• To understand when accents are used in Spanish in order to improve spelling and pronunciation

2

Spanish Accents

á é í ó úá é í ó ú

3

Los acentos:Los acentos:Accents are marks that we use for threedifferent reasons in Spanish. Theyindicate:

• that a word does not follow the rules of stress ie... lápiz

• a change in meaning from another word ie... sí / si él / el

• Question words ie... Cuándo, Qué

Accents are marks that we use for threedifferent reasons in Spanish. Theyindicate:

• that a word does not follow the rules of stress ie... lápiz

• a change in meaning from another word ie... sí / si él / el

• Question words ie... Cuándo, Qué

4

Rules of stress:

If a word ends in a vowel, n or s, then the stress falls on the next to the last syllable.

eg: hola, casa, llamo, uno, cinco, bueno, hambre, fruta, fresa, vino, agua, lechecucharas, manzanas, viven, comen, beben

5

If the word ends in a consonant other than n or s, then the stress falls on the last syllable.

eg: comer, beber, arroz, yogur, pastel

6

Any exception to the above rules must have a written accent.

They fall mainly into the following groups:

7

Words with a stressed final vowel

eg: café, está, champú

which includes lots of verbs in the past tense:

eg: bebí, comí, compré, pagué

8

Words ending in n or s and stressed on the last syllable:

eg: jamón, melón, melocotón inglés, japonés, portugués

Words ending in a consonant other than n or s and stressed on the next to last syllable:

eg: Cádiz, lápiz, Jiménez, Almodóvar

9

Words stressed on any other syllable

eg: riquísimo, buenísimo, malísimo Córdoba, teléfono, kilómetro

10

Accents

• Always go on a vowel

• Are a strong mark beginning right over the middle of a vowel and going up at an angle to the right.

áá

11

OK – let’s have a go

Do the following have accents and if so where?

12

pastapollotomesaligatoperropedirata

coloquebocadilloconejoserpientecambiomaquilloarregleafeite

13

pajarosemafaroBarcelonaZaragozachocolateCacerescomicomiercoles

limoncancionmartescartascortescochesjaboncomen