How to use written accents in Spanish
People who are studying Spanish struggle a lot with written accents, and some even learn them by heart. But that’s not necessary if you know the rules, which are quite simple! Back when I was 8 and learnt them in school, I discovered that I could write anything without making spelling mistakes (then I forgot the rules and know I just know when to write an accent because I read a lot)
What are accents used for?
In Spanish, accents tell you when you should put more emphasis on a syllable. Also the absence of accents shows you which is the stressed syllable. This is super handy when reading a text with words you don’t know, because you’ll know how to pronounce them. When I had a quite basic English level, guessing how to pronounce something was a nightmare.
The syllable where you put more emphasis is called sílaba tónica, and I will be using that term from now on.
Based on the position of la sílaba tónica, Spanish words can be classified in 4 groups:
SOBREESDRÚJULAS (not that common)
Agudas have the sílaba tónica AT THE END OF THE WORD (1st position). This word can have as many syllables as you want, but the stress must be on the last one. Always.
Example: CA-FÉ, CRIS-TAL*. – As you can see, the emphasis is on the last syllable of the word.
When do we write an accent on the AGUDAS?
The rules are quite simple. You’ll write an accent if:
- the word ends in a vowel: (ca-fé, a-llá, be-bé, en-con-tra-rá )
- the word ends in -n: (sar-tén, a-le-mán, a-cor-de-ón, co-a-li-ción)
-the word ends in -s: (bur-gués, ho-lan-dés, vi-vi-rás)
NOTE: the words that are agudas and end in consonant + S do not have an accent (ex: robots)
NOTE: The words that are agudas and end in “y” do not have an accent (virrey, convoy, and NOT virréy, convóy)
* CRIS-TAL does not have an accent because it ends with -l, so it is telling you that the emphasis is on the last syllable.
It’s cool knowing the rules, but sometimes is faster to know some tricks
Words that end in -ión have an accent (coalición, religión, contaminación, destrucción…)
A verb in the future simple will carry an accent in every version of the verb, except for the 1 person plural (compraré, comprarás, comprará, compraremos, compraréis, comprarán). As you can see, they all end in a vowel, in -n or -s, and “compraremos” doesn’t have an accent because la sílaba tónica is not the last one.
Words that are agudas and end in -ía always have an accent (geología, filosofía, biología, astronomía, gastronomía, tranvía)
The infinitives of the verbs are agudas and DO NOT have an accent because they end in -r (dormir, comprar, destrozar, aniquilar, cocer)
Llanas have the sílaba tónica on the penultimate (=next to the last) syllable (2nd position). This word can have as many syllables as you want, but the stress will be on the penultimate one. Always. So, when you pronounce it, you’ll make emphasis on the penultimate syllable.
Example: ÁR-BOL, IN-VE-RO-SÍ-MIL, CO-CHE. - As you can see, the emphasis is on the penultimate syllable of the word.
When do we write an accent on the LLANAS?
The rules are quite simple. You’ll write an accent if:
-llanas that end in ANY consonant, except for N OR S: (lá-piz, fá-cil, án-gel)
-when the llanas end in two consonants, even if it they are consonant+n // consonant+s (bí-ceps, fór-ceps)
-when the llanas end in -y, they have an accent (pó-ney)
ESDRÚJULAS AND SOBREESDRÚJULAS
Esdrújulas have the sílaba tónica in the antepenultimate (=third to last) syllable (3th position).
Example: ES-DRÚ-JU-LA, Ó-PE-RA, CA-Ó-TI-CO.
When do we write an accent on the ESDRÚJULAS?
The rule is THE EASIEST. You’ll write an accent if:
Sobreesdrújulas are really weird, and they are normally verbs with pronouns added to them. Sobreesdrújulas have the sílaba tónica in the syllable before the antepenultimate syllable (4th position)
Example: Á-BRE-ME-LO, BÁ-JEN-SE-LA
When do we write an accent on the SOBREESDRÚJULAS?
The rule is THE EASIEST. You’ll write an accent if:
If you have any questions, let me know! I know this can be difficult to grasp at first, but once you master it it is a really simple system.
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