Lesson of the Week: Spanish Accent Marks

From the La Bamba Grammar Chapter

Artificial Stress

When a word goes against the rule of natural stress, it needs an accent mark.

The stress of capitán would fall on the “i ”(ka-PEE-tahn) but since this is not how the word is pronounced, you need an accent mark. For instructions about using accent marks on your computer, click on the graphic below.

Click to hear an mp3 that includes the word "seré"

Here are some more examples of words that contain artificial stress, or accent marks - practice SAYING these words out loud.

Bogotá	fácil	fórmula
estás	útil	teléfono
inglés	cárcel	tímida
ningún	lápiz	incómodo

Adding Accent Marks to Differentiate Between Words

Some words can be used to mean different things, so an accent mark is used to show which meaning applies. Look at the following words:

sí	yes	si	if
porqué	why?	porque	because
sólo	only	solo	alone
estás	you are	estas	these (feminine)

For words with just 1 syllable, accent marks are only used when a word has multiple meanings. Look at the word "sí" above.

Worksheet/Activity: Accent Marks

Quiz: Accent Marks

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