09.17.2010 - By Mesa Public Schools
Very Brief Rules for Stress (Accents)
In Spanish, words are spelled just like they sound. In order to take advantage of this simple and nearly perfect system of spelling, one must first know the rules for stress - that is, how to know which syllable is pronounced the loudest.
1. Words ending in a vowel, -n, or -s are stressed on the next to the last (penultimate) syllable:
nadana - dalimonadali - mo - na - dazapatosza - pa - tosmanzanasman – za - nas
comprocom - proestaes - taestases- tas
escuela
es – cue - la
2. Words ending in any consonant except -n or -s are stressed on the last syllable:
doctor comer ciudaddoc - tor co – mer ciu - dad
3. When rules #1 and #2 above are not followed, a written accent is used. The written accent could be thought of as a mark over the syllable that is “misbehaving”:
compró estás lápizcom - pró es – tás lá - piz
4. Written accents are also used to differentiate between words that are pronounced the same but have different meanings (el acento diacrítico):
si - ifsí - yesmi - mymí - meel - theél - hetu - yourtú - you
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