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SPANISH VERB

actuar

to act

  • #168 most used
  • Irregular -ar verb
  • Gerund: actuando
  • Past participle: actuado

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I act
  2. tú you act
  3. usted, él, ella he/she acts
  4. nosotros we act
  5. vosotros Spain you all act
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they act

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I acted
  2. tú you acted
  3. usted, él, ella he/she acted
  4. nosotros we acted
  5. vosotros Spain you all acted
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they acted

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to act
  2. tú you used to act
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to act
  4. nosotros we used to act
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to act
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to act

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will act
  2. tú you will act
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will act
  4. nosotros we will act
  5. vosotros Spain you all will act
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will act

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would act
  2. tú you would act
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would act
  4. nosotros we would act
  5. vosotros Spain you all would act
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would act

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I act
  2. tú (that) you act
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she act
  4. nosotros (that) we act
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all act
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they act

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I acted
  2. tú (if) you acted
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she acted
  4. nosotros (if) we acted
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all acted
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they acted

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú act!
  2. usted act! (formal)
  3. nosotros act! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain act! (all of you)
  5. ustedes act! (all of you)

How to use actuar

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Mi sobrino actúa en una obra de la escuela.

    My nephew is acting in a school play.

  2. Past

    El médico actuó rápido y salvó al niño.

    The doctor acted fast and saved the boy.

  3. Imperfect

    De joven actuaba en un teatro pequeño del barrio.

    When I was young I acted in a small neighborhood theater.

  4. Future

    Si pasa algo, actuaremos con calma.

    If something happens, we'll act calmly.

  5. Conditional

    ¿Cómo actuarías tú en mi lugar?

    How would you act in my place?

  6. Present subjunctive

    Es hora de que actúes, no solo de hablar.

    It's time for you to act, not just talk.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Me pidieron que actuara como si no supiera nada.

    They asked me to act as if I knew nothing.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Actúa con naturalidad, nadie se dará cuenta!

    Act natural, nobody will notice!

Good to know

  • "Actuar" is to act in both senses: on stage, and to take action: "hay que actuar rápido".

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -ar verb.