Accent Marks

On the writing tasks on the LOTE, they count off points if you do not use accent marks correctly.

Most people I work with learned Spanish at home, but they went to school in the US. As a result, they did not have formal education in Spanish. They never had a good opportunity to learn the accent marks.

The good news is that it’s not too late and I can help.

There are just two simple rules to learn to know where to put accent marks. Learning to apply the rules takes time and practice, but you can get the basics down in 15 minutes or less.

1. If a word ends in a vowel, N, or S, the natural stress goes on the SECOND TO LAST SYLLABLE.  If the stress goes on any other syllable, the stressed syllable needs an accent mark.
   1. GA-to
   2. LU-nes
   3. MAR-tes
   4. HAB-lo (I speak)
   5. Hab-ló (he spoke)
   6. Hab-lé (I spoke)
   7. HAB-le
   8. mi-é r-co-les
   9. á -gui-la
   10. Es-drú-ju-la
   11. sá-ba-do
   12. Lá-pi-ces
   13. Can-ci-ón
   14. can-CION-es
   15. PE-res
   16. Rod-RI-gues
   17. Gon-ZA-les
   18. co-MI-da
   19. NOM-bre
   20. Á-vi-la
   21. Zú-ñi-ga

2. If a word ends in any consonant other than N or S, the natural stress goes on the LAST SYLLABLE.  If the stress goes on any other syllable, the stressed syllable needs an accent mark.
   1. re-fri-ge-ra-DOR
   2. fe-li-ci-DAD
   3. Lá-piz
   4. Pé-rez
   5. Rod-rí -guez
   6. Gon-zá-lez
   7. Nar-vá-ez
   8. Sán-chez

Accents to Distinguish Words

OK, so some words need accent marks and you cannot use the rules. What a pain! But fortunately, the list is not too long.

Te – reflexive pronoun (Te quiero.)

Té – tea

Se – reflexive pronoun (Se ducha.)

Sé – I know

El – the

Él – he

Mas – but

Más – more

De- of

Dé – imperative or subjunctive of dar (Quiero que me dé el reloj).

Porque because

Por qué  why

Question Words

If it is a question word, they need an accent.  Even if they are indirect questions, the words need an accent mark.

Cómo

Cuánto 

Cuándo

Quién

Qué

Cuál