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

6709 Views

See similar Spanish A Level tutors

Related Spanish A Level answers

All answers ▸

Lee el texto adaptado de El corazón helado de Almudena Grandes. Raquel, la protagonista de la novela, recuerda un evento significativo de su pasado. Responde a las preguntas en español.


How should I use the time I have before the A2 speaking exam?


The difference between ser and estar.


Translate the next sentence, 'Solías trabajar mucho más que él'.


We're here to help

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

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2025 by IXL Learning