(Rules of Stress)
In Spanish there is a definite set of rules indicating word stress. When there is an exception to the rules, a written accent mark is used to show the stronger or stressed syllable.
A. Words ending in a vowel, n, or s are stressed on the next to the last syllabe.
ma-dre za-pa-to ca-sa li-bro
si-lla ha-blan o-jos ca-sas co-mie-ron lu-nes
B. Words ending in any other consonant are stressed on the last syllable.
ca-li-dad ha-blar ca-pi-tal e-le-men-tal
a-mor so-li-ci-tud al-re-de-dor sin-ce-ri-dad ve-jez re-loj
C. If these rules are not followed, stress must be indicated by a written accent.
pe-rió-di-co ar-tí-cu-lo ár-bol ál-bum
con-tes-tó pá-ja-ro pe-lí-cu-la di-fí-cil re-li-gión cor-tés
NOTE that words that are stressed on any syllable other than the last or next to last will always show a written accent. Particularly frequent words in this category include adjectives and adverbs ending in -ísimo and verb forms with pronouns attached.
mu-chí-si-mo la-ván-do-lo dár-se-las dí-ga-me-lo
gran-dí-si-mo
D. Monosyllabic words generally do not need an accent mark.
ver ser pie hoy
fue vio dio
E. Written accents to show violations of stress rules are particularly important when diphthongs are involved. A diphthong is the combination of a strong (a, e, o) vowel and a weak (i, u) vowel (in either order) or of two weak vowels together. The two vowels are pronounced as a single sound, with one of the vowels being given slightly more emphasis than the other. In all diphthongs the strong vowel or the second of two weak vowels receives this slightly greater stress.
ai: bai-le ue: vuel-ve eu: feu-do io: rio-ja
iu: ciu-dad ui: fui
NOTE that when the stress in a vowel combination does not follow this rule, no diphthong exists. Instead, two separate sounds are heard, and a written accent appears over the weak vowel or first of two weak vowels.
a-cen-tú-e o-ís-te le-í-a rí-o
dí-as dú-o
F. A diacritical accent is used to distinguish words with the same spelling but different meaning.
1. Nine common word pairs are identical in spelling and pronunciation; the accent mark is the only distinction between them.
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de |
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si
2. Diacritic accents are used to distinguish demonstrative adjectives from demonstrative pronouns.
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aquéllos |
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3. Diacritic accents are placed over relative pronouns or adverbs that are used interrogatively or in exclamations.
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¿cuándo? |
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