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How to Use Spanish Accent Marks for Beginners

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Welcome 😊 to our grammar lesson about Spanish accent marks (also called "tildes").

In Spanish, only vowels can have accent marks. When they do, they look like this:

Or, if they are capitalized:

In this lesson, we will learn the rules to decide, after hearing a word, whether we should write it with an accent mark.

Then we will practice with some examples and exercises.

Note: The rules we will learn don't apply to such as "qué", "dónde", etc. They also don't apply to monosyllables (one syllable words). At the end of the lesson, we have included two sections about those types of words.

Introduction: strong and weak vowels

There are two types of vowels in Spanish: strong and weak. This is important for accent marks, as we will see.

Rules for accent marks

In order to know whether a word we hear needs an accent mark, we follow 3 steps. Don't worry if you don't understand everything at first, we will see examples soon.

Step 1 - Number the syllables

We number the syllables from right to left.

Numbering syllables can get tricky when two vowels appear together (or with just an "h" between them). The following box explains what to do in that case:

Step 2 - Identify the stressed vowel

Try to identify Hear the word again. the vowel that sounds stressed, and the syllable it belongs to.

Step 3 - Apply the proper rule and decide

We need to apply a different rule depending on the position of the stressed vowel:

If the stressed vowel is in syllable 1...

... then that vowel needs an accent mark only if the word ends in "n", "s", or vowel.

If the stressed vowel is in syllable 2...

... then that vowel needs an accent mark only if the word ends in a letter that is NOT "n", "s" or vowel.

If the stressed vowel is in syllable 3 or higher...

... then that vowel always needs an accent mark.

Let's practice with the following 6 words. Some are written correctly, but others need an accent mark:

We will hear each word and follow the steps to decide whether it needs an accent mark:

Quiz

Take this short Quiz to practice accent marks:

Exercise

A few more words! Try to decide if the following words should have an accent mark. (We have highlighted the vowel that sounds stressed). Then check the solutions below.

Solutions

Accents on question words

such as "¿qué?" or "¿dónde?" have an accent mark when they play an interrogative role. The rules learned above don't apply here.

Here is the list of question words:

Let's take "dónde" and "qué" as examples, and read some sentences where they have an accent mark and some sentences where they don't:

dónde:

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

Este es el lugar donde pongo mis gafas.
This is the place where I put my glasses. (no interrogative role)

qué:

¿ quieres?
What do you want? (interrogative role)

Ellos me preguntan quiero.
They ask me what I want. (although there are no question marks, the role is interrogative)

Esta es la casa que he comprado.
This is the house that I've bought. (no interrogative role)

Accents on monosyllables

In general, monosyllables (one-syllable words) don't have accent marks.

However, there are a few exceptions. Some monosyllables have several different meanings, and they need an accent mark only when they have a particular meaning.

Here's the list of monosyllables affected by this, and their meanings with and without accent marks:

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Spanish ACCENT Marks - Rules and PRACTICE

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Welcome 😊 to our grammar lesson about Spanish accent marks (also called "tildes"). In Spanish, only vowels can have accent marks. When they do, they look like this: Or, if they are capitalized: In this lesson, we will learn the rules to decide, after hearing a word, whether we should write it with an accent mark.

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News in Slow Spanish offers a unique language learning experience with engaging content at a slower pace to help all learners. Covering a range of topics and difficulty levels, it features current events, grammar, expressions, and original miniseries.

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ver-taal website

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Ejercicios de gramática: ejercicios de diferentes niveles de dificultad sobre todos los aspectos de la gramática española. Incluye ejercicios con audio y crucigramas.

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Ver-taal: Telediario

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Escucha de fragmentos del telediario (TVE)

Escucha de programas informativos

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Ejercicios de escucha con reportajes de la tele y de la radio

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Ejercicios de escucha con reportajes de la tele y de la radio

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Escucha a 'trailers' de pelícuas en español

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This site is designed to help you learn and practice Spanish. Maybe you need a quick refresher on a grammar topic or want to learn something new. The videos primarily focus on grammar with a few extras thrown in for good measure.

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The purpose of this channel is to help people who would like to learn Spanish! Here’s the system, at the beginning of many of the grammar video titles:
01 means it’s a year one video
02 means it’s a year two video
03 means it’s a year three video Twitter: senorjordan
Instagram: @senorjordanvideos…

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Spanish greetings
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Negating statements and saying "no"
When it comes to turning an affirmative statement (like "I will take out the trash") into a negative statement ("I will not take out the trash"), or answering questions with a "no", Spanish is actually much easier than English. In fact you probably already know how to do it...
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Adjectives are describing words. They're what turn a weekend into a sunny weekend, and a cake into a decadent chocolate cake. If you like sunny weekends and chocolate cake then here are some simple tricks to using adjectives in Spanish...
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Here's where Spanish throws you a curve ball: There are two ways of saying "is" (and other forms of the verb "to be"). It all depends on whether something is permanent or temporary. In this lesson we'll give you some tricks for using " ser" vs " estar"...
Feelings and moods
You're probably feeling pretty shattered about needing three verbs for the weather, so here's a lesson to help you talk about those feelings. You only need two verbs for this one. You'll also learn how to talk about various degrees of feeling, which is great if you're only "a little bit" surprised by those three verbs...
Telling the time
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Where is a public restroom? Where is Moe's Tavern? Both " estar" and " haber" are verbs you can use to say where something is. So which one do you use? In this lesson we enlist the help of the citizens of Springfield to help explain the difference.
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How do you say when one thing is better than another thing, or faster than another thing, or less beautiful than another thing? In this lesson you'll learn how to compare two things that aren't equal.

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Free Online Spanish Lessons with Audio - The Spanish Experiment

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Spanish greetings You probably already know that " ¡Hola!" means "Hi!", but Spanish greetings and pleasantries don't stop there. This lesson covers the most common greetings you'll hear, including the more casual greetings you probably won't find in your textbook ...

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Varsity Tutors

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Varsity Tutors always has a different AP Spanish Question of the Day ready at your disposal! If you're just looking to get a quick review into your busy day, our AP Spanish Question of the Day is the perfect option. Answer enough of our AP Spanish Question of the Day problems and you'll be ready to ace the next test. Check out what today's AP Spanish Question of the Day is below.

You can use the AP Spanish Language and Culture Question of the Day to get into the habit of thinking about Spanish Language and Culture content on a daily basis when studying for the AP exam. Varsity Tutors' AP Spanish Language and Culture Questions of the Day are drawn from each topic and question type covered on the AP Spanish Language and Culture exam.

Adapted from Mala Hierba by Pío Baroja (1904)

Mientras tanto, Manuel subía y bajaba las casas de toda la calle en busca de Roberto Hasting.

Hallábase Manuel con decisión para intentar seriamente un cambio de vida, se sentía capaz de tomar una determinación enérgica y dispuesto a seguirla hasta el fin.

Su hermana mayor, que acababa de casarse con un bombero, le regaló unos pantalones rotos de su esposo, una chaqueta vieja y una bufanda raída. Además añadió a la donación una gorra de forma y de color absurdos, un sombrero hongo anciano y algunos buenos y vagos consejos acerca del trabajo, el cual, como nadie ignora, es el padre de todas las virtudes, como el caballo es el más noble de todos los animales y la ociosidad la madre de todos los vicios.

Es muy posible, casi seguro, que Manuel hubiese preferido a estos buenos y vagos consejos, a esta gorra de forma y color absurdos, a la chaqueta vieja, al sombrero anciano, a la bufanda raída y a los pantalones rotos, una pequeña cantidad de dinero, ya fuera en cuartos, en plata o en billetes.

La juventud es así, no tiene norte ni guía; imprevisora siempre, concede más valor a los dones materiales que a los espirituales, sin comprender en su ignorancia absoluta que una moneda se gasta, un billete se cambia, y las dos cosas pueden perderse, y en cambio un buen consejo ni se gasta ni se pierde, ni se reduce a calderilla, y tiene además la ventaja de que sin cuidarse de él para nada, dura eternamente, sin enmohecimiento ni deterioro. Prefiriese una cosa u otra, hay que confesar que Manuel tuvo que contentarse con lo que le dieron.

Con este lastre de los buenos consejos y de las malas prendas de vestir, sin vislumbrar ni un cuarto de luz en su camino, Manuel repasó en la memoria la corta lista de sus conocimientos, y pensó que de todos, el único capaz de favorecerle era Roberto Hasting.

Penetrado de esta verdad, para él muy importante, se dedicó a buscar a su amigo. En el cuartel ya le habían perdido de vista hacía tiempo; doña Casiana, la de la casa de huéspedes, a quien Manuel encontró en la calle, no sabía las señas de Roberto, y le indicó que quizá el Superhombre las supiera.

-¿Sigue viviendo en su casa de usted?

-No, estaba ya harta de que no me pagara. No sé donde vive; pero le encontrarás en El Mundo, un periódico de la calle de Valverde que tiene un letrero en el balcón.

Buscó Manuel el periódico de la calle de Valverde y lo encontró en seguida; subió al piso principal de la casa, y se detuvo ante una puerta cerrada con un cristal, en donde había grabados dos mundos, el antiguo y el moderno. No había timbre ni llamador de campanilla, y Manuel se puso a repiquetear con los dedos en el cristal, encima precisamente del nuevo mundo, y en esta ocupación le sorprendió el mismísimo Superhombre, que llegaba de la calle.

Qué consejo recibió Manuel sobre el trabajo?

After you take Spanish in high school, and you've become enamored with the language, you may want to continue into college course-level language classes. AP Spanish is a great choice for students like you who have discovered a deep love of Spanish as a living language, or who wish to become fluent in Spanish as part of their career trajectory. When you take the step in high school to take college-level classes, you take a big intellectual step as well. However, you are also concerned about the AP Spanish exam at the end of the semester. This is where Varsity Tutors' Learning Tools Question of the Day can be a great resource for your test preparation.

No matter how much you love the Spanish language, you may not take tests very well. Even if you are a great test-taker, you still need to have the right study aids available to you. Fortunately, the Learning Tools offer several great ways for you to study consistently, instead of cramming for your exam at the last minute and feeling burdened by the stress. Daily test preparation helps you avoid the sudden adrenaline rush at the end of the semester.

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Varsity Tutors always has a different AP Spanish Question of the Day ready at your disposal! If you're just looking to get a quick review into your busy day, our AP Spanish Question of the Day is the perfect option. Answer enough of our AP Spanish Question of the Day problems and you'll be ready to ace the next test.

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A little of everything-great!

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Announcements Spanish Language and Culture with Barbara Kuczun Nelson was formerly known as Spanish Grammar Exercises. Welcome to the new site!

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In the Snappy Spanish App, at the end of the story you will find vocabulary flashcards. Review the words and phrases by saying them out loud. When you read, speak and hear the word it helps to anchor the vocabulary deeper in your mind.

Step 2. Read

Read the story. It's ok to use the Spanish and English side by side translation to help check your understanding.

Listen and read along to the story. If you're in a suitable location, speak the words out loud to get your mouth use to the movements of Spanish words by copying the pronunciation and intonation.

In the Snappy Spanish App, at the end of the story you will find vocabulary flashcards. Review the words and phrases by saying them out loud. When you read, speak and hear the word it helps to anchor the vocabulary deeper in your mind.

Step 2. Read

Read the story. It's ok to use the Spanish and English side by side translation to help check your understanding.

Listen and read along to the story. If you're in a suitable location, speak the words out loud to get your mouth use to the movements of Spanish words by copying the pronunciation and intonation.

In the Snappy Spanish App, at the end of the story you will find vocabulary flashcards. Review the words and phrases by saying them out loud. When you read, speak and hear the word it helps to anchor the vocabulary deeper in your mind.

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Spanish Reading Practice - Free Spanish Short Stories

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In the Snappy Spanish App, at the end of the story you will find vocabulary flashcards. Review the words and phrases by saying them out loud. When you read, speak and hear the word it helps to anchor the vocabulary deeper in your mind. Step 2. Read Read the story.

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Listen to song and type in the lyrics! Lots of popular/current songs.

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LyricsTraining is the new way to learn English and other languages through music and the lyrics of your favourite songs

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Learn Spanish for Free with Music Videos, Lyrics and Karaoke!

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Enjoy learning Spanish like never before playing with the music videos and filling in the lyrics of your favorite songs. It's easy, fun and 100% free.

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SCROLL DOWN TO SPANISH--> FORM B

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Great website for all levels!

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Site Index
Links to everything in this site

A complete index of video interviews and podcasts, as well as related grammar, vocabulary, and phrases contained in this site is listed below. A topical grammar index and podcast help are also available. Click on blue links to access site components.

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You can view video podcasts of Spanish Proficiency Exercises on the Apple Podcast app (MacOS/iOS), iTunes (Windows) or another app (iOS/Android).
The lesson and dialog audios can be transferred through a podcast app to your iPhone / iPod / iPad / Android, for offline listening.

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Click the RSS subscription icon in the right column menu, on any page of this site.

In most browsers, you will be subscribed to to an Apple podcast for that page automatically.

In Windows browsers (Firefox or Internet Explorer), you will be presented with a choice to either or save a downloaded .pcast file to your local computer or open/play it with iTunes. You would typically choose to open the file with iTunes; but if you choose to save the file, you can double-click it after download, and you will still be subscribed to the podcast for that page.

After subscription, click on 'Podcasts' in left column of Apple Podcast app to access video selections for the podcast to which you have subscribed.

Alternate subscription instructions

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Copy a URL such as the following: feed://laits.utexas.edu/spe/index/rss/page_code

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For example, page_code for http://laits.utexas.edu/spe/index/adv10.html would be adv10

So, the podcast feed would be feed://laits.utexas.edu/spe/index/rss/adv10

Notes

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Addtional iTunes podcasts, organized by proficiency level, are available on this page.

See above section on Additional Podcasts to subscribe.

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Spanish Proficiency Exercises: Site Index

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Site Index Links to everything in this site A complete index of video interviews and podcasts, as well as related grammar, vocabulary, and phrases contained in this site is listed below. A topical grammar index and podcast help are also available. Click on blue links to access site components.

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U of T Grammar Index

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Spanish phrases you can use for a lifetime — Listen repeatedly and learn easily

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Chicken Little

A modern adaptation of the classic tale: What happens when a completely normal chicken believes everything he reads on the internet? This story is written in the present tense, because it's a good thing to learn.

The Bird and the Whale

Our first ever original story, about a bird and a whale and their shared love of little fish. Inspired by a song by Tom Waits, and an episode of Adventure Time.

The Three Little Pigs

The classic tale of shoddy building materials, DIY folly, and the perils of emparedados de tocino (a.k.a bacon sandwiches). No pigs or wolves were harmed in the making of this story.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Why you should probably lock your door when you go out for a walk, even if you live en medio de un gran bosque. Why are the three bowls of sopa different temperatures when they were poured at the same time? Science, is why.

Little Red Riding Hood

A deeply troubling investigation into what happens when you let your children walk somewhere alone: Caperucita Roja eats fresas, picks margaritas and talks to el Gran Lobo Feroz on the way to Grandma's house. (Warning: Contains highly improbable medical scenes.)

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Spanish Children's Stories - The Spanish Experiment

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Well-known childrens stories translated into Spanish and spoken by a native Spanish speaker. Read along in Spanish or English. Great for adults too!

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Conjugation practice on SpanishDict

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Free Spanish writing practice | Spanish writing exercises

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Master Spanish writing with lessons and exercises grouped by Spanish CEFR level with free personalised tests. Revise and improve your Spanish with personalised learning tools for exam and test preparation.

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SpanishDict.com

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Learn Spanish vocabulary for free on SpanishDict. Our modern interface teaches you Spanish vocabulary words in context and helps you retain your knowledge.

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En Tu Casa