Lesson 1.4 · Unit 1 · Structures
Accent marks, question marks and exclamation points
The stress rule from Lesson 1.3 has exceptions, and Spanish marks every exception in writing with an accent. That makes the accent a spelling signal, not a decoration, and it is why a missing accent is a spelling mistake. Spanish also opens a question with ¿ and an exclamation with ¡, so the reader knows from the first word what kind of sentence it is. This lesson shows when each mark is required.
- An accent marks a stress that breaks the rule. Without it, a word ending in a vowel, n or s would be stressed on the next-to-last syllable. With it, the marked syllable is stressed: canción (kahn-SYOHN), café (kah-FEH), está (eh-STAH).
- The second rule works the same way. A word ending in another consonant is stressed on the last syllable. An accent marks the exception: fácil (FAH-seel), lápiz (LAH-pees), árbol (AHR-bohl).
- The third-from-last syllable always carries a mark. Teléfono, sábado, matemáticas, música. No unmarked word stresses a syllable that early.
- An accent can change the meaning. Pairs that look alike are different words: el (the) and él (he); tu (your) and tú (you); mi (my) and mí (me); si (if) and sí (yes); te (you, object) and té (tea).
- Question words always carry an accent. qué (what), quién (who), cómo (how), dónde (where), cuándo (when), cuánto (how much), por qué (why). Without it they are other words, as in que (that) and como (as, I eat).
- A written accent can split a vowel pair. i and u normally blend with the next vowel. An accent on the weak vowel pulls them apart: día (DEE-ah), país (pah-EES), María, Raúl.
- Questions and exclamations use two marks. ¿Cómo te llamas? ¡Qué bien! The opening mark goes where the question starts, which may be in the middle of a sentence: Hola, ¿cómo estás?
- Spanish capitalizes less than English. Capitalize the first word of a sentence and proper names. Do not capitalize days, months, languages, nationalities or yo (I): hoy es lunes, hablo español, yo soy colombiano.
Where students lose marks: writing only the closing mark of a question, or dropping the accent on a question word. Como estas? has three errors: no ¿, no accent on cómo and no accent on estás. Treat the accent as a letter. To type: on Windows add the US-International keyboard and press the apostrophe and then the vowel; on a Mac hold the vowel key, or press Option and e then the vowel.
The problem. Add every missing accent and mark to this sentence, and explain each: Hola, como esta tu mama? Que bien!
Step one: read the sentence aloud. There is a greeting, a question about someone's mother, and an exclamation.
Step two: mark the question. The question starts after the comma, so the opening mark goes before como: Hola, ¿como esta tu mama?
Step three: question word. Cómo is a question word and always carries an accent: ¿cómo.
Step four: esta. The form that means "is" is está, stressed on the last syllable. Without the accent esta means "this".
Step five: tu. Here tu means "your", a possessive, so it takes no accent. The pronoun tú ("you") would take one.
Step six: mamá. The word ends in a vowel and is stressed on the last syllable, so it needs an accent: mamá (mah-MAH). Compare mama (MAH-mah), which is a different word.
Step seven: the exclamation. Qué carries an accent, and the exclamation takes both marks: ¡Qué bien!
Step eight: write the corrected sentence. Hola, ¿cómo está tu mamá? ¡Qué bien! Count: four accents (cómo, está, mamá, qué) and four inverted-and-closing marks.
Problems 1 to 5 are routine. Problems 6 to 10 are multi-step or ask for reasoning.
- Which syllable does the accent mark in canción?
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The mark is on the last syllable, ción. Because the word ends in n, the rule would stress the first syllable, so the accent signals the exception. the last syllable
- Write the question "How are you?" in Spanish with all marks and accents (informal).
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Both question marks, an accent on cómo, and an accent on estás. ¿Cómo estás?
- What is the difference in meaning between si and sí?
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Si means "if". Sí with the accent means "yes". if; yes
- Should the days of the week be capitalized in Spanish? Write "Monday".
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No. Days, months and languages are lowercase unless they begin a sentence. lunes
- Does sábado need its accent? Why?
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Yes. The stress falls on the third syllable from the end (SÁ-ba-do), and a stress that early always carries a mark. Yes
- Add the missing marks: Donde esta el telefono.
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Dónde is a question word, está is stressed on the end, and teléfono is stressed on the third syllable from the end. ¿Dónde está el teléfono?
- Choose the correct word and say why: Tu / Tú eres mi amigo.
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The sentence needs the pronoun "you" as the subject, so it takes the accent. Tú eres mi amigo.
- Find the errors: ¿Cuando es la clase de Español?
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Cuándo is a question word and needs an accent. Español is a language name and is lowercase. ¿Cuándo es la clase de español?
- Explain why día has an accent although the stress rule would already put the stress
there.
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The accent is not about the stress rule here. Normally ia blends into one syllable (dia). The accent on the í keeps the two vowels separate: dí-a. It splits the vowel pair.
- Write in Spanish, with every mark: "Hello, how is your father? Great!"
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The question opens after the comma, and cómo and está carry accents. Papá takes an accent, and tu (your) does not. The exclamation takes both marks, as in ¡Qué bien! Hola, ¿cómo está tu papá? ¡Qué bien!