Lesson 1.3 · Unit 1 · Structures
The consonants that surprise English speakers, and where the stress falls
Most Spanish consonants sound as they do in English. A handful do not, and that handful decides whether you can read a new word aloud on the first try. This lesson gives you those few, then the rule for splitting a word into syllables and the rule for knowing which syllable is stressed. With both rules you can say almost any Spanish word correctly without ever having heard it.
- b and v sound the same. Both are a soft "b", with the lips barely touching: vaso (glass) and basa sound alike. Do not use the English "v" with the teeth on the lip.
- c and qu. C before a, o or u is a "k": casa, cosa. Before e or i it is an "s" in Latin America (cena, cine). Qu is a "k" and the u is silent: que is keh, quiero is KYEH-roh.
- g and j. G before a, o, u is the hard "g" of "go": gato. Before e or i it is an "h" sound: gente (HEN-teh). Gu before e or i is a hard "g" with a silent u: guerra, guitarra. J is always the "h": jugo (HOO-goh).
- h, ll, ñ, ch and y. H is silent. Ll sounds like a "y" in most places: llamo is YAH-moh. Ñ is "ny". Ch is as in "cheese". Y alone is "ee" as the word "and" and a "y" before a vowel.
- r and rr. A single r is a quick tap of the tongue, like the "dd" in "ladder": pero. A word-initial r and a double rr are trilled: rojo, perro. The difference changes meaning: pero (but) and perro (dog).
- z and d. Z is an "s" in Latin America (zapato is sah-PAH-toh) and a "th" in most of Spain. D between vowels is soft, like the "th" in "this": nada, todo.
- Syllables. Each syllable holds one vowel sound. A single consonant between vowels goes with the second vowel: ma-no. Two consonants split, with exceptions for ch, ll, rr and a consonant followed by l or r: can-tar, pe-rro, li-bro. The strong vowels a, e, o and the weak i, u blend when weak meets another: bue-no, cua-tro.
- Stress. If a word ends in a vowel, n or s, stress the next-to-last syllable: ha-BLA-mos, co-MI-da. If it ends in any other consonant, stress the last syllable: es-pa-ÑOL, ciu-DAD. A written accent overrides the rule (Lesson 1.4).
Where students lose marks: the soft g and the silent u. Gente is not "GEN-tay" and queso is not "KWAY-so". Also, stressing the wrong syllable. Stress alone can make a word unrecognizable, so run the stress rule on every new word.
The problem. You have never seen the word guitarra or the word ciudad. Divide each into syllables, decide the stressed syllable, and give an English respelling.
Step one: guitarra, find the vowels. u, i, a, a. After g the u is part of the spelling gu, and it is silent before i.
Step two: guitarra, divide. gui-ta-rra, three syllables. The double rr goes with the second vowel, as in pe-rro.
Step three: guitarra, stress. The word ends in a vowel, so the stress falls on the next-to-last syllable: gui-TA-rra.
Step four: guitarra, respelling. The gu is a hard "g", and the rr is trilled. Gui-TA-rra is "gee-TAH-rrah", with the rolled "r".
Step five: ciudad, find the vowels. i, u, a. The letters iu are two weak vowels together and blend into one syllable.
Step six: ciudad, divide. ciu-dad, two syllables. The first c comes before i, so it is "s" in Latin America.
Step seven: ciudad, stress. The word ends in d, a consonant other than n or s, so the last syllable is stressed: ciu-DAD, "syoo-DAHD". The final d is a soft "th".
Step eight: check. Both words were stressed by rule, with no memory needed. Guitarra is gee-TAH-rrah and ciudad is syoo-DAHD.
Problems 1 to 5 are routine. Problems 6 to 10 are multi-step or ask for reasoning.
- How is c pronounced in casa and in cena (Latin America)?
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Before a it is a "k" (KAH-sah). Before e it is an "s" (SEH-nah). k; s
- How is j pronounced in jugo?
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J is always the "h" sound: HOO-goh. "h"
- Is the u pronounced in queso?
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No. In que the u is silent and only makes the q a "k": KEH-soh. No
- Divide mano into syllables.
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One consonant between vowels goes with the second vowel. ma-no
- Which syllable is stressed in hablamos?
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The word ends in s, so stress the next-to-last syllable: ha-BLA-mos. the second, BLA
- Tell pero from perro in sound and meaning.
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Pero has a single tapped r and means "but". Perro has a trilled rr and means "dog". The trill alone changes the word. but; dog
- Divide cantar into syllables and give its stressed syllable.
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Two consonants split: can-tar. It ends in r, so the last syllable is stressed: can-TAR. can-tar; tar
- Give an English respelling of gente and guerra and explain the difference.
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Gente is HEN-teh because g before e is an "h" sound. Guerra is GEH-rrah because gu before e is a hard "g" with a silent u. HEN-teh; GEH-rrah
- Find the error: a student says llamo as "LAH-moh", with an English "l".
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The double ll is a "y" sound in most Spanish, so the word is YAH-moh, the one from me llamo. YAH-moh
- Apply the stress rule to ciudad, joven and papel and state the
reason for each.
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Ciudad ends in d, so the last syllable is stressed: ciu-DAD. Joven ends in n, so the next-to-last: JO-ven. Papel ends in l, so the last: pa-PEL. ciu-DAD, JO-ven, pa-PEL