When and Where Should I Place Accent Marks in Spanish?

1. When and Where Should I Place Accent Marks in Spanish? ¿Es un acento o mató otra mosca Andrew?

2. Stress: Everybody has it and every word with more than one syllable has it.

3. 3 BASIC RULES:Best to memorize these 1 – If a word ends in a vowel, or 'n' or 's', the stress is usually on the next to the last syllable. (penúltima sílaba)

4. Stress: Everybody has it and every word with more than one syllable has it.

5. 2. If a word ends in a consonant other than 'n' or 's', the stress is usually on the last syllable. (la última sílaba)

6. 3. If the stress in a word doesn't follow rules 1 and 2, then the syllable that is stressed needs a written accent mark over the vowel.

7. -Stress- It is more than what happens when you don’t study for that important test In words with more that one syllable, only one syllable shouldbe stressed. Y   apenas   ayer, cuando   mi   hermana  Tacha   acababa   de   cumplir doce años,   supimos   que   la   vaca   que   mi   papá   le   regaló para   el   día   de   su  santo   se   la   había   llevado   el   río.

8. Diphthongs in Spanish • Strong vowels: a, e, o – always form own syllable wherever they appear • Weak vowels: u, i - only form own syllable when they are separate from other vowels. RULE: When a weak vowel is next to a strong vowel or another weak vowel, they AUTOMATICALLY form a diphthong = ONE SYLLABLE

9. EXAMPLES OF DIPHTHONGS san-da-lia lue-go tie-ne diobien se-cre-ta-ria bib-lio-te-ca sie-te cien-cias pue-blo diez nue-ve gra-cias bue-no An-to-nio e-stu-dia-nte cua-der-no

10. Circle the stressed syllable on these words

11. Circle the stressed syllable in these words:

12. Adverbs that end in “-mente”

13. List of homophonous monosyllables

14. NEVER PUT AN ACCENT MARK ON A ONE-SYLLABLE WORD UNLESS YOU ARE AWARE OF THE CORRESPONDING HOMOPHONE THAT DOES NOT NEED AN ACCENT MARK.

15. To count as a homophonous monosyllabic pair, the two words must: • Be just one syllable long • Be spelled the same • Belong to two distinct grammatical categories (i.e., nouns, verbs, pronouns, prepositions, etc.)

17. Changes made in 2010 Previous to 2010: Demonstrative pronouns carried a accents over their stressed syllable to distinguish them from demonstrative adjectives. These adjectives always precede nouns, the pronouns never do. EXAMPLES: ESTE, ESA, ESO, AQUEL

18. Another rule change made in 2010 The word sólo meant solamente - only, while solo meant alone (masculine singular). Today, neither word carries an accent mark.It is true that this allows for ambiguity (as in "Juan trabaja solo en la cocina"). However, the new rule reflects an ambiguity that exists in the spoken language and this seems proper.

19. Yet another rule change in2010 The word o (meaning or) carried an accent mark only between numerals so that it was not confused with 0 (zero).         "Quiero cinco o seis dulces".  vs  "Quiero 5 ó 6 dulces". Now, the rule is not to put an accent mark on "o". The Academy's stated reasoning is that since computer printed text has become so common, there is little chance that an "o" (letter) and a "0" number" will be confused. I have my doubts and I believe users will continue to put an accent on the word "ó", particularly when writing by hand.

20. Suggestions 1. Memorize the three rules 2. Memorize verb endings 3. Memorize one syllable words that need accents 4. Read a lot in Spanish and pay attention to the placement of accent marks. 5. After writing in Spanish, proofread your writing before handing in 6. Practice, practice, practice 7. Relax and do your best

21. Some youtube videosthese explain more and might help http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpoXih2Fbt0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdxbgn8ZLrg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywzGFZehsQ0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qntSk2_J6G0