What are the general accent rules in Spanish?

Words ending in a vowel, ‘n’ or ‘s’ are stressed on the penultimate syllable.Words ending in a consonant (not ending in ‘n’ or ‘s’) are stressed on the last syllable.Words that break these two rules have an accentFor example, ‘I ate’ in Spanish is ‘comí’. You need the accent on the ‘i’ as the stress is on the last syllable and ‘comí’ ends in a vowel; it therefore breaks the first rule, and needs an accent.  Similarly, the word ‘estación’ (station) needs an accent on the ‘o’ as the stress is on the last syllable and ‘estación’ ends in an ‘n’; it also breaks the first rule, and needs an accent.The words ‘lápiz’ and ‘árbol’ both need accents as they both end in a consonant that isn’t ‘n’ or ‘s’, and both aren’t stressed on the last syllable; they therefore break the second rule, and need an accent.

SC
Answered by Simon C. Spanish tutor

6291 Views

See similar Spanish A Level tutors

Related Spanish A Level answers

All answers ▸

What is the subjunctive and how is it used?


La investigación espacial, ¿vale la pena?


Explain the difference between 'por' and 'para'


When is the subjunctive used in Spanish, and how is it conjugated?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

© MyTutorWeb Ltd 2013–2025

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy
Cookie Preferences