How do you go about remembering accent marks?

Question

I do really well with the vocabulary but once it comes down to writing it I have the hardest time figuring out how to memorize the accent marks. Any suggestions?

¡Bienvenida al foro! Welcome to the forum! - 0074b507, Aug 8, 2011

Answer 1

Yes. It's actually very easy in Spanish because the spelling is very consistent with the pronounciation. So bar a few exceptions, once you know how to pronounce a word you also know how to spell it, and where the accents are. So if you have memorized how to pronounce your words then you're fine if you take these rules in mind:

1) If the word ends with a vowel, an -n or an -s, then the stress is on the second-to-last syllable.

2) In all other cases the stress is on the final syllable.

So if the pronounciation of your word doesn't follow either of these 2 rules, then there's an accent on the syllable that DOES have the emphasis.

Answer 2

Well... if you know how the words sound, there are nearly mathematical rules to determine where the accents go. Actually, the accents are there to remind you how to stress the words, not the other way around..

Any tips for remembering how to spell in English?

Spell-check software. Seriously. :D - webdunce, Aug 9, 2011

Next time around, plan on being born in an English-speaking country. That helps.:) - pesta, Aug 9, 2011

Memorise a dictionary. ;-) - MrSillyInc, Aug 9, 2011

Answer 3

Hi! First of all, not what letters have accent marks which are vowels(a, e, i, o, u) and the letter n. My best advice is to practice, practice, and practice writing words(starting with the most common) and if you notice some words in spanish sometimes sound different with accent marks but you'll definitely get the hang of it. Good luck!!!

Answer 4

You'll notice that words that end in ion have an accent on the o. Words that end in ia have an accent on the i. There are undoubtedly exceptions but not a lot.

Ocasión

Fricción

Predicción

Tenía

Hacía

Vivía

Answer 5

The accent marks are part of the spelling and you just have to learn it that way. Native speakers learn how to write after they know how to speak, so they can use pronunciation as a guide: this is useless for most non-natives, since they usually learn things in the opposite order. In fact, most Spanish learners have a lot more trouble with pronunciation than with spelling.