Accent Marks in Spanish – Learn the Rules and Practice with Words

Welcome to our fun lesson about Spanish Accent Marks 🙂

Every word in Spanish has a melody to it. An element that plays a key role in that melody is the accent mark we can see on a vowel in some words. Also called “tilde”.

In this lesson, we will learn how to decide if a word we just heard should have an accent mark (and where). After explaining the method, we will put it into practice with example words. Also, at the end there is a short Quiz to test your knowledge.

Important: The method we are going to learn doesn’t apply to Interrogative words such as “qué”, “dónde”, etc. It also doesn’t apply to monosyllables (words consisting on just one syllable). But don’t worry! At the end of this lesson, there are separate sections about accent marks on those specific types of words.

Introduction: Strong and Weak Vowels

In order to understand the method we will use, it is important to know that there are two types of Spanish vowels: strong and weak.

The strong vowels are “a, e, o” and the weak vowels are “i, u”.

Knowing this, now we can explain our method:

Deciding if a word should have an accent mark: 3 Steps

If we hear a Spanish word and want to know if it should be written with an accent mark, we need to go through the following 3 steps: 

— Step 1. Number the word’s syllables —

We need to count the word’s syllables and number them from right to left.

Counting syllables is pretty easy. However, it can get trickier when two vowels appear together. The following blue box explains what to do in that case:

— Step 2. Identify the stressed syllable—

After we have numbered the syllables, hear the word again and pay attention to its melody. Try to identify the vowel that sounds stressed and the syllable it belongs to.

Don’t worry if you can’t hear which vowel sounds stressed, that is very normal for Spanish learners. Eventually, with practice, it will become easier and easier.

— Step 3. Apply the proper rule and decide —

This is the final step. After we have identified the vowel that sounds stressed, we need to apply a rule, depending on what syllable that vowel belongs to.

If the stressed vowel belongs to syllable 1:

In this case, the stressed vowel must have an accent mark only if the word ends in “n”, “s”, or vowel.

If the stressed vowel belongs to syllable 2:

Then the stressed vowel must have an accent mark only if the word DOESN’T end in “n”, “s” or vowel.

If the stressed vowel belongs to syllable 3 or higher:

In this case, the stressed vowel ALWAYS must have an accent mark.

Practice with words: Which ones should have accent marks?

Now it’s time to put into practice the method we have explained.

We will next present you with a list of words. Some of the are correctly written, but others should have accent marks:

• despues
• arroz
• vivia
• mesa
• Fernandez
• simpatico

For each word, we will follow our method and decide if (and where) they should have an accent mark. Of course, in order to do this we need to hear them or clearly remember how they sound.

Let’s do it!

Accent Marks on Monosyllables

Monosyllables (one-syllable words) in general don’t have accent marks. However, there are exceptions to this rule. 

The reason is some monosyllables have several different meanings depending on context. They are written with or without an accent mark depending on their specific meaning in that sentence. 

Here is a table containing those monosyllables, their meaning when they have an accent mark and their meaning when they don’t:

Accent Marks on Interrogative Words

Words such as “¿qué?” or “¿dónde?” must have an accent mark when they are working as interrogative words. 

However, don’t forget that these words sometimes work as relative pronouns or connectors with no interrogative role. In that case, they don’t have an accent mark. 

Here is the list of interrogative words:

• adónde
• cómo
• cuál
• cuáles
• cuándo
• cuánto/a/s
• dónde
• qué
• quién
• quiénes

Let’s take as examples the words “dónde” and “qué”, and give you some sentences in which they either have or don’t have an accent mark, depending on the specific role they play.

Dónde

¿Dónde estás?
Where are you? (Interrogative role)

No sé dónde tengo mis gafas.
I don’t know where I have my glasses. (although there are no question marks, the role is still interrogative, because someone is wondering where the glasses are)

Esta es el sitio donde puse mis gafas.
This is the place where I put my glasses. (no interrogative role, here “donde” is a relative pronoun, mere connector of the words “sitio” and “puse”)

Qué

¿Qué quieres?
What do you want? (Interrogative role)

Me preguntó qué sabía.
He asked me what I knew. (although there are no question marks, the role is still interrogative, because someone is wondering)

Esta es la casa que he comprado.
This is the house that I’ve bought. (no interrogative role, here “que” is a relative pronoun, mere connector of the words “casa” and “he comprado”)

Practice: A Quiz

Take this short Quiz to test your knowledge about accent marks!:

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