Why does a word like "subio" have an accent mark over the "o" (sorry, I don't have a Spanish keyboard) whereas "vio" does not?

Question

In lesson 2.6 it's explained that the accent is ALWAYS required in the regular preterite of -AR and -ER verbs, or is this just one of those irregular verb things?

Answer 1

The accent marks in Spanish tell you which syllable to emphasize. In general, words that end in a vowel or the letters "N" or "S" have the emphasis on the next to the last syllable. All other words are emphasized on the last syllable. The accent mark is used if the word is supposed to be pronounced differently than the rule says.

The preterite forms of these verbs are supposed to be emphasized on the last syllable, even though they end in a vowel, so you need the accent mark.

He went up - subió, pronounced soo-BYOH, not SOO-byoh

Edit: Oh, vio doesn't need the accent because it's only one syllable. The -io forms a dipthong, and it's pronounced as one syllable - YOH.

Every time I read that "soo-BYOH" sounds like Spanish, I almost shiver. It doesn't. Not even close. Our vowels are completely different. - lazarus1907, Aug 29, 2010

I know, but it's difficult to write out so that an English speaker can get the idea. The point I was trying to make is that -io forms a dipthong and the emphasis is on the las syllable. - KevinB, Aug 29, 2010

Thanks, it was the "vio" example I was puzzling over. Your explanation makes perfect sense - thanks! - allijohn, Aug 29, 2010

"Last syllable" - doh! - KevinB, Aug 29, 2010