Lesson 67: Written Spanish rules and tips for accents
There are a number of simple rules which explain why and when accents should be used and how we can spot them even when someone is speaking to us.
Now there are always going to be exceptions to rules but first lets cover those rules because in doing so we'll cover 99% of the language.
Pronounciation
RULE ONE: Spanish is spoken how it is written
In other words if we come across a 'ge' like in 'general' that 'ge always sounds the same in every other word across the language.
 Spanish |  English |
|---|---|
| General | General |
Now the best technicque you can follow if you come across a set of letters and you are not sure how to pronounce it is to look for that set in a word you know. For example you might see 'ce' and not know if it should be a soft 'c' or a hard 'k' sound.
But if you remember it is in 'concentracíón' as an 's' sound then you know how to pronounce that 'ce' in whatever word you are looking at now.
Which syllable to stress?
RULE TWO: If the word ends in a vowel (a,e,i,o,u), an 'n' or an 's' the accent goes on the penultimate (second to last) syllable.
Hmmm. How are we going to remember that one? Well just thing about how verbs end in the I, you, he, she, they, we form (present tense). Yep - in almost all cases they end in a vowel, an 'n' or an 's'.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Habla | He/she/it/you (formal) speak |
| Hablan | They / you guys speak |
| Hablas | You (informal) speak |
| Hablamos | We speak |
| Importante | Important |
| Adictivo | Addictive |
RULE THREE: If the word does not end in a vowel, an 'n' or an 's' then the accent is on the last syllable.
You see this in the to forms of verbs.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Comer | To eat |
| Estar | To be (states) |
| Hablar | To speak |
| Encontrar | To find |
RULE FOUR: Written accents override the rules and show where the accent should be
In many languages any form of accent tells us to change the way we say the letter. In Spanish accents are there to tell you which syllable to stress if it is not the standard one RULE TWO or RULE THREE.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Tradición | Tradition |
| Situación | Situation |
| Opinión | Opinion |
Just another good type while we are here (although it has been mentioned before) - words ending 'ión' are all feminine.
OK, so lets consider some words we've come across before and whether or not they have accents:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Encuentro | I find |
| Encontró | He/she found |
| Vive | He/she lives |
| Vivió | He/she lived |
| Salud | Cheers (health) |
| Limón | Lemon |
Interesting thing about 'limón' is that both "lime" and "lemon" come from the same route (persion) and in Spanish that overlap is still very evident in the word for "Lemon"!
RULE FIVE: Words with just one syllable sometimes have an accent to differentiate them from each other in the written form.
We've already seen that the Spanish words for "If" and "Yes" both sound the same and it doesn't really cause a problem in spoken language as context quickly determines which is which. They are both one syllable so there is no choice which syllable to stress.
But to lessen confusion in things like dictionaries with single syllable words that sound the same an accent is sometimes added to one but not the other.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Sí | Yes |
| Si | If |
| Sí lo quiero | Yes I want it |
| Si lo quiero | If I want it |
| Para mí | For me |
| Mi casa | My house |
| Tú | You |
| Tu casa | Your house |
| Sé | I know |
| Se queda | He stays / remains |
RULE SIX: When certain words are used in a question
- 'Dónde' - "Where" when used in a question.
- 'Donde' - "Where" when used in a statement.
- 'Qué' - "What" when used in a question.
- 'Que' - "That" when used in a statement.
- 'Cómo' - "How" when used in a question.
- 'Como' - "Like" when used in a statement.
Very often these will not change the pronounciation because the accent was going to fall on that syllable anyway. They are more there to provide clarity in the written language.
Lesson 68: This and that and How Many