SYLLABICATION, STRESS, AND USE OF THE WRITTEN ACCENT

SYLLABICATION, STRESS, AND USE OF THE WRITTEN ACCENT
Syllabication
1. The basic rule of Spanish syllabication is to make each syllable end in a vowel whenever
possible.
2. When attempting to divide a word into syllables, it is easier to look for the consonants and do
the following:
a. If the consonants in a word occur singly, each consonant should go with the following
vowel: ca-sa, di-ga, ca-mi-na
b. If there are two consecutive consonants, one will go with the preceding vowel and one with
the following: al-co-hol, can-tan-te, es-cue-la, ac-ción, in-no-va-ción
c. If there are three consecutive or more consonants, the first two will remain with the
preceding vowel and the third (etc.) will go with the following vowel: obs-truc-ción, conscien-te
d. The letter h always goes with the following vowel: al-co-hol, pro-hí-be
e. The following consonant combinations are never divided: br-, dr-, rr-, tr-, bl-, ll-: a-bran, ladrón, bo-rra-dor, con-tra, ha-blar, man-te-qui-lla
3. Diphthongs (vowel combinations: two weak ones or a weak one and a strong one) are not
divided, unless the weak vowel has an orthographic accent. Weak vowels: i, u; strong vowels: a,
e, o: ciu-dad, sie-te, seis, cin-cuen-ta. But: re-ú-no, dí-a
Stress
How you pronounce a specific Spanish word is determined by two basic rules of stress. Written accents
to indicate stress are needed only when those rules are violated. Here are the two rules of stress.
1. For words ending in a vowel, n, or s, the natural stress falls on the next-to-last syllable. The
letter y is not considered a vowel for stress purposes.
Es-te-ban
blan-co
es-cu-chen
ro-ja
es-tu-die
2. For words ending in any other letter, the natural stress falls on the last syllable.
pa-pel
ciu-dad
es-cri-bir
re-loj
es-toy
When these stress rules are violated by the word’s accepted pronunciation, stress must be
indicated with a written accent.
in-glés
e-léc-tri-co
es-tu-dié
lla-ma-rán
sim-pá-ti-co
ár-bol
Ló-pez
a-zú-car
hués-ped
a-quí
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.
gua-pí-si-mo
es-pe-rán-do-te
pí-de-se-las
de-vuél-van-se-la
Dos mundos: En breve, 4th edition - Appendix Three (pp. A-10 - A-11)
SYLLABICATION, STRESS, AND USE OF THE WRITTEN ACCENT
Written accents to show violations of stress rules are particularly important when diphthongs are
involved. A diphthong is a combination of a weak (i, u) vowel and a strong (a, e, o) 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 the two weak vowels receives this slightly greater stress.
ai: bailar
ia: arteria
ue: vuelve
io: violento
ui: cuidado
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 the first of two
weak vowels.
a-í: país
ú-e: continúe
í-o: frío
í-a: tía
e-ú: reúnen
o-í: oíd
Use of Written Accent as a Diacritic
The written accent is also used to distinguish two words with similar spelling and pronunciation but
different meaning. Nine common word pairs are identical in spelling and pronunciation; the accent
mark is the only distinction between them.
dé
él
más
mí
sé
give
he
more
me
I know
de
el
mas
mi
se
of
the
but
my
(reflexive pronoun)
sí
sólo
té
tú
yes
only
tea
you
si
solo
te
tu
if
alone
you
your
Diacritic accents are used to distinguish demonstrative adjectives from demonstrative pronouns.
Although this distinction is disappearing in many parts of the Spanish-speaking world, you may find it in
Dos mundos and in many other books.
aquellos países
those countries
aquéllos
those ones
esa persona
that person
ésa
that one
este libro
this book
éste
this one
Diacritic accents are placed over relative pronouns or adverbs that are used interrogatively or in
exclamations.
cómo
how
como
as, since
dónde
where
donde
where
por qué
why
porque
because
qué
what
que
that
who (interrogative pronoun)
quien
who (relative pronoun)
quién
cuándo
when (interrogative pronoun)
cuando
when (relative pronoun)
—¿Cómo se llama?
—No sé cómo se llama.
What’s his name?
I don’t know what his name is.
Como es niño, tiene que acostarse temprano.
Since he’s a child, he must go to bed ea
Dos mundos: En breve, 4th edition - Appendix Three (pp. A-10 - A-11)