ORTHOGRAPHY: Accents. How and why we accent some words

Accents 

Each word is formed by syllables. Each syllable is the group of sounds said at once. Here are some examples,

Ven  (1 syllable)                Ho-ja  (2 syllables)                  li-bro (2 syllables)             Es-pa-ñol (3 syllables)

Or-de-na-dor  (4 syllables)                    com-po-si-ci­ón  (4 syllables)

Every word has a syllable that is stressed. This means that each word has a syllable that is pronounced more than the other syllables. Words are categorized one out of three ways.

AGUDAS

Stressed syllable is the last one of the word.

  • these words are accented if the word ends in a N, S or vowel.
  • Example;  so-fá, com-po-si-ción
 LLANAS

Stressed syllable is the next to last syllable of the word.

  • these words are accented if the word does not end in a N, S or vowel.
  • Examples; ma-pa, ha-bla
 ESDRÚJULAS

Stressed syllable is the third to last or previous syllable of the word.

  • these words are always accented.
  • Example;   mú-si-ca,                       gra-má-ti-ca

 

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Español por el mundo (Revised) Copyright © by Gemma Morawski and Ani Alcocer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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