In Spanish, unlike other languages, we have words with accents in different parts of the words, so it is sometimes difficult to know when a word is accented by means of a tilde. If it has happened to you that you do not know why on some occasions the same word may or may not have an accent, this post is for you; Here we will tell you about the general rules for accenting words in Spanish, as well as some special cases.
Accentuation vs use of tilde
Before going into the matter, it is necessary to differentiate the concepts of accentuation and the use of tilde. In this entry, by tilde, we refer to the symbol placed above some vowels in Spanish; It consists of an oblique line that goes down from right to left (´). By accent, we mean the emphasis in the pronunciation of a syllable, or a specific part of the word. All words have an accent, but not all have a tilde.
The tonic syllable
The tonic syllable is the part of the word where the accent falls. We classify words according to where they have the tonic syllable:
- In the last syllable. These words are marked with a tilde if they end in n, s, or a vowel. If they end with some other letter, they do not have a tilde. For example: colibrí, amor.
- On the penultimate syllable. These words have a tilde if they do NOT end in n, s or a vowel. If they end with those letters, they do not have an accent. For example: lápiz, dibujo.
- In the third to last syllable. These words always have an accent. For example: esdrújula, púrpura.
- Before the third to last syllable. These words also always have an accent. For example: cómetelo, ábremelo.
In contrast to Spanish, languages such as French always accentuate their words on the last syllable, that is, all their words have an accent in the last syllable. For its part, in Nahuatl, almost all words have an accent on the penultimate syllable.
As we observed in the previous examples, in Spanish, accentuation is sometimes marked by tildes. We only have one type of tilde, this tilde is also known as “aguda”. French, on the other hand, has the last-syllable tilde (´), the penultimate-syllable tilde (`) and the circumflex tilde (^).
These are the general rules, to know when to put a tilde to words in Spanish. However, there are some special cases that are explained below.
Emphatic tilde
Normally we use it in conjunctions, in exclamatory sentences (which are in the middle of the signs ¡!) and interrogatives (which are in the middle of the signs ¿?). Some examples:
- ¿Qué dijeron? Dijeron que sí vendrían.
The “qué” of the question has a tilde. - ¿Cómo lo hicieron? Como fue solicitado.
The “cómo” of the question is emphasized by a tilde. - ¿Por qué partiste? Porque era hora.
The interrogative “por qué” is written separately and the conjunction “qué” has a tilde to emphasize the question. On the other hand, in an answer, the conjunction “porque” is written together and without a tilde. - ¡Qué gusto me da verte!
As with the interrogation, with the exclamation certain conjunctions have a tilde.
Diacritical tilde
There are different kinds of words, as we have already seen, and another way to classify them is to know what function they fulfill within sentences.
So, we have verbs, which express actions or states; nouns, which name things; pronouns, which as its name indicates, are in place of the name or noun; articles, which help define nouns; among other.
Sometimes when we conjugate a verb, it has the form of another word. Or an article can sound the same as a pronoun. In these cases, to differentiate words that have the same form as another but belong to different classes of words, a tilde is used. Below some examples:
- Sé que se hizo una fiesta.
“Sé” verb, differs from “se” pronoun by a diacritical accent. - Él perdió el avión.
“Él” pronoun (because it refers to a person) is differentiated from the article “el” by a tilde. - Si vas, yo sí voy.
“Sí” adverb of affirmation is differentiated from “si” adverb of condition by means of a tilde. - Dile que de su té, te dé.
“Té” noun takes tilde if it refers to the drink, in contrast to the pronoun “te”; “dé” of the verb to give has a tilde unlike the preposition “de”. - Tú cuidas tu dinero.
“Tú” pronoun is differentiated from “tu” possessive adjective by a tilde. - Para vivir solo necesito Internet.
In case the person has just moved and decides that they must hire an Internet service. - Para vivir sólo necesito Internet.
In case the person only requires the Internet to live.
Optional diacritical tilde
According to the Real Academia de la Lengua Española, some of the words can carry an optional diacritical tilde, which means that they are not mandatory. It can be used if the writer prefers it, or in cases where the text is ambiguous. This is the case of determinative adjectives vs. determinative pronouns. Some examples:
- Este libro me gusta; aquél no tanto.
“Este” does not have a tilde when it has the function of a determinative adjective; “aquél” is in place of the name, it is a pronoun and therefore, it has a tilde to differentiate it from its homophone adjective. - Aquel hombre compra libros; a éste no le interesan.
In this case, “aquel” is an adjective, so it does not have a tilde; “éste” being a pronoun, does have it.
Adverbs ending in -mente
Adjectives are that kind of word that indicates characteristics of a noun; among others, they are classified in turn into:
- Qualifiers: They indicate how things are. For example: pink, big, tall.
- Determinatives: They indicate various things. They can have the function of an article (a, some); indicate whose something is (yours, his, mine); indicate proximity or distance (this, that); or indicate order (first, second, third).
- Relational: They indicate membership in a group. For example: solar, musical, national.
- Demonym: They indicate the nationality of things and people. For example: Mexican, Chilean, Argentinean, etc.
We can adverbialize an adjective, that is, turn an adjective into an adverb, if we add the ending -mente. When this happens, the accent and the tilde of the adjective are respected or, if it does not have a tilde, it is not used, for example:
- rápidamente
- ávidamente
- verazmente
- grandemente
In general, the autocorrectors of cell phones and word processors suggest where to place the tildes; however, in many cases these suggestions are not correct. We hope that with this information you know when a word is accented in Spanish and you can choose wisely where to place the accents.
