Spanish: An Essential Grammar

When words are stressed in ways that do not conform to the above rules,

the stress is indicated by a written acute accent:

cámara chacolí cólico escáner fácil Perú

The correct use of the accent in Spanish is important, as a missing accent

can completely change the meaning of a word: llego‘I arrive’, llegó‘he/she

arrived’.

Stress on combinations of vowels

Fundamental to understanding what follows is the fact that vowels in

Spanish are divided into two groups: strong vowels (a, e, and o) and weak

vowels (iand u). For purposes of identification only, stressed vowels are

underlined.

When two strongvowels are combined, they form two separate syllables:

ta-re-a ca-ero-a-sis ca-o-ba cre-en

When two weakvowels are combined they constitute a single syllable (a

diphthong). When this syllable is stressed, the emphasis normally falls on

the second of the vowels:

bui-tre rui-dos Piu-ra diur-no dis-tri-bui-do

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1.3.3

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Stress and

written

accents

7

Written acute accents

1 A written acute accent on a syllable always indicates that the

stress is located on that syllable.

2 Words which are stressed on syllables other than the last or next

to the last will always require a written accent: enérgico, frívolo,

válvula, miércoles.

3 Care is required when forming the plural of words since

normally the stress should remain in the same position whether

the word is used in the singular or plural. In some cases, this

may require either the addition or the removal of a written acute

accent: joven> jóvenes, interés> intereses. See 2.1.4.1.