Spanish Accentuation and Syllabification Rules

Spanish Accentuation Rules

1. Acute Words (Agudas)

The stress falls on the last syllable. They are accented if they end in n, s, or a vowel.

2. Grave or Plain Words (Llanas)

The stress falls on the penultimate syllable. They are accented when they do not end in n, s, or a vowel. Example: 'Juegos' is a grave word but is not accented because it ends in 's'.

3. Esdrújulas Words

The stress falls on the antepenultimate syllable. These are always accented.

• Tránsito (Noun): Esdrújula
• Transito (1st person verb): Grave/Llana
• Transitó (3rd person past verb): Acute

4. Sobresdrújulas Words

These are accented on the syllable before the antepenultimate. They are always accented. Example: Lógicamente.

The Spanish Alphabet and Phonemes

Sounds are called phonemes, represented graphically by letters.

The Alphabet

A, B, C, CH, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, LL, M, N, Ñ, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z.

While there are 30 letters, there are only 22 phonemes. Some letters are silent or represent repeated phonemes.

Vowels vs. Consonants

Vowels have a unique pronunciation, whereas consonants require a vowel to produce a full sound.

Syllabification Rules

A syllable is a phoneme or set of phonemes pronounced in a single vocal impulse.

• A vowel can support up to 2 consonants (e.g., OBS-TI-NO-DO).
• Liquid consonants can be preceded by other consonants (e.g., DRA).
• If one consonant is between vowels, it joins the following vowel (e.g., A-JU-GE-RO).
• If two consonants are between vowels, they are usually separated (e.g., AR-TIS-TA).
• If the second consonant is a liquid, they clump together (e.g., A-TRA-GAN-TAR).
• With three consonants, the first two stay with the previous syllable and the third joins the next (e.g., OBS-TA-CU-LO).

Diphthongs and Hiatus

• Diphthong: Two vowels together in one syllable.
• Hiatus (Adiptongo): Two vowels together in different syllables (e.g., HA-I-BA).

Two strong vowels never form a diphthong; they form a hiatus.