Spanish conjugation explanation
Spelling change: -uar → -ú-
<p>For many verbs ending in <strong style="font-style: italic">-uar</strong>, the letter <strong>u</strong> receives a written accent mark (<strong class="green_emphasis">ú</strong>) in the singular forms and the third-person plural. This spelling change occurs to reflect the correct pronunciation and stress of the word.</p>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Affected Verbs and Forms</div>
<p>This change affects the
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/14/" target="_blank">Present Indicative</a>
, the<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/19/" target="_blank">Present Subjunctive</a>
, and the<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/22/" target="_blank">Imperative</a>
.</p><p>Common verbs that follow this pattern include:
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/actuar/" title="Click to see conjugations for actuar" target="_blank">actuar</a>
,<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/continuar/" title="Click to see conjugations for continuar" target="_blank">continuar</a>
,<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/efectuar/" title="Click to see conjugations for efectuar" target="_blank">efectuar</a>
,<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/evaluar/" title="Click to see conjugations for evaluar" target="_blank">evaluar</a>
,<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/graduar/" title="Click to see conjugations for graduar" target="_blank">graduar</a>
, and<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/situar/" title="Click to see conjugations for situar" target="_blank">situar</a>
.</p><p>In the following tables, you can see how the stem changes for the verb
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/continuar/" title="Click to see conjugations for continuar" target="_blank">continuar</a>
(<span style="font-style: italic">to continue</span>). The forms requiring the accent mark are highlighted.</p><div class="study_conjugations_tense_container">
<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/14/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Presente</a>
<div class="study_conjugations_conjugation conjugations_table two_columns">
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
yo
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">continúo<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
tú
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">continúas<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
él
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">continúa<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
nosotros
</span>continuamos
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
vosotros
</span>continuáis
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
ellos
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">continúan<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_tense_container">
<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/19/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Presente subjuntivo</a>
<div class="study_conjugations_conjugation conjugations_table two_columns">
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
yo
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">continúe<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
tú
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">continúes<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
él
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">continúe<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
nosotros
</span>continuemos
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
vosotros
</span>continuéis
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
ellos
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">continúen<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_tense_container">
<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/22/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Imperativo afirmativo</a>
<div class="study_conjugations_conjugation conjugations_table two_columns">
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">---</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(tú)
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">continúa<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(usted)
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">continúe<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(nosotros)
</span>continuemos
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(vosotros)
</span>continuad
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(ustedes)
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">continúen<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">The Logic: Diphthongs vs. Hiatus</div>
<p>In Spanish, when a weak vowel (<span style="font-style: italic">i</span> or <span style="font-style: italic">u</span>) is next to a strong vowel (<span style="font-style: italic">a, e, o</span>), they normally combine to form a single syllable called a <strong>diphthong</strong>.</p>
<ul>
<li>Example: <span style="font-style: italic">agua</span> [a-gua] (2 syllables) → the stress is on the first <em>a</em>.</li>
<li>Example: <span style="font-style: italic">continuo</span> (adjective) [con-ti-nuo] (3 syllables) → the stress is naturally on the <em>ti</em>.</li>
</ul>
<p>However, in the conjugated verb forms like <span style="font-style: italic">continúo</span>, the stress falls specifically on the <strong>u</strong>. To pronounce the <span style="font-style: italic">u</span> strongly and separate it from the following vowel (creating a <strong>hiatus</strong>), Spanish requires a written accent mark.</p>
<p style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;">con-ti-nuo → con-ti-<strong>nú</strong>-o</p>
<p>In forms where the stress falls on the ending (like <span style="font-style: italic">continuamos</span>), the <span style="font-style: italic">u</span> is not stressed, so it reverts to a weak vowel forming a diphthong, and no accent mark is needed.</p>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Important Exceptions</div>
<p><strong>1. Verbs ending in -guar</strong></p>
<p>Verbs ending in <strong style="font-style: italic">-guar</strong>, such as
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/esp/averiguar/" title="Click to see conjugations for averiguar" target="_blank">averiguar</a>
(<span style="font-style: italic">to find out</span>), do <strong>not</strong> take an accent mark on the <em>u</em>. In these verbs, the <em>u</em> is pronounced like an English "w" and is not stressed.</p><div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Yo <span class="green_emphasis">averiguo</span> la respuesta. (<span style="font-style: italic">I find out the answer.</span>)</div>
<p>Note that <em>-guar</em> verbs have a different spelling change in the subjunctive to preserve the "gw" sound (see
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/conjugationExplanation/spanish_orthograpic_change_guar_gü/" target="_blank">Spelling change: -guar → -gü-</a>
).</p><p><strong>2. Verbs ending in -cuar</strong></p>
<p>Some verbs ending in <strong style="font-style: italic">-cuar</strong> (like <span style="font-style: italic">adecuar</span> or <span style="font-style: italic">evacuar</span>) are considered "vacillating", meaning both pronunciations are acceptable. Therefore, they can be spelled with or without the accent mark (e.g., <span style="font-style: italic">evacuo</span> or <span style="font-style: italic">evacúo</span>), though the accented form is becoming more standard in modern Spanish.</p>