RULES FOR THE USE OF
THE WRITTEN ACCENT IN SPANISH
Jill Kerper Mora,
Ed.D.
San Diego State University
The Beauty of Spanish Orthography
Spanish is a highly consistent written language.
Every word that is written correctly in Spanish can be pronounced correctly,
even without
knowledge of its meaning, based on orthographic rules. However, it is
important to remember that language is spoken first and then written. You must know how a
word is pronounced in order to use or omit an accent correctly in Spanish writing. In
reading, however, you merely follow the rules. Any exception to the rules will carry a
written accent mark. There are no random accent marks in Spanish. The use of
any and every accent mark has a justification based on the rules.
For more about Spanish orthography click here:
Word Study in Biliteracy Classrooms
Word Pronunciation Categories
Words fall into three categories according to
the way they are pronounced: agudas, graves, esdrújulas..
1. Words that are stressed on the
last syllable are called agudas. If an aguda
ends in a consonant other than n or s it is written without an accent mark.
If an aguda ends in a vowel, or n or s it carries a written accent
mark.
| Unaccented agudas |
Accented agudas |
| tapiz |
almacén |
| ciudad |
aquí |
| profesor |
canción |
| papel |
detrás |
| reloj |
está |
2. Words that are stressed on the
next to the last syllable are called graves (or llanas in some
countries). If a grave ends in a vowel or n
or s it does not carry a written accent. If a grave ends in a consonant
other than n or s it carries a written accent mark.
| Unaccented
graves |
Accented
graves |
| payaso |
ángel |
| orden |
débil |
| largo |
huésped |
| clase |
lápiz |
3. Words that are stressed on the
third to the last syllable are called esdrújulas.
All esdrújula words carry a written accent.
All esdrújula words carry a written accent.
aéreo
artículo
católico
esdrújula
estómago
magnífico |
Diphthongs and Breaking a Diphthong
4. A second use of the accent is to break a diphthong. Diphthongs are formed by combining a strong vowel (a,
e, o) with a weak vowel (i, u) or two weak vowels in a single syllable.
Examples:
seis
hacia
junio
miedo
ciudad
If a strong and weak vowel appear together but
do not form a syllable, the weak vowel carries a written accent to break the diphthong.
Examples:
maíz
día
había
Raúl
río
Accents to Distinguish Functions of Homonyms
5. There is a special accent mark
called the acento
desinencial that is used to
distinguish the function of words. It is used in cases of homonyms to distinguish the
meaning, or where a pronoun has changed functions. The accent in these cases is placed
over the strong vowel of the stressed syllable. Generally in the case of homonyms, the
less frequently used meaning will carry the written accent.
|
Unaccented
Word
|
Function
(Eng)
|
Accented
Word
|
Function
(Eng)
|
|
aun
|
even (conjunction)
|
aún
|
yet (adverb)
|
|
de
|
of (preposition)
|
dé
|
subjunctive form
of dar- to give
|
|
el
|
the (article)
|
él
|
he
(pronoun)
|
|
si
|
if (conjunction)
|
sí
|
yes (interjection)
|
|
te
|
you (pronoun)
|
té
|
tea
(noun)
|
|
tu
|
your (possessive pronoun)
|
tú
|
you
(personal pronoun)
|
|
mi
|
my (possessive pronoun)
|
mí
|
me (direct object)
|
|
mas
|
but (conjunction used in old Spanish)
|
más
|
more
(adverb)
|
Change of Function of Pronouns
1. este libro (adjective) meaning
"this"
éste (demonstrative
pronoun) meaning "this one"
2. que (relative pronoun) as in "el
libro que veo en la mesa" meaning "that"
¿qué? (interrogative
pronoun) meaning "what"
3. como (relative pronoun) meaning
"as" Ex. "tan grande como un elefante"
¿cómo? (interrogative
pronoun) meaning "how" ¿Cómo está usted?
As a rule all interrogative
pronouns carry a written accent.
The Phonetic
Function of the Written Accent
The examples
below show the important phonetic function of the written accent in Spanish.
These words are spelled the same but are pronounced differently and have
different meanings. Without the written accent mark they could be misread
within a text.
Two syllable
words:
|
Palabras
Graves
|
Palabras
Aguda
|
|
sello
|
selló
|
|
esta
|
está
|
|
ira
|
irá
|
|
baile
|
bailé
|
|
mudo
|
mudó
|
|
cerro
|
cerró
|
|
caso
|
casó
|
|
cortes
|
cortés
|
|
trago
|
tragó
|
|
lavo
|
lavó
|
Three and four
syllable words:
|
Palabras
Esdrújulas
|
Palabras
Graves
|
Palabras
Agudas
|
|
ánimo
|
animo
|
animó
|
|
público
|
publico
|
publicó
|
|
círculo
|
circulo
|
circuló
|
|
cántara
|
cantara
|
cantará
|
|
cálculo
|
calculo
|
calculó
|
|
célebre
|
celebre
|
celebré
|
|
práctico
|
practico
|
practicó
|
|
término
|
termino
|
terminó
|
|
límite
|
limite
|
limité
|
|
depósito
|
deposito
|
depositó
|
|
partícipe
|
participe
|
participé
|
Word
Inflection and Accent Marks
Changing a word from
singular to plural or from masculine to feminine adds a syllable to the word.
This may cause the word to lose or add an accent mark.
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
|
lección
|
lecciones
|
|
corazón
|
corazones
|
|
compás
|
compases
|
|
razón
|
razones
|
|
portugués
|
portugueses
|
|
joven
|
jóvenes
|
|
orden
|
órdenes
|
|
interés
|
intereses
|
|
examen
|
exámenes
|
|
galán
|
galanes
|
|
Masculine
|
Feminine
|
|
francés
|
francesa
|
|
inglés
|
inglesa
|
|
catalán
|
catalana
|
PRACTICE
Pronounce the following words and categorize
them as aguda, grave or esdrújula. Add any accents according to rules 1-4
above. Be prepared to explain the reasons you wrote or did not write an accent on each
word. Use a dictionary to
check your answers or click here for correct responses.
abierto
adios
alguien
almacen
arbol
bateria
buzon
caida
champu
concierto
despues
diablo
dificil
ingles
lastima
miercoles
nariz
oracion
pais
perdon
platano
policia
rascacielos
razon
recamara
reservacion
rancho
sandia
semaforo
septimo
tambien
tenedor
todavia
unico
viaje
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This page was last updated on
01/19/08