act – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of act

Nominal Forms

Infinitive: to act
Participle: acted
Gerund: acting

Cognates

-

Indicative

Present

Iact
youact
he;she;itacts
weact
youact
theyact

Perfect

Ihave acted
youhave acted
he;she;ithas acted
wehave acted
youhave acted
theyhave acted

Past

Iacted
youacted
he;she;itacted
weacted
youacted
theyacted

Pluperfect

Ihad acted
youhad acted
he;she;ithad acted
wehad acted
youhad acted
theyhad acted

Future

Iwill act
youwill act
he;she;itwill act
wewill act
youwill act
theywill act

Future Perfect

Iwill have acted
youwill have acted
he;she;itwill have acted
wewill have acted
youwill have acted
theywill have acted

Subjunctive

Present

Iact
youact
he;she;itact
weact
youact
theyact

Perfect

Ihave acted
youhave acted
he;she;ithave acted
wehave acted
youhave acted
theyhave acted

Imperfect

Iacted
youacted
he;she;itacted
weacted
youacted
theyacted

Pluperfect

Ihad acted
youhad acted
he;she;ithad acted
wehad acted
youhad acted
theyhad acted

Conditional

Present

Iwould act
youwould act
he;she;itwould act
wewould act
youwould act
theywould act

Perfect

Iwould have acted
youwould have acted
he;she;itwould have acted
wewould have acted
youwould have acted
theywould have acted

Imperative

youact
weLet's act
youact

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

Iam acting
youare acting
he;she;itis acting
weare acting
youare acting
theyare acting

Perfect

Ihave been acting
youhave been acting
he;she;ithas been acting
wehave been acting
youhave been acting
theyhave been acting

Past

Iwas acting
youwere acting
he;she;itwas acting
wewere acting
youwere acting
theywere acting

Pluperfect

Ihad been acting
youhad been acting
he;she;ithad been acting
wehad been acting
youhad been acting
theyhad been acting

Future

Iwill be acting
youwill be acting
he;she;itwill be acting
wewill be acting
youwill be acting
theywill be acting

Future Perfect

Iwill have been acting
youwill have been acting
he;she;itwill have been acting
wewill have been acting
youwill have been acting
theywill have been acting

Conditional

Present

Iwould be acting
youwould be acting
he;she;itwould be acting
wewould be acting
youwould be acting
theywould be acting

Perfect

Iwould have been acting
youwould have been acting
he;she;itwould have been acting
wewould have been acting
youwould have been acting
theywould have been acting

Other

Verbs conjugated like 'act'

abandon, abduct, abear, aberr, abject, abord, abort, abound, abraid, abray, abrook, abscind, abscond, absist, absorb, abstain, abstract, accend, accent, accept, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)

Verbs similar to 'act'

ace, ant, apt, pact, tact, aah, ab, abet, abut, ache,

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

do
bear, execute, officiate, make, transact, react, move
behave
deal, seem, appear, conduct, deport, perform
dramatize
present, play, imitate, simulate, rehearse, impersonate, parody, represent
fake
pretend, counterfeit, impersonate, feign, sham, imitate

Antonyms

to delay movement or action until some event or time; to remain neglected or in readiness
go it blind, grasp, grasp the nettle, jump at the chance, jump on, jump the gun, shoot first and ask questions later, shoot from the hip, wait
do
fail, miss, omit, neglect

Additional Information

Etymology

1. c.1384, from O.Fr. acte, from L. actus "a doing" and actum "a thing done," both from agere "to do, set in motion, drive, urge, chase, stir up," from PIE root *ag- "to drive, draw out or forth, move" (cf. Gk. agein "to lead, guide, drive, carry off," agon "assembly, contest in the games," agogos "leader;" Skt. ajati "drives," ajirah "moving, active;" O.N. aka "to drive;" M.Ir. ag "battle"). Theatrical (1520) and legislative (1458) senses of the word also were in Latin. The verb is first attested 1475; in the theatrical performance sense it is from 1594. In the act "in the process" is from 1596, originally from the 16c. sense of the act as "sexual intercourse." Act of God "uncontrollable natural force" first recorded 1882. To act out "behave anti-socially" (1974) is from psychiatric sense of "expressing one's unconscious impulses or desires."
2. Etymology tree
3. Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-
4. Proto-Indo-European *-eti
5. Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti
6. Proto-Italic *agō
7. Latin agō
8. Latin ācta
9. Old French actbor.
10. Middle English acte
11. English act
12. From Middle English acte, from Old French acte, from Latin ācta (“register of events”), plural of āctum (“decree, law”), from agere (“to do, to act”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti. Compare German Akte (“file”). Partially displaced deed, from Old English dǣd (“act, deed”). See: Proto-Indo-European '*h₂éǵeti'.

Verbs referencing "act"

Esperanto agi, Thai แอ๊บแบ๊ว.

Sample Sentences

  • [...] and pleasant feature of all such institutions in America, that they are either supported by the State or assisted by the State; or (in the event of their not needing its helping hand ) that they act in concert with it, and are emphatically the people 's. I cannot but think, with a view to the principle and its tendency to elevate or depress the character of the industrious classes, that a [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] the State Hospital for the insane; admirably conducted on those enlightened principles of conciliation and kindness, which twenty years ago would have been worse than heretical, and which have been acted upon with so much success in our own pauper Asylum at Hanwell. ‘Evince a desire to show some confidence, and repose some trust, even in mad people, ’ said the resident physician, as we walked along [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • Andy grinned. “ Yer see, ” said Sam, “ yer see, Andy, if any such thing should happen as that Mas’r Haley's horse _should_ begin to act contrary, and cut up, you and I jist lets go of our’n to help him, and _we'll help him_—oh yes ! ” And Sam and Andy laid their heads back on their shoulders, and broke into a low, immoderate laugh, [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • So spoke this poor, heathenish Kentuckian, who had not been instructed in his constitutional relations, and consequently was betrayed into acting in a sort of Christianized manner, which, if he had been better situated and more enlightened, he would not have been left to do. (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • “ Wal, I can't help it, ” said Aunt Chloe, hiding her face in her apron; “ I ’ s so tossed about it, it makes me act ugly. ” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] on the ground-floor were lighted up, and a military band was playing in the hall. In the smaller drawing-room, the centre of a circle of company, were the President and his daughter-in-law, who acted as the lady of the mansion; and a very interesting, graceful, and accomplished lady too. One gentleman who stood among this group, appeared to take upon himself the functions of a master of the [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] is scarcely a man who is in anything different from his neighbour. It is quite a relief to have, sitting opposite, that little girl of fifteen with the loquacious chin: who, to do her justice, acts up to it, and fully identifies nature 's handwriting, for of all the small chatterboxes that ever invaded the repose of drowsy ladies ’ cabin, she is the first and foremost. The beautiful girl, who [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] prison, which was pretty far advanced towards completion. The female prisoners were occupied in needlework. Among them was a beautiful girl of twenty, who had been there nearly three years. She acted as bearer of secret despatches for the self-styled Patriots on Navy Island, during the Canadian Insurrection: sometimes dressing as a girl, and carrying them in her stays; sometimes attiring herself [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • “ What poor, mean trash this whole business of human virtue is ! A mere matter, for the most part, of latitude and longitude, and geographical position, acting with natural temperament. The greater part is nothing but an accident ! Your father, for example, settles in Vermont, in a town where all are, in fact, free and equal; becomes a regular church [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • “ Now, I know every word you are going to say. I do not say they _were_ alike, in fact. One fell into a condition where everything acted against the natural tendency, and the other where everything acted for it; and so one turned out a pretty wilful, stout, overbearing old democrat, and the other a wilful, stout old despot. If [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • - You 're acting like a child. - No, no, no, - Okay, lower your voice. - No, no, no, no, (Psycho Therapy: The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write about a Serial Killer)