acento
How important is it in placing the stress of the vowel in the correct place?
Words in Spanish are stressed as follows:
' word ending in a vowel or n or s ? on the penultimate syllable
CAsa, QUiEren, COmes
' word ending in any other consonant ? on last syllable
hablAR, salUD
' irregular stress shown by an accent
número
Copied from: http://www.askoxford.com/languages/es/toi_las/pronuncia
8 Answers
I have two examples regards stressing english words incorrectly. Both are two syllable words where we normally stress the first syllable.
Apple and Necklace
Try saying these words stressing the second syllable. For added ease I have put the part I want stressed in capitals.
neckLACE
aPPLE
Hi! can anyone tell me a site where is cleary explained the Spanish accent use, please?
We have an article on accents here on Spanisdict.
Another example of why accents and tildes are so important:
"Tengo cuarenta anos" = I have 40 anuses
"Tengo cuarenta años" = I am 40 years old
Hi! can anyone tell me a site where is cleary explained the Spanish accent use, please?
Thank you!
Like James said, some words such as Que'...', Co'mo...', Do'nde...', Cua'ndo...', Quie'n...', Por Que'...', Por do'nde...'.....( sorry, I can't do accent), take accent only when appear at the beginning of a question. this is just a rule.
As others have said, it's pretty important, although a look at the Internet will show that many native speakers can't or don't bother to use accents in writing. Usually the meaning is clear from the context.
Also remember that some words take an accent to differentiate them from homonyms. Examples are como/cómo, donde/dónde, tu/tú, and mi/mí. The meaning changes in these cases, so it is important to use the accent properly for more formal writing (as opposed to texting your bff).
Also it's very important for verb tenses...
For example...'cOmpro' said normally means i buy or i do buy / am buying, but 'comprO' with the last vowel stressed means he / she bought
Yep, its very important, just as in English. Try to go around for a couple hours accenting the wrong syllables in English and you'll see the wierd looks you get. It is the same way in Spanish.
VERY important...worth learning well 
