Writing Accent Marks?

Question

Ok, this may seem weird, but I am having a issue with accent marks. Sorry I am not around more often, but learning Spanish at a University requires a lot of time.

Below is the list of accent rules I received. My question is at the bottom of this page.

1. Words that end in a vowel or in the consonants –n or –s are stressed on the second to last syllable. Most words follow this rule and do not require a written accent mark.

A, E, I, O, U and N or S.

           Jo–ven                       hi–jo               li–bro                     no-ve-es   

Words that do not adhere to this rule require a written accent mark on the stressed syllable:

A – le - mán es - tá ja - pon - és

1. Words that end in a consonant other tan –n or –s are stressed on the last syllable. Words that follow this rule do not need a written accent mark:

   Be – be ge – ne – ral fe – liz nor – mal

Words that do not follow this rule require a written accent mark on the stressed syllables:

       Lá – piz                      dé – bil                 Váz – quez                  fá – cil 

1. Anytime the stress of a Word falls on the third to last syllable or any further counting back from the end of the Word, a written accent is always required on the stress syllable.

Here is my issue:

In rule one, it says that all vowels and the consonants -n and -s are stressed second to last syllable. Jo - ven

The it says if the word does not adhere to this rule, it gets the accent mark on the stressed syllable. Example: a - le - mán.

But wait, doesn't this example end in a -n. Why is this not to be written as a - lé - man, instead of a - le - mán.

It seems to me that this is violating the first rule, and its stressed at the end.

I've found a few words that seem to violate this rule. the rules say that most words follow the first rule. How do I know which don't. Just memorizing them?!

Thank you.

That's a really good question. I wondered that too a LONG time ago... - szhang, May 29, 2013

Answer 1

Just like irregular verb conjugations, you will have to memorize them along the way. Sorry to break it to you. Like the verbs set and estar are irregular you just have to memorize them. There is absolutely no set of rules you can follow for the weird ones.

Awe, this is what I suspected. I really wish it wasn't like this. You know, I read that Spanish was the perfect language because rules stayed true, this has turned out to not be the case. Although it is still a lovely language. - T_Bladel, May 30, 2013

Answer 2

Read the rule carefully the word alemán is not stressed in the second to last syllable and it end in a n, so this word break rule 1 and have an accent.

The way i learnt these rules were: All words stressed in last syllable which end in a vowel or n,s have accent.

But I'm a spanish speaker i learnt to talk before than write and read, so i know how to stress words and this rules help me to know if i must write the accent or not.

But, as an english speaker you learn this rule to help you read. What i mean is that if you don't know how the word sounds following these rules you can know how to stress it.

As an example if i write papa you can see it end in a a so because of rule 1 it must be stressed in the second to last syllable and then you know how to pronounce it. If i wish you to stress the word papa in the last syllable then i should write papá

Edit:

The rule sais that words which end in a vowel or n, s and doesn't have a written accent must be stressed in the second to last syllable. The word alemán has a written accent so you know how to stress it.

Thats what I am asking, why does this break the rule? If -n and -s are the only consonants that apply to rule one, then it seems like the second to the last syllable should be stressed or accented. - T_Bladel, May 30, 2013

let me know if you understand the rule in the way i wrote it now. - Anormal, May 30, 2013