In Spanish, every word with more than one syllable has a syllable whose vowel is pronounced with more intensity.

This is the tonic accent. This indicates a syllable to be stressed when pronouncing the word. A word is thus composed of tonic syllables (silabas tónicas) and atonic syllables (silabas atonas).

Example : mun-do (world), ve-ra-no (summer), i-ma-gen (picture)

The tonic accent is not always written but when it is, it is always placed on a vowel: á, é, í, ó, ú.

I. The oral accent

The prosodic accent, also called phonetic accent, is an accent that is not written but pronounced.

* For words ending in a vowel, N or S, the tonic accent is on the penultimate syllable of the word.

This is called palabras llanas or palabras graves.

Example : FRANCESA (French), LUNES (Monday) ==> The syllables are pronounced more strongly in –CE (in Francesa) and –LU (in Lunes).

* For words ending in a consonant or Y, the tonic accent is on the last syllable of the word. We speak of palabras agudas.

Example: LIBERTAD (Freedom), ANIMAL (Animal) ==> The syllables -TAD (from Libertad) and -MAL (from Animal) are pronounced more strongly.

* Words with irregular tonal stress (i.e., those that do not meet both of the above rules) carry a written accent; thus marking the syllable that must be stressed.

Example : Sábado (Saturday), Doméstico (Domestic), Acción (action), café (coffee), etc.

CAUTION: When the number of syllables in a word is changed, for example from singular to plural, the written accent may appear or disappear.

But it always remains on the same syllable.

Example: Francés ==> Francesa, Portugués ==> Portuguesa, Examen ==> Exámenes.

There are only 3 exceptions in the Spanish language:

• Carácter ==> Caracteres
• Régimen ==> Regímenes
• Espécimen ==> Especímenes (In these situations, the accent changes syllable depending on whether the word is singular or plural).

* Adverbs formed with the suffix -mente (fácilmente, desgraciadamente, etc.) have a particularity. They keep the written accent of the adjective and have two accented syllables:

Example :Fácil ==> Fácilmente, Rápido ==> Rápidamente, Claro ==> Claramente

II. The written accent

The grammatical accent is always on the normally stressed syllable. It distinguishes two words with similar pronunciation BUT different grammatical function. To put it simply, these are words that change their meaning if they have an accent.

In short, the grammatical accent is used to distinguish homonyms.

Example :
– Solo (Alone) ==> adjective / Sólo (only) ==> adverb
– Este (this) ==> Demonstrative adjective / Éste (this one) ==> Demonstrative pronoun
– Tu (your) ==> Possessive adjective / Tú (you) ==> Personal pronoun
– Aun (even) / Aún (again)

N.B : the emphasis is always on interrogative and exclamatory words.

Example : Cómo, Quién, Qué, Cuántos, etc.

III. The umlaut and the tilde

* The umlautis rarely used in Spanish. It is placed on the vowel -u; between the letter G and the vowels E or I.

Example : antigüedad (antiquity), agüero (oracle), bilingüe (bilingual)

* The tilde is the “little wave” present on the letter Ñ, its pronunciation is ny/ni (as in the words canyon, onion etc)

IV. Diphthongs

A syllable formed by two vowels that are pronounced at the same time is called a diphthong.

When the syllable is located at the end of the word, the rule of “palabras llanas” is followed: the tonic syllable will be on the penultimate syllable.

Example : Notario (Notary), Serie (Series), Serio (Serious) ==> The diphthongs are located at the end of the word and keep the tonic accent on the penultimate syllable.

On the other hand, if the tonic syllable is itself a diphthong, then the stress varies according to the nature of the vowels that make up the diphthong.

The strong vowels are: a, e and o while the weak vowels are: u and i.

The following combinations of vowels are obtained:

* STRONG + WEAK = tonic accent on the first vowel

Example : Reina (Queen), Causa (Cause) ==> Here, the emphasis is on the -e of reina and the -a of causa.

*WEAK +STRONG = tonic accent on the second vowel

Example : Piojo (Lice), Suegra (Mother-in-law) ==> Here the emphasis is on the -o of piojo and the -e of suegra.

* WEAK + WEAK = tonic accent on the second vowel

Example : Ruina (Ruin), Vuida (Widow) ==> Here, the emphasis is on the -i in both cases

* STRONG +STRONG = Two strong vowels never form a diphthong, each one represents a distinct syllable, and we then refer to the general rule of accentuation.

Example :

– Cacao ==> Caca/o ==> The accent is on the -a of the penultimate syllable.
– Poema ==> Poe/ma ==> The accent is on the -e on the penultimate syllable.

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* Rule 2: the word ends with a vowel or the letters N or S

In this case, the accent is placed on the second last syllable of the word.

Examples :

– La crisis==> The crisis
– Una Patata ==> A potato
– Hola ==> Hello
– Un hombre ==> A man
– El agua ==> The water

* Rule 3: the word ends with a consonant or the letter Y

In this case, the last syllable of the word is stressed.

Examples:

– El reloj==> The watch
– La pared ==> The wall
– El color ==> The color
– La juventud==> The youth

Generalities and special cases

* Generally the accent of a noun, pronoun or adjective is always on the same syllable, whether it is masculine or feminine, singular or plural.

Examples:

– Francés ==> Francesa
– Portugués ==> Portuguesa
– Fácil ==> Fáciles
– Pared ==> Paredes

However, there are exceptions where this rule does not apply:

Examples:

– Carácter = Caracteres
– Régimen = Regímenes
– Espécimen = Especímenes

Notes:

* Words ending in -mente (tranquilamente, suavemente, fácilmente, rápidamente, etc.) have 2 tonic syllables.

Here, the tonic syllable of the adjective is kept and the second tonic syllable is added to the ending -mente.

* The diacritical accent: the diacritical accent (acento diacrítico) is used to distinguish monosyllabic words that are written in the same way but do not have the same meaning.

Examples:

– Té (Tea) IS DIFFERENT FROM ==> Te (pronoun)
– De (preposition) IS DIFFERENT FROM ==> Dé (verb Dar)
– Se (personnal pronoun) IS DIFFERENT FROM ==> Sé (verb Saber)

2. PUNCTUATION MARKS

– El punto ==> dot
– La coma ==> comma
– Punto y coma ==> semicolon
– Los dos puntos ==> colon
– Las comillas ==> quotation marks
– El signo de interrogación ==> question mark
– El signo de exclamación ==> exclamation mark
– Las parentésis ==> parentheses
– El guión ==> dash/hyphen

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Here are the 27 letters of the Spanish alphabet and their pronunciation:

A ==> [a]
B ==> [be]
C ==> [ce]
D ==> [de]
E ==> [e]
F ==> [efe]
G ==> [ge]
H ==> [hache]
I ==> [i]
J ==> [jota]
K ==> [ka]
L ==> [ele]
M ==> [eme]
N ==> [ene]
Ñ ==> [eñe]
O ==> [o]
P ==> [pe]
Q ==> [cu]
R ==> [ere]
S ==> [ese]
T ==> [te]
U ==>[u]
V ==> [uve]
W ==> [uve doble]
X ==> [equis]
Y ==> [i griega]
Z ==> [zeta]

Before the 2010 reform of the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language, there were even 29! Since then, the letters CH and LL (formerly considered as such) are no longer included.

I. Combinations of letters

The consonant combinations –RH, –PH, or –TH that can be found in English do not exist in Spanish. They are replaced by the letters F, R, or T.

Example : Rhetoric ==> Retórica, Photon ==> Fotón, Thorax ==> Tórax

II. The doubling of consonants

The only consonants that can be doubled in Spanish are those contained in the name CAROLINA, that is to say the letters C, R, L, and N.

The other consonants NEVER double.

Example : perruno (canin), llamar (appeler), innovador (inovateur), accidente (accident).

III. Acronyms

When pluralized, the letters that make up the Spanish acronyms are doubled.

Example :

* United States ==> U.S.A (acronym in English) ==> Estados-Unidos ==> EE.UU (acronym in Spanish)

* Olympic Games ==> O.G. (acronym in English) ==> Juegos Olympicos ==> JJ.OO (acronym in Spanish).

IV. Punctuation

The Spanish and English punctuation rules are identical, with the exception of the question mark and exclamation mark. In fact, in Spanish, the double punctuation rule is applied.

Thus, for a question or an exclamation, the Spanish sentence – in addition to the period – BEGINS with a question mark or an inverted exclamation mark (also called a tumble mark).

Example :

Do you speak Italian? ==> ¿Hablas italiano?
It is very late! ==> ¡ Es muy tarde !

There are three ways to express “there is” in Spanish: “Hay“, “Está” or “Hace“. Let’s see in which contexts we use the different forms.

Use of « Hay »

« Hay » est la forme impersonnelle du verbe « haber ». On l’emploie pour traduire « il y a » lorsque l’on veut désigner l’existence de quelque chose ou de quelqu’un.

Singular affirmative form

When referring to a generalization, the noun is placed directly after “hay“.

Hay + singular noun :

• Hay gente mala en el mundo. (There are bad people in the world.)

When referring to something specific, an article, pronoun or determiner is used before the noun.

Hay + indefinite article un/una + singular noun :

• Hay un perro en el jardin. (There is a dog in the garden.)

Hay + indefinite pronoun otro/otra + singular noun :

• Hay otro camino para ir a casa. (There is another way to go to the house.)

Hay + determiner algun/alguno/alguna + singular noun :

• Hay alguna semejanza entre tu y yo. (There is a similarity between you and me.)

“Hay” is the impersonal form of the verb “haber”. It is used to translate “there is” when one wants to designate the existence of something or someone.

Negative singular form

Here again, if we are talking about something general, we place the noun directly after « No hay ».

No hay + singular noun :

• No hay mal que por bien no venga. (To every misfortune, something good.)

As for the affirmative form, to evoke something specific, an article, adjective or pronoun is used before the noun.

No hay + indefinite adjective un/una + singular noun :

• No hay un lugar màs alto en esta ciudad. (There is no higher place in this town.)

No hay + indefinite adjective ningun/ninguno/ninguna + singular noun :

• No hay ningún problema. (There are no problems.)

No hay + indefinite adjective otra/otro :

• No hay otra opción. (There is no other option.)

No hay + por qué/de qué + infinitive verb:

• No hay por qué enfadarse. (There is nothing to get angry about.)
• No hay de qué preocuparse. (There is nothing to worry about.)

No hay + nadie / quien :

• No hay nadie màs. (There is no one else.)
• No hay quien pueda reemplazarme. (There is no one to replace me.)

Affirmative plural form

The rule is the same as for the singular, to evoke a generalization we place the noun directly after “Hay“.

Hay + plural noun :

• Hay estrellas en el cielo. (There are stars in the sky.)

On the other hand, to designate something specific, an article, pronoun or adjective is placed after “Hay“.

Hay + indefinite article unos/unas + plural noun :

• Hay unas cosas que no te he dicho aun. (There are things I haven’t told you yet.).

Hay + indefinite pronoun otros/otras + plural noun :

• Hay otras galaxias. (There are other galaxies.)

Hay + determiner algunos/algunas + plural noun :

• Hay algunos gases que contribuyen al fenómeno del efecto invernadero. (There are certain gases that contribute to the phenomenon of global warming.)

Negative plural form

No hay + plural noun :

• No hay motivos para estar triste. (There is no reason to be sad.)

No hay + indefinite pronoun otros/otras + plural noun:

• No hay otras formas de resolver este problema. (There is no other way to solve this problem.)

Interrogative form

Que hay + Circumstantial Complement of Place:

• Que hay en esta caja ? (What’s in this box?)

Que hay + para/que + infinitive verb :

• Que hay para comer hoy? (What is there to eat today?)
• Que hay que ver en Paris? (What is there to see in Paris?)

Hay to express a quantity

• Hay 20 alumnos en esta clase. (There are 20 students in this class.)
• Hay 2 porcientos de alcohol en esta bebida. (There is 2% alcohol in this drink.)

Hay to talk about the weather

• Hoy hay nieve. (Today there is snow.)

Use of « Está »

Está is used to translate “there is” when you want to locate an object or someone in space.

Singular form

Está + Direct Object Complement.

• En esta calle, està la panadería de la que te hablé. (In this street, there is the bakery I told you about.)

Plural form

Están + Direct Object Complement

• En este museo, estàn las obras màs famosas de Picasso. (In this museum, there are Picasso’s most famous works.)

👉 Next lesson: Apocope / Apocopation

👈 Previous lesson: To have: Tener vs Haber

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In Spanish, the interrogative sentence is characterized by the use of double punctuation. In addition to the final question mark, a reversed question mark is placed at the beginning of the sentence.

Spanish grammar has the particularity that it does not have a structure to indicate to the reader that it is a question or an exclamation, hence the use of the double punctuation.

Not doing so is a spelling mistake!

Examples :

– You like sports ==> Do you like sports?

In English, the sentence structure is modified into an interrogative form.

– Te gusta el deporte==> ¿ Te gusta el deporte ?

In Spanish, the sentence structure is not changed. The use of question marks at the beginning and end of the sentence therefore helps to clarify the meaning.

In addition, by placing an inverted question mark at the beginning of a sentence, the reader can adjust his or her tone as the sentence progresses.

There are two ways to ask questions in Spanish.

1. Closed or dichotomous questions

* If the answer to the question can be yes or no, simply add question marks at the beginning and end of the sentence, raising the intonation of the voice at the end of the question.

* The interrogative sentence is constructed in the same way as the affirmative sentence (subject-verb-complement)

Here, the presence of the double punctuation indicates that it is a question.

Examples :

– Te gusta cantar ==> ¿ Te gusta cantar ? (Do you like to sing?)

– Puedo escucharte ==> ¿ Puedo escucharte ? (Can I listen to you?)

– Vas a un concierto ==> ¿ Vas a un concierto ? (Are you going to a concert?)

2. Open questions and interrogative words

If you want to ask a question whose answer is not limited to yes or no, you must use an interrogative word: who, what, how…

Here is a list of the most commonly used interrogative words:

– Por qué : Why
– Cuándo : When
– Dónde : Where
– Cómo : How
– Qué: What 
– Cuál:What / Which
– Quién: Who
– Cuánto: How much (before a singular masculine noun)
– Cuántos/Cuántas :How much / How many (before a plural masculine / feminine noun)
– Cuáles:What / Which ones (Before a plural noun)

Examples :

– ¿ Por qué quieres aprender español ? ==> Why do you want to learn Spanish?
– ¿ Cuándo abre el gimnasio ? ==> When does the sports club open?
– ¿ Dónde es la estación de policía ? ==> Where is the police station?
– ¿ Cómo se dice… en español ? ==> How do you say… in Spanish?
– ¿ Qué día es ? ==> What day is it?
– ¿ Cuál es tu número ? ==> What is your number?
– ¿ Quién es esta chica ? ==> Who is this girl?
– ¿ Cuánto vale una entrada al cine ? ==> How much does a movie ticket cost?
– ¿ Cuántos países hay en el mundo ? ==> How many countries are there in the world?
– ¿ Cuáles son los actores de esa pelicula ? ==> Who are the actors in this movie?

Exercise on interrogative sentences

👉 Next lesson: Negative sentences

👈 Previous lesson: Exclamatory sentences

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Examples :

– You are tall. ==> Eres alto. ==> ¡ Eres alto !
– The car is very nice. ==> El coche es muy bonito. ==> ¡ El coche es muy bonito !
– He is a fantastic player. ==> Es un jugador fantástico. ==> ¡ Es un jugador fantástico !

1. Exclamatory words

Exclamatory words, like interrogative words, ALWAYS have an ACCENT.

– Qué : ¡ Qué lindo día ! ==> What a beautiful day!
– Quién : ¡ Quién sabe ! ==> Who knows!
– Dónde : ¡ Dónde se metió ! ==> What did he get himself into!
– Cuándo : ¡ Cuándo quiere ! ==> Whenever he wants!
– Cómo : ¡ Cómo comes ! ==> You eat so much!
– Cuánto / Cuánta : ¡ Cuánta gente ! ==> So many people!
– Cuántos / Cuántas : ¡ Cuántos collares tienes ! ==> All those necklaces you have!
– Ojalà : ¡ Ojalà Pudiera ! ==> If only he could!

2. The construction of the exclamatory sentence

A. WITHOUT VERB:

It’s possible to construct an exclamatory sentence WITHOUT a VERB.

Examples :

– ¡ Qué guapo ! ==> How beautiful he is!
– ¡ Qué tarde ! ==> How late it is! / It’s so late!

B. WITH A VERB:

When you build an exclamatory sentence with a verb, you have to make an inversion of the subject. That is to say that you place the subject after the verb.

Examples:

– ¡ Qué guapa es esta chica ! ==> How beautiful this girl is!

– ¡ Qué divertido es este chiste ! ==> How funny is this joke!

– ¡ Qué ruidosos son estos alumnos ! ==> How loud these students are!

3. Other forms

– QUÉ + ADJECTIVE OR ADVERB

¡ Qué pequeño eres ! ==> How small you are!

– QUÉ + NOUN

¡ Qué linda mujer ! ==> What a beautiful woman!

– QUÉ + NOUN + TAN/MAS + ADJECTIVE

¡ Qué películas tan interesantes ! ==> What interesting films! 

– LO + ADJECTIVE + QUÉ – the adjective changes with the noun it qualifies.

¡ Lo feliz que es ! ==> How happy he is! 

– CÓMO + VERB

¡ Cómo han bajado los precios ! ==> How the prices have gone down! 

– CUÁNTO + VERB

¡ Cuánto bebes ! ==> You drink so much! 

– CUÁNTO + NOUN (“Cuánto” agrees in gender and number)

¡ Cuántos parajos hay ! ==> How many parajos there are! 

– QUÉ + SUBSTANTIVE + MAS/TAN + ADJECTIVE

¡ Qué niña tan preciosa ! ==> What a beautiful child! 

– OJALÁ + VERB (conjugated to the SUBJUNCTIVE) expresses a wish

¡ Ojalá venga rapido ! ==> I hope he comes soon! 

– Exercise on exclamatory sentences –

👉 Next lesson: Interrogative sentences

👈 Previous lesson: Affirmative sentences

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