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©2005 by Project COACH, UC Irvine

Do you know where accents go in Spanish?Well, you could memorize them word by word, but that could be a bit intimidating...

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Or you could try the sprinkle approach, but that’s not too reliable either...

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Nope…too many errors!!

Accents are easy! You only have to learn a few rules.Step 1: Count syllables

First, Spanish has STRONG vowels and WEAK vowels.

aeo iuStrong Vowels Weak

VowelsDid you notice? Strong vowels (a, e, o) are short and round. They can support a lot of weight! Weak vowels (i, u) are tall and thin. You can knock them right over!!

Count syllables by counting vowels.

Use the following formula:

1. Each strong vowel forms 1 syllable. ta re a

2. A weak vowel alone forms 1 syllable. fru ta ci ne3. 2 or even 3 weak vowels together form 1 syllable ciu dad4. Any combination of weak/strong or strong/weak forms 1 syllable bai le cie lo cuar to5. A weak vowel with an accent is considered a strong vowel. Think of it as a crutch! With a little help, it can stand alone.

Count the syllables in each of the following words:

despejado

4

dinastía 4

campaña

3

lluvia 2

terciopelo 4

cuerpo 2

horario 3

trineo 3

Step 2: Divide the words into syllables

In Spanish, a syllable usually ends with a vowel, like this:

li broor so bri no

Exceptions!

1. Don’t split ch, ll, or rr. They’re separate letters in Spanish.

2. Do not divide any consonant next to l or r, unless it’s an s.

con ti nú e de mo cra cia ver sión em ple a do

Now let’s divide the same words into syllables:

despejado

des pe ja do = 4

dinastía di na stí a = 4

campaña

cam pa ña = 3

lluvia llu via = 2

terciopelo ter cio pe lo = 4

cuerpo cuer po = 2

horario ho ra rio = 3

trineo tri ne o = 3

Step 3: Learn the stress rules.Now that the syllables are divided, see where the stress should go when the word is pronounced.

a) A word ending in a, e, i, o, u, n or s should be stressed on the next-to-the-last syllable (called penultimate - penúltimo en español)

her ma na bai le ca si

ca mi no ha blan ma ris cos

b) A word ending in any other consonant should be stressed on the last syllable.

co ci nar ver dad

ca pi tal re loj

For each of these divided words, choose the syllable that should be stressed when it is pronounced: ignore the pronunciation - just say what should be stressed!

cli ni ca

ki lo me tro

ca pa ci dad

sien te se

ho rri ble

di fi cil

la pi cesgra cias

a zu car

ul ti mo

in te res

me lo dia

mon ton

Step 4: Learn what accents can do.Accents serve several different purposes!

a) They move the stress from where it should be based on the stress rules to where it actually is when pronounced.

a zu car´ ul ti mo´ in te res

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b) They turn a weak vowel into a strong vowel so that it can form a separate syllable.

dia dí a ac tuan

ac tú an

c) They distinguish certain words from others.

Si = if sí = yes de = of/from dé = give!

d) They make a word interrogative.

e) Some words always have accents - like más & sólo

Whew! That’s a lot of rules! But once you learn them, you’ll never wonder again if a word has an accent. Practice, and you’ll become an ACCENT MASTER.

Now let’s practice! Your teacher will give you a worksheet with a list of words. For each word...

a) rewrite the word in the blank in separate syllablesb) underline or highlight the syllable that should be stressed when it is pronounced

c) listen to the word as it is pronounced and determine if it needs an accent - if it does, add it!

Check your work as your teacher goes over the words and tells you which actually have accents.

Ahora sabes...

dónde poner los

EL FINAccents PowerPoint

“¿Dónde poner los acentos?by

Shari KauligEdited by

Lynda Fine and Cynthia Leathers

Revised 4-4-2005 ©2005 by Project COACH, UC Irvine