Identify

• Indicate stress on specific syllables.
• Identify and distinguish certain words from others.

Connect

• LEAF Spanish Grammar: The Spanish Alphabet
• LEAF Spanish Grammar: Vowels and Vowel Sounds

60-Second Spanish Grammar Lesson

Study

Accent marks can appear over any vowel in Spanish.

A, E, I, O, U
can be
Á, É, Í, Ó, Ú or Ü

Accent marks can appear in all kinds of words. (Nouns, adjectives, verbs, and more!)

Accent marks are written indicators that let you know how to properly pronounce a word in Spanish. Their function is to help you read, write, and speak well!

Accent marks do NOT change the pitch or tone of the word (unlike French), but they indicate where to STRESS or EMPHASIZE certain syllables in words.

When a word does NOT have any accent marks, you should stress the second-to-last (penultimate) syllable in the word.

When a word DOES have an accent mark you should stress the syllable that has the accented vowel in it.

This makes Spanish easy to read out loud, even if you have never seen certain words before!

All accent marks in Spanish are represented by a single diagonal mark, from bottom left to top right.

In Spanish, there are a few rules we can use to help us pronounce words correctly.

First: If a Spanish word has NO accent mark, the EMPHASIS in the word lands on the second-to-last syllable (penultimate syllable).

el LI-bro / The book
la SI-lla / The chair
la CLA-se / The class
la pro-fe-SOR-a / The professor (fem.)
la es-CUE-la / The school
la com-pu-ta-DOR-a / The computer

Second: If a Spanish word DOES have an accent mark, the first rule is thrown out and the EMPHASIS lands ON the accent mark in the word.

¿CÓ-mo, es-TÁ? / How are you?
MIÉR-co-les / Wednesday
SÁ-ba-do / Saturday
die-ci-SEÍS / Sixteen

Letters like the (ñ) or the (ü) are considered to be one complete letter and NOT just (n) or (u) with an additional accent mark. Just treat them as completely different letters since they have completely different sounds!

Question marks and exclamation points appear at the beginning AND end of Spanish sentences!

Here is a chart detailing how to type these characters on Windows and Apple computers!

Adapt

¿Quién es ella?
Who is she?

¿Cómo se escribe su nombre?
How is your name written?

¿Cuándo es el baile?
When is the dance?

¿Por qué está tarde?
Why is he late?

¿Cuántos estudiantes hay?
How many students are there?

¿Cuál es su apellido?
What is your last name?

Engage

• LEAF 60-Second Spanish Grammar Index

Explore

• YouTube/Elmowantbeer: Spanish Accent Marks

Quizlet Activity

• Characters and Accent Marks
• Direct Link: [https://quizlet.com/_8j69ck]
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