Spanish: An Essential Grammar

When there is a combination of a strong vowel and one or two weak vowels

they constitute a single syllable (a diphthong or triphthong) in the majority

of cases:

his-to-ria far-ma-cia in-tem-pe-rie ha-blas-teis sim-po-sio

The stress falls on the strong vowel when the diphthong (or triphthong) is

stressed:

pei-ne bri-ga-dier he-roi-co i-dio-ta gua-pa eu-ro liais

Words that do not conform to the principle that the combination of a

strong vowel and one or two weak vowels forms a single syllable require

the use of a written accent:

re-ís-teis frí-o pa-ís ba-úl con-ti-nú-o a-ba-dí-a ven-dí-ais

This case can be contrasted with that of words like enviáis, evacuéis, metió,

podéisand buscapiés, which doconform to the principle that the combi-

nation of a strong vowel and one or two weak vowels forms a single

syllable. The accent is required for an entirely different reason, namely that

the stress falls on the final syllable, rather than the expected penultimate

syllable (as per 1.3.2.1).

Notes:

1 Single syllable verb forms containing two vowels conform to the general rules

and so do not require a written accent: dio‘he/she gave’, fui‘I went’. Note,

however, the exceptions rió‘he/she laughed’, huís‘you (plural) flee’, huí‘I fled’.

2 The Spanish Academy advises that there should be a written accent in cases

where an hseparates two vowels that are pronounced separately: prohíbe,

rehúso, retahíla, búho, ahínco, ahúmo, cohíbe.

Other uses of written acute accents

Written acute accents are used to distinguish between the meanings of

words with the same spelling:

si if sí yes

mi my mí me (after prepositions)

1.3.4

1.3.3.4

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Alphabet,
pronuncia-
tion, stress,
spelling and
punctuation

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