Where is the accent for the word "dormitorio"?
should the accent be dormitório or dormitorío? are the syllables as dor-mi-to-rio or dor-mi-to-ri-o?
thanks!
5 Answers
Quick Answer
IO is counted as a single syllable, for purposes of finding word stress, when neither letter has a mark; therefore, it is dormiTORio (like others have pointed out).
Long, drawn out, but more detailed answer that might actually be confusing, with some parts open to debate, so feel free to skip it
IO is, in reality, two syllables pronounced /ee-OH/, which sounds an awful lot like simply /YO/. But, for purposes of stress, it is counted as a single syllable -- and, in deed, in practice, is generally stated as a single syllable unless the word is being pronounced unusually slowly.
Within a word, IO can have three states: (1) no accent mark, (2) an accent mark on the o, and (3) an accent mark on the i.
In the first state (no accent mark), IO will be counted a single syllable, will sound pretty much like /yo/, and will receive stress only if it is the second-to-the-last syllable and only if the word contains no accent mark on any other syllable. I can't think of any example words.
In the second state (accent mark over the o), IÓ will be counted as a single syllable, will receive the stress in the word regardless of position in the word, and will sound like /YO/. Example: aconteció = /ah-kohn-teh-SYOH/. It is also possible to consider this as two syllables, and the O receives the stress. Example: aconteció = /ah-kohn-teh-see-OH/ (It will sound more or less the same whichever way you choose to view it).
In the third state (accent mark over the i), ÍO will be counted and spoken as TWO syllables and the i will receive the stress in the word. Example: vacío = /bah-SEE-oh/
This occurs whenever a strong vowel (a, e, o) is combined with a weak vowel (i, u) -- regardless of whether the weak vowel comes before or after the strong vowel. If neither letter has an accent mark, it is counted as a single syllable and receives stress only if it is the second-to-the-last syllable. If the strong vowel has a stress mark, the two letters are still considered a single syllable, but the whole syllable will be stressed in the word (aconteció = ah-kohn-teh-SYOH). If the weak vowel has an accent mark, then it is two syllables and the weak vowel receives the stress in the word (vacío = bah-SEE-oh).
If two weak vowels are combined, then it is one syllable unless one of the letters has an accent mark, then it is two syllables (regardless of which letter has the mark).
If two strong vowels are combined, they are always considered two syllables. Example: maestro = /mah-EH-stroh/
Please note that when u follows g and precedes e or i, this is just to make the g hard (be pronounced like g in guy). Example: guitarra is pronounced /ghee-TAH-rrah/.
Just to show how combinations with U work...
- au = /AH-ooh/ (pronounced like one syllable, though...almost like ow, but not quite.)
- áu = pronounced like au above (and as a single syllable), but receives the stress in the word.
- aú = /ah-OOH/ (prounounced like two syllables, u receives the stress in the word).
- ua = /wah/ (pronounced like a single syllable).
- uá = /WAH/ (pronounced like a single syllable, receives the stress in the word)
- úa = /OOH-ah/ (pronounced like two syllables, u receives the stress in the word).
Hi, There is no accent, most verbs that end in a vowel or an n or an s the stress naturally falls on the second to last syllable ie dor/mi/to/rio, therefore the stress on on the to. Sometimes you have to listen to the words to know if they have an accent or not for example último which ends in a vowel but the stress is on the first part of the word úl/timo because of the accent and if you listen to the pronunciation you can hear that it is not pronounced ul/ti/mo. Hope this helps x
Slowfoxtrot asked:
Thanks, I knew there is no accent mark in dormitorio, but every word has an accent, doesn't it?
Hi. I think what you meant to say is that every word has a stress.
Karen has the correct answer for you -- We stress the word "dormitorio" on the penultimate (the second to last) syllable, i.e, "dor-mi-TOR-io."
Take a quick look at this article on stress. It's good.
The stress in the word is in dor-mi-TO-rio, the second to the last syllable, or penúltima silaba. The rules about marking the stress with a tilde in Spanish, say that if the word is "grave o llana" the definition of words that carry the stress on the next to the last syllable, then in order to mark it, the word needs to end in a consonant other than n or s. Since dormitorio ends in a vowel, you do not mark the accent with a tilde.
Other rules are: for palabras agudas (those words that carry the stress in the last syllable), you mark a tilde if the word ends in a vowel, an n or an s.
For palabras esdrújulas (those words that carry the stress in the third to the last syllable) such as "es-DRU-Ju-la" you always mark the accent.
For palabras sobre esdrújulas (those that carry the stress in the fourth to the last syllable") you always mark the accent with a tilde. http://www.reglasdeortografia.com/acensobreesdrujula02.html
http://www.slideshare.net/diana1205/palabras-graves-esdrujulas-y-agudas
dormitório, I think 
