acertar Present Conjugation
acertar — to get right
Acertar is a 'boot verb' where the 'e' changes to 'ie' in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
acertar Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present tense to talk about getting an answer right, hitting a target, or making a correct decision in the moment or as a general habit.
Notes on acertar in the Present
This is an e-to-ie stem-changing verb. The change happens in the 'boot' (yo, tú, él, ellos), but the 'e' stays the same in nosotros and vosotros.
Example Sentences
Siempre acierto las preguntas de geografía.
I always get the geography questions right.
yo
Tú aciertas con todos tus regalos.
You get it right with all your gifts.
tú
Nosotros nunca acertamos el número de la lotería.
We never get the lottery number right.
nosotros
Ellos aciertan a la primera.
They get it right on the first try.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'acerto' instead of 'acierto'.
Correct: acierto
Why: Acertar is a stem-changing verb; the 'e' must become 'ie' when stressed.
Mistake: Using 'aciertamos' for the we form.
Correct: acertamos
Why: The stem change never occurs in the nosotros or vosotros forms.
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: acerté
In the preterite, acertar is completely regular: acerté, acertaste, acertó, acertamos, acertasteis, acertaron.
Imperfect
yo: acertaba
The imperfect of acertar is regular: acertaba, acertabas, acertaba, acertábamos, acertabais, acertaban.
Future
yo: acertaré
The future is regular: just add -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án to the full infinitive 'acertar'.
Conditional
yo: acertaría
The conditional is regular: add -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían to the infinitive 'acertar'.
Present Subjunctive
yo: acierte
The present subjunctive follows the 'ie' stem change: acierte, aciertes, acierte, acertemos, acertéis, acierten.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: acertara
The imperfect subjunctive is regular based on the preterite stem: acertara, acertaras, acertara, acertáramos, acertarais, acertaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: acierta
The affirmative command uses 'acierta' (tú) and 'acierte' (usted), following the stem change.
Negative Imperative
yo: no aciertes
Negative commands use 'no' plus the present subjunctive forms: no aciertes, no acierte, no acertemos, no acertéis, no acierten.