Spanish Accents

Which Spanish vowels are considered strong vowels?

a, e, o

Which Spanish vowels are considered weak?

i, u,

As a memory aid, remember that " You and I are weak".

(Rule 4) What is a Diphthong?

a word with the combination of a weak vowels (U&I) with strong vowels (A, E, O) example: tío, mío, río, Raúl

In a Diphthong, where do you place the accent mark?

over the weak vowel (U or I)

How many syllables do two strong vowels make in a word?

2, since each strong vowels makes its own syllable

(Rule 1) What is Aguda?

a word with the stress is on the last syllable

mamá, camión, pared, llamó, Tomás

What is the rule for putting an accent mark on an Aguda word? (Rule 1)

if the stress is on the last syllable and ends with a" Vowel, N or S"

(Rule 2) What is Grave?

a word where the stress is on the "next to the last syllable"

What is the rule for putting the accent mark on Grave words? (Rule 2)

You write the accent mark if the word ends with a consonant except N or S.

What is Esdújula? (Rule 3)

A word where the stress is on the third syllable from the end of the word. example: última, cántico, rápido

What is the rule for putting the accent mark on an Esdújula word? (Rule 3)

You always write the accent mark on esdújula words regardless of the ending.

What is to "Differentiate" (Rule 5)

words that are spelled identical, but have different meanings. el (the)/ él (he), tu (your) / tú (you), solo (alone) / sólo (only)

Examples of Rule #1. (Aguda) Words ending in a vowel, n, or s.

For words that end in a vowel, the letter "n," or the letter "s," the stress is on the next to last syllable.

Examples:

todo (to-do) all/every

inteligente (in-te-li-gen-te) smart

el examen (e-xa-men) exam

joven (jo-ven) young

lunes (lu-nes) Monday

los calcetines (cal-ce-ti-nes) socks

2. Words ending in a consonant (not n, s)

For words that end in all other consonants (not "n" or "s"), the stress falls on the last syllable.

Examples:

comer (co-mer) to eat

la ciudad (ciu-dad) the city

el profesor (pro-fe-sor) the professor/teacher

el animal (a-ni-mal) the animal

Madrid (Ma-drid) Madrid

And that's it! Think you can remember those two rules?

(For those interested in Spanish syllable breaks, but not interested enough to learn all of the rules behind the splits just yet, you can use this handy tool to break any Spanish word into its correct syllables.)

When to add Spanish accent marks

We add accent marks to Spanish words when the stress breaks either of those two rules.

Let's look at one example in detail first, the word from my vocabulary test: los exámenes. The word ends in an "s", so according to the first rule, the stress should fall on the next to last syllable: ex-am-en-es. But it doesn't.

Rather, the word keeps the same stress as its singular form, on what is now the third to last syllable, so we add an accent mark: exámenes (e-xa-me-nes). That's it!

Examples of words that break rule #1

Here are some examples of Spanish words with accent marks that break rule #1. You'll notice none of the stresses fall on the second to last syllable, as they normally would.

la canción (can-cion) song

también (tam-bien) also

los crímenes (cri-me-nes) crimes

jamás (ja-mas) never

inglés (in-gles) English

rápido (ra-pi-do) fast

está (es-ta) is, third person singular of the verb estar

Accents are found on all interrogative words when used in a question, indirect question or embedded question.

¿Quién? (Who?)

¿Qué? (What? / Which?)

¿Dónde? (Where?)

¿Cuándo? (When?)

¿Por qué? (Why?)

¿Cómo? (How?)

¿Cuál? (Which?)

¿Cuánto? (How much/many?)

Indirect and embedded questions carry accents

Whenever the word "cuánto" means "how much/many," it carries an accent:

No sé cuántos hay. (I don't know how many there are.)

When the word "cómo" translates to "how," it carries an accent - no matter where it falls in the sentence. (Without the accent, "como" means "like" or "as".)

No entiendo cómo lo hace. (I don't understand how he does it.)

Likewise, when "qué" means an interrogative "what," it must carry an accent.

No sé qué hacer. (I don't know what to do.)

Question words used as pronouns do not have accents

When these words are not used in a question or indirect question, but rather as a pronoun, there is no accent mark. Here are three example sentences of this situation:

El chico que dijo eso es mentiroso. (The boy who said that is a liar.)

Es el parque donde conocí a tu madre. (It's the park where I met your mother.)

No trabajo cuando estoy enferma. (I don't work when I'm sick.)

Demonstrative pronouns

Finally, Spanish accents are used in feminine and masculine demonstrative pronouns (this one, that one) to differentiate them from the demonstrative adjectives (this -, that -), which are identical except that they don't carry an accent mark.* Remember, pronouns take the place of a noun, while adjectives describe nouns. The example sentences below the following lists of pronouns will help clarify this distinction if you're a bit rusty on grammar terminology.

Masculine

éste (this)

éstos (these)

ése (that)

ésos (those)

aquél (that over there)

aquéllos (those over there)

Feminine

ésta (this)

éstas (these)

ésa (that)

ésas (those)

aquélla (that over there)

aquéllas (those over there)

Neuter

esto (this)

eso (that)

aquello (that over there)

Example sentences:

No quiero comprar este coche; mi novia prefiere ése.

(I don't want to buy this car; my girlfriend prefers that one.)

Example sentences:

Este libro es tan interesante como ése.

(This book is as interesting as that one.)

Example sentences:

Soy editora de estas revistas, pero no de aquéllas.

(I'm an editor of these magazines, but not those over there.)

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

hablar

hablar, rule 1 Aguda

THE STRESS IS ON THE LAST SYLLABLE BUT THE WORD DOES NOT END WITH A VOWEL AN "N" OR "S"

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

comer

comer, rule 1, aguda

THE STRESS IS ON THE LAST SYLLABLE BUT THE WORD DOES NOT END WITH A VOWEL AN "N" OR "S"

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

procesion

procesión, rule 1, aguda

THE STRESS IS ON THE LAST SYLLABLE and the WORD ends with an N, accent mark goes on last vowel

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

liquidacion

liquidación, rule 1, aguda

THE STRESS IS ON THE LAST SYLLABLE and the WORD ends with an N, accent mark goes on last vowel

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

ascensor

asensor, rule 1, aguda

THE STRESS IS ON THE LAST SYLLABLE BUT THE WORD DOES NOT END WITH A VOWEL AN "N" OR "S"

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

peor

peor

Agunda; THE STRESS IS ON THE LAST SYLLABLE BUT THE WORD DOES NOT END WITH A VOWEL AN "N" OR "S"

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

mama

mamá, rule 1, aguda

THE STRESS IS ON THE LAST SYLLABLE and the WORD ends with a Vowel, accent mark goes on last vowel.

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

fijo

fijó, rule 1, aguda

THE STRESS IS ON THE LAST SYLLABLE and the WORD ends with a Vowel, accent mark goes on last vowel.

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

corazon

corazón, rule 1, aguda

THE STRESS IS ON THE LAST SYLLABLE and the WORD ends with a Vowel, accent mark goes on last vowel.

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

Tomas

Tomás, rule 1, aguda

THE STRESS IS ON THE LAST SYLLABLE BUT THE WORD DOES NOT END WITH A VOWEL AN "N" OR "S"

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

llave

llave, rule 2, Grave, stress is on the next to the last syllable

no accent the word because it does not end with a consonant, other then "N" or "S"

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

bolsillo

bolsillo, rule 2, grave, stress is on the next to the last syllable

no accent the word because it does not end with a consonant, other then "N" or "S"

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

Lopez

López, rule 2, grave, stress is on the next to the last syllable

word ends in a consonant other then "N" or "S"

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

vasijas

vasijas, rule 2, grave, stress is on the next to the last syllable

no accent the word because it does not end with a consonant, other then "N" or "S"

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

zapatilla

zapatilla, rule 2, grave, stress is on the next to the last syllable

no accent the word because it does not end with a consonant, other then "N" or "S"

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

lapiz

lápiz, rule 2, grave, stress is on the next to the last syllable

word ends in a consonant other then "N" or "S"

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

accento

accento, rule 2, grave, stress is on the next to the last syllable

no accent the word because it does not end with a consonant, other then "N" or "S"

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

paciente

paciente, rule 2, grave, stress is on the next to the last syllable

no accent the word because it does not end with a consonant, other then "N" or "S"

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

fiebre

fiebre, rule 2, grave, stress is on the next to the last syllable

no accent the word because it does not end with a consonant, other then "N" or "S"

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

arbol

árbol, rule 2, grave, stress is on the next to the last syllable

word ends in a consonant other then "N" or "S"

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

ultimo

último, rule 3, esdrujula, stress is o the third syllable from the end of the word

All esdrujulas have the accent mark on the third syllable from the end of the word

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

antibiotico

antibiótico, rule 3, esdrujula, stress is o the third syllable from the end of the word

All esdrujulas have the accent mark on the third syllable from the end of the word

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

cantico

cántico, rule 3, esdrujula, stress is o the third syllable from the end of the word

All esdrujulas have the accent mark on the third syllable from the end of the word

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

camara

cámara, rule 3, esdrujula, stress is o the third syllable from the end of the word

All esdrujulas have the accent mark on the third syllable from the end of the word

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

numero

número, rule 3, esdrujula, stress is o the third syllable from the end of the word

All esdrujulas have the accent mark on the third syllable from the end of the word

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

telefonica

telefónica, rule 3, esdrujula, stress is o the third syllable from the end of the word

All esdrujulas have the accent mark on the third syllable from the end of the word

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

comodo

cómodo, rule 3, esdrujula, stress is o the third syllable from the end of the word

All esdrujulas have the accent mark on the third syllable from the end of the word

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

credito

crédito, rule 3, esdrujula, stress is o the third syllable from the end of the word

All esdrujulas have the accent mark on the third syllable from the end of the word

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

telefono

teléfono, rule 3, esdrujula, stress is o the third syllable from the end of the word

All esdrujulas have the accent mark on the third syllable from the end of the word

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

aguila

águila, rule 3, esdrujula, stress is o the third syllable from the end of the word

All esdrujulas have the accent mark on the third syllable from the end of the word

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

dia

día, rule 4, diphthong, a combination of a weak vowel with a strong vowel.

The accent mark goes over the weak vowel (U or I)

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

maiz

maíz, rule 4, diphthong, a combination of a weak vowel with a strong vowel.

The accent mark goes over the weak vowel (U or I)

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

todavia

todavía, rule 4, diphthong, a combination of a weak vowel with a strong vowel.

The accent mark goes over the weak vowel (U or I)

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

antropologia

antropología, rule 4, diphthong, a combination of a weak vowel with a strong vowel.

The accent mark goes over the weak vowel (U or I)

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

rio

río, rule 4, diphthong, a combination of a weak vowel with a strong vowel.

The accent mark goes over the weak vowel (U or I)

For the word below, where if at all, do you put the accent mark? and which rule is it?

grua

grúa, rule 4, diphthong, a combination of a weak vowel with a strong vowel.

The accent mark goes over the weak vowel (U or I)

Which rule does the word below belong to?

calle

grave

Which rule does the word below belong to?

color

aguda

Which rule does the word below belong to?

avión

aguda

Which rule does the word below belong to?

rápido

esdrujula

Which rule does the word below belong to?

lección

aguda

Which rule does the word below belong to?

americanos

grave

Which rule does the word below belong to?

hablan

grave

Which rule does the word below belong to?

feliz

aguda

Which rule does the word below belong to?

árbol

grave