Practice Makes Perfect: Complete Spanish All-in-One

Spelling,pronunciation and punctation

Grammar Rule: Spelling

Spanish spelling rules are closely tied to its pronunciation, making it generally more consistent than English. Here are some key grammar rules for spelling in Spanish:

Vowels

Spanish has five vowels: a, e, i, o, u. Each has a consistent pronunciation:

- a as in "car"

- e as in "bed"

- i as in "see"

- o as in "note"

- u as in "boot"

Consonants

1. B and V: Both are pronounced similarly, like the English "b".

- e.g., "bien" (good) and "vaca" (cow).

2. C:

- Before "e" or "i", it's pronounced like "th" in Spain (think "cent") and like "s" in Latin America (e.g., "cena" – dinner).

- Otherwise, it’s like a "k" (e.g., "casa" – house).

3. G:

- Before "e" or "i", it's a guttural sound, like a throaty "h" (e.g., "gente" – people).

- Otherwise, it’s a hard "g" as in "go" (e.g., "gato" – cat).

4. H: Always silent (e.g., "hombre" – man).

5. J: Like the guttural "h" in English, but stronger (e.g., "jugar" – to play).

6. LL: Pronounced like "y" in "yes" (e.g., "llama" – flame/llama), though some regions pronounce it like "j" in "measure".

7. Ñ: Pronounced like "ny" in "canyon" (e.g., "niño" – child).

8. Q: Always followed by "ue" or "ui", pronounced like "k" (e.g., "que" – what).

9. R: Rolled or trilled, especially at the beginning of a word (e.g., "río" – river).

10. RR: Strongly trilled, only found between vowels (e.g., "perro" – dog).

11. Z: Like "th" in "thin" in Spain and like "s" in Latin America (e.g., "zapato" – shoe).

Capitalization

- Proper nouns: Capitalized as in English (e.g., "Madrid").

- Days of the week and months: Not capitalized (e.g., "lunes" – Monday, "enero" – January).

Grammar Rules; Accent marks

Words ending in a vowel, 'n', or 's':

- Stress falls on the second-to-last syllable:

- mesa (table)

- joven (young)

- libros (books)

- If the word deviates from this pattern, an accent mark is used:

- canción (song)

- común (common)

- inglés (English)

Words ending in any other consonant:

- Stress falls on the last syllable:

- hotel (hotel)

- comer (to eat)

- reloj (clock)

- If the word deviates from this pattern, an accent mark is used:

- árbol (tree)

- lápiz (pencil)

- fácil (easy)

Question words and exclamations:

- These always have an accent mark:

- qué (what)

- quién (who)

- dónde (where)

- cuándo (when)

- cómo (how)

- cuánto (how much)

Diphthongs and hiatus:

- Diphthong (two vowels together in the same syllable):

- aire (air)

- cielo (sky)

- miedo (fear)

- Hiatus (two vowels together but in different syllables, often marked by an accent):

- río (river)

- país (country)

- oído (ear)

Homonyms:

- Some words are distinguished by an accent mark:

- sí (yes) vs. si (if)

- él (he) vs. el (the)

- tú (you) vs. tu (your)

- más (more) vs. mas (but)

Grammar Rules; Punctuation

Spanish punctuation rules have some similarities with English, but also some unique features. Here are the key points:

la coma = comma

Inverted Question and Exclamation Marks:

- Spanish uses inverted question marks (¿) and exclamation marks (¡) at the beginning of questions and exclamations, and the standard marks (?), (!) at the end.

- Example: ¿Cómo estás? (How are you?), ¡Qué sorpresa! (What a surprise!)

Quotation Marks:

- Spanish often uses angular quotation marks (« ») for dialogue and quotations, but double quotes (“ ”) are also common.

- Example: Él dijo: «Vamos al cine». (He said: “Let's go to the movies.”)

Accents in Capital Letters:

- Accents are still used on capital letters where required by spelling rules.

- Example: ÉL (HE), ÁRBOL (TREE)

Understanding these rules will help you correctly use punctuation in Spanish writing.

Punctuation Marks:

la coma = comma

las comillas = quotation marks

dos punto = colon

el paréntesis = parenthesis

el punto y coma = semicolon

el punto = period

el signo de exclamación = exclamation point

el signo de interrogación = question mark

Grammar Rule: Word Order

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