act in a comedy film.
  7. Yo actúo con calma en la crisis. — I act calmly in the crisis.
  8. Él actúa en el teatro de la ciudad. — He/she acts in the city theatre.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo actuo en una película de comedia. — Right: Yo actúo en una película de comedia. — In the present, the correct first-person form is actúo, not actuo. The present of actuar does not follow the regular pattern here, so learn the form from the table.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo actúo con calma en la crisis. — Right: Ayer, yo actué con calma en la crisis. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (actué), not the present (actúo). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo actúa en la obra del colegio. — Right: Yo actúo en la obra del colegio. — The person matters: actúa is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is actúo.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy actuado en una película de comedia. — Right: Yo he actuado en una película de comedia. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he actuado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ en la obra del colegio. (present tense) A. actúo B. actúas C. actúa D. actuamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ en una película de comedia. (present tense) A. actúas B. actúo C. actúa D. actuamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ con calma en la crisis. (present tense) A. actúa B. actúo C. actúas D. actuamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ en el teatro de la ciudad. (present tense) A. actuamos B. actúo C. actúas D. actúa

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ en la obra del colegio. (present tense) A. actuáis B. actúo C. actúas D. actúa

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ en una película de comedia. (present tense) A. actúan B. actúo C. actúas D. actúa

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ con calma en la crisis. (present tense) A. actúo B. actúas C. actúa D. actuamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ en el teatro de la ciudad. (present tense) A. actúa B. actúo C. actúas D. actuamos

Answer key

  1. actúo — The yo present form of actuar is actúo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. actúas — The tu present form of actuar is actúas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. actúa — The el present form of actuar is actúa. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. actuamos — The nosotros present form of actuar is actuamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. actuáis — The vosotros present form of actuar is actuáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. actúan — The ellos present form of actuar is actúan. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. actúo — The yo present form of actuar is actúo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. actúa — The el present form of actuar is actúa. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of actuar?

Use the present tense of actuar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo actúo en la obra del colegio. — "I act in the school play." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of actuar formed?

Take the stem actu- and add the present endings for -ar verbs. The full table is at the top of this page.

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

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo actúo en una película de comedia. with Yo actué en una película de comedia. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of actuar?

Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the actuar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Actuar conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.

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