solo
For as much as I've studied Spanish, this has always escaped me:
When does solo get an accent mark, and when is it left plain?
Thanks, ME
19 Answers
Hi!
Solo does not take an acent ever, unless there is a possibilty of confusing the meanings. This rule is fairly new. Before: solo (alone) and sólo (solamente, only) i HOPE YOU CAN UNDERSTAND THE WORDS BELOW.
sólo/solo. La palabra solo puede ser un adjetivo: No me gusta el café solo(ALONE, WITHOUT MILK); Vive él solo(ALONE) en esa gran mansión; o un adverbio: Solo(IT ONLY RAINED...) nos llovió dos días; Contesta solo(ONL/JUST SAY YES OR NO) sí o no. Se trata de una palabra llana terminada en vocal, por lo que, según las reglas generales de acentuación (? 1.1.2), no debe llevar tilde. Ahora bien, cuando esta palabra pueda interpretarse en un mismo enunciado como adverbio o como adjetivo, se utilizará obligatoriamente la tilde en el uso adverbial para evitar ambigüedades: Estaré solo un mes (al no llevar tilde, solo se interpreta como adjetivo: 'en soledad, sin compañía'); Estaré sólo un mes (al llevar tilde, sólo se interpreta como adverbio: 'solamente, únicamente'); también puede deshacerse la ambigüedad sustituyendo el adverbio solo por los sinónimos solamente o únicamente.
hola ME
no wonder it has confused you, because it still confuses me. i believe the correct definitions are as follows.
solo without the accent is an "adjective" which describes a noun. ie english example, the quick boy.
solo with the accent is an "adverb" which decribes a verb. ie english example, the boy runs quickly.
even knowing this, when applying solo in spanish it is one of those words that appears to contradict the definitions, because I even believe there are instances when solo without the accent can ALSO BE AN ADVERB. best of luck.
Entonces, antes de un sustantivo, lleva acento, y solo (je je 
) no la lleva...'verdad?
Thanks for your help. I am a veteran, but somehow that has always escaped me...weird, huh?
I think it goes like this:
solo (plain) = alone. Pretty much the same as English. Flying solo.
Sólo (with accent) = only, there is only one apple left, etc.
I'm fairly new at Spanish, but I'm reasonably sure the above is correct.
