-uar Verbs

Verbos –uar con acento

Spanish iar verbs
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Spanish verbs that end in –uar are conjugated with the same endings as regular -ar verbs, but most –uar verbs require an acute accent (tilde) on the u in certain forms of the present tense, subjunctive, and imperative.

-uar verbs

All –uar verbs except those that end in –cuar or –guar need ú in all but the nosotros and vosotros forms.

Por ejemplo, evaluar:

Present tense

yo evalúo   nosotros  evaluamos
evalúas   vosotros evaluáis
él evalúa   ellos evalúan

Subjunctive

yo evalúe   nosotros  evaluemos
evalúes   vosotros evaluéis
él evalúe   ellos evalúen

Imperative

evalúa, no evalúes
Ud. evalúe
nosotros evaluemos
vosotros evaluad, no evaluéis
Uds. evalúen

-uar verbs with ú

acentuar   to emphasize, accentuate
actuar   to act
atenuar   to attenuate
conceptuar   to deem
continuar   to continue
desvirtuar   to spoil
efectuar   to carry out, effect
evaluar   to assess, evaluate
exceptuar   to except
extenuar   to emaciate
fluctuar   to fluctuate
graduar   to grade
habituar   to habituate
individuar   to individualize
infatuar   to infatuate
insinuar   to hint, insinuate
menstruar   to menstruate
perpetuar   to perpetuate
preceptuar   to establish, lay down
puntuar   to punctuate, to assess
redituar   to yield (a profit)
situar   to situate
tatuar   to tattoo
valuar   to value

-guar verbs

Spanish verbs that end in –guar do not have an acute accent on the u, because that letter is not stressed. However, because these are spelling change verbs, a dieresis is required on the u in all the conjugations where it’s followed by e in order to maintain the correct pronunciation.

Por ejemplo, aguar:

Pretérito

yo agüé   nosotros  aguamos
aguaste   vosotros aguasteis
él aguó   ellos aguaron

Subjunctive

yo agüe   nosotros  agüemos
agües   vosotros agüéis
él agüe   ellos agüen

Imperative

  agua, no agües
Ud.   agüe
nosotros   agüemos
vosotros   aguad, no agüéis
Uds.   agüen

-guar verbs conjugated with ü

aguar   to water
amenguar   to lessen, diminish
amortiguar   to muffle, cushion
apaciguar   to appease
atestiguar   to testify
averiguar   to find out
desaguar   to drain
fraguar   to forge, harden
menguar   to decrease
santiguar   to bless

-cuar verbs

Spanish verbs that end in –cuar are exceptions to all of the above: they do not have any kind of accent on the u, and are thus conjugated exactly like regular –ar verbs.

Por ejemplo, evacuar:

yo evacuo   nosotros  evacuamos
evacuas   vosotros evacuáis
él evacua   ellos evacuan

-cuar verbs conjugated with no accent on u

adecuar   to adapt
anticuar   to antiquate, outdate
colicuar   to melt, dissolve
evacuar   to evacuate
licuar   to blend, liquify
oblicuar   to slant, tilt, deviate
promiscuar   to do two things simultaneously

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Spanish verbs with irregular accentuation

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