Apuntes…Apuntes… La Acentuación La Acentuación

Accents

To know when a word needs an accent, you need to know...

A) That some words always need accents:

1. Question words

¿Qué? ¿Cómo? ¿Cuándo? ¿Dónde? ¿Quién? ¿Por qué?

2. Words that are spelled the same but have different meanings need accents

• Tú = You Tu = your

• Mí = me Mi = my

• Sé = I know Se = to him…

3. Words that end in –ando or –iendo when one or two pronoun(s) are attached need an accent on the ándo or the iéndo

• Está cantándole una canción.

• Está cantándosela al bebé.

4. Words that end in –AR, –ER or –IR when two pronouns are attached need an accent on the ár, ér, or ír.

• Necesita llevarla al médico.

• Va a llevársela a su casa.

• Necesita ponértela en el ojo.

5. Words that end in –ción or –sión need an accent on the ó

• la canción

• mansión

• conclusión

6. Regular verbs conjugated in the preterit need an accent in the YO and Él forms

• yo hablé tú hablaste él habló

• yo comí tú comiste él comió

7. Regular AR verbs conjugated in the imperfect need an accent in the nosotros and ER/IR verbs need an accent on the í in all forms

• ábamos ía, ías, ía, íamos, ían

You also need to know...

B) How to separate words into syllables:

1.Divide syllables so the syllables always start with a consonant.

2.If a word starts with a vowel, separate the vowel and start the next syllable with a consonant.

Divide these words into syllables:

1. silla

2. mañana

3. enemigo

4. amarillo

5. comedor

3. *Keep a strong vowel (A, E, O) and a weak vowel (I, U) together, *separate 2 consonants that are not ll, rr, or ch and *separate 2 strong vowels

1. fuerte 4. veo

2. almuerzo 5. paseo

3. accidente 6. farmacia

4. Separate a strong vowel (A, E, O) and a weak vowel (I, U) when you want to separate their sounds. A weak vowel with an accent becomes a strong vowel!

1. María

2. Fotografía

3. Continúa

Finally, you need to know...

C) That you must memorize 3 rules of pronunciation:

1.Words that end in n, s, or a vowel are naturally stressed on the second to the last syllable.

1. alemanes

2. lunes

3. lecciones

4. examen

5. joven

2. Words that end in a consonant except n or s are naturally stressed on the last syllable

1. explicar

2. federal

3. navidad

4. pared

5. español

3.Words that don’t follow these rules need a written accent.

4. tambien 6. platano

5. natacion 7. increible

6. dias 8. pais

7. Barbara 9. mirandola

8. boligrafo 10.darmelo

4. Divide into syllables and add an accent IF it is needed:

1. numero 6. cupon

2. pasaporte 7. quizas

3. funcion 8. ruido

4. tecnologia 9. miercoles

5. basquetbol 10. nariz