How long did it take you to master accent marks?

Question

If you are a not a Spanish speaking native, how long would it take to learn (and master) when to use accent marks( a guess is better than "it depends")? Assuming moderate practice. Gracias

I'm going to use this site's and 2 other site's guide to learn when to use accent marks. - zmanuel, Nov 20, 2009

Answer 1

Excellent question, zmanuel!

Here are the Three Magic Rules that will make it a snap:

1. If a word ends in a vowel, or the letter "n" or the letter "s", the stress naturally falls on the second to the last syllable. Examples: Perro (pe-rro), hablamos (ha-bla-mos), una (u -na), elefante (e-le-fan-te)

2. If a word ends in a consonant other than "n" or "s", the stress naturally falls on the last syllable. Example: hablar (ha-blar), esencial (e-sen-cial), tenaz (te-naz)

3. If a word is not pronounced in agreement with rules 1 and 2, you must write an accent mark over the stressed vowel. Examples: lápiz (lá-piz), arándano (a-rán-da-no), estación (e-sta-ción).

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The difficult part for some students is when they are faced with a singular noun with no accent that gains an accent in the plural, or with a verb form that has pronouns attached.... Examples of nouns: "capitán" but "capitanes" (you added a syllable that ends in an "s"), "chaparrón" but "chaparrones" (you added a syllable that ends in an "s")....examples of verbs: "estoy hablando" but "estoy hablándote" (you need an accent because you added a syllable);" voy a decir" but "voy a decírtelo" (you added two syllables.)

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I hope this has helped!

What is an example of a singular noun that gains a tilde in the plural? - 0074b507, Nov 21, 2009

Answer 2

It takes a lot of memorization!! I've been learning for 9 years and still have not mastered it!!! A cool trick is this: If the emphasis is on the last syllable the rule is "Solamente cuando se termina con n,s, o vocal." For example a-po-si-cion. Termina con "n" así que hay accento en la letra con emfasis, el "o". If the emphasis is on the second to last syllable the rule is"Siempre menos cuando se termina con n, s, o vocal". For example co-mo. Lastly, if the emphasis is on the third to last syllable the rule is "Siempre!" I hope thet helps!! But keep in mind it does have exceptions!!!! Like "día".

"dia" isn't an exception - the "i" is a weak vowel and the "a' is a strong vowel. Without the accent, it would only be one syllable and the "a" would take over! - mountaingirl123, Nov 20, 2009

I know but it is an exception for that reason. It's on the 2nd to last syllable and the rule being- "siempre menos cuando termina con n,s, o vocal" It ends in a vowel but because it is a dipthong, it has an accent. :-) - kanani142, Nov 21, 2009

Not technically. When you add the tilde the diphthong is prevented from forming. You now have a word with two syllables dí-a (grave), rather than a word with one syllable with the weak vowel stressed in a diphthong. The word, now grave, follows rule 2. - 0074b507, Nov 21, 2009

Answer 3

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