Writing tips: accent rules in Spanish

¡Hola!

Here we give you a few tips to avoid grammar mistakes when you write in Spanish. Check your spelling and tildes (‘)! 👀

Accent rules in Spanish 

When do I need to write a tilde(‘)? Firstly we have three different classifications of words:

1. Agudas: are those whose stress falls on the last syllable. Example: balón, bebé, papel
2. Llanas: are those whose stress falls on the penultimate syllable. Example: silla, ardilla, lápiz
3. Esdrújulas: are those whose stress falls on the antepenultimate syllable. Example: pájaro, helicóptero

Why sometimes we put tilde (‘) and sometimes we don’t?

1. If the word is aguda: always finishes in -N, -S, or vowel has a tilde
2. If the word is llana: finishes with a consonant, other than -N or -S, has a tilde 
3. If the word is esdrújula: always have a tilde.

I invite you now to have a look at balón, silla, and pájaro (previous examples) Do you know why some of them have tilde and why some of them don’t? 

Here⬇️ is a brief explanation:

Balón has tilde because is aguda and it finishes in -s. Otherwise, papel finishes in -l and that is why it doesn’t have. 

Silla don’t have tilde because finishes in vowel and the llanas only have tilde when the word finishes in a consonant (different to -n and/or -s). Example: lápiz

Pájaro, like all the esdrújulas have always tilde (‘)

Exercise to practice! Classify these words ⬇️ and put a tilde (‘) if required:

1. rosa
2. melon
3. pedal
4. esdrujula
5. habil
6. mesa
7. silla
8. manzana
9. ordenador
10. frigorifico

Practice La acentuación

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¡Hasta pronto!