-iar Verbs
Some Spanish -iar verbs that are pronounced with stress on the “i,” and therefore need an acute accent on that letter in certain conjugations.
accents
What’s the purpose of Spanish accents, and how can I type them?
-uar Verbs
Spanish verbs that end in -uar are conjugated with the same endings as regular -ar verbs, but most -uar verbs require accents in certain conjugations.
Accents
Accents may look strange to anyone whose native language doesn’t have any, but they are extremely important in Spanish. Leaving off the accent on a word is a spelling mistake, and may cause confusion. There are three different Spanish accents
Acute Accent: á, é, í, ó, ú
The Spanish acute accent serves two purposes: it alters word stress or distinguishes between two otherwise identical words.
Dieresis: ü
In Spanish, when the letter G precedes a U plus a hard vowel, the U and the vowel are both pronounced. In order to obtain this W sound in front of a soft vowel, the Ü comes into play.
How to Type Accents in Any OS
It’s just as important to include accents when writing in Spanish as it is to spell words correctly. It drives me kind of crazy when people say, sorry, I can’t type accents on my computer / tablet / smartphone. Yes, you can type accents – yes! even on your old computer. Check out these instructions for Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, iPad, and Android.
Spelling Quiz: Una cuestión de acentos
Test yourself on Spanish words with and without accents in this fill-in-the-blank exercise: Una cuestión de acentos, or take a look at the lesson to review.
Note: You must be logged into your Progress with Lawless Spanish account to take this test. If you don’t have one, sign up – it’s free!
Tilde: ñ
The ~ accent, called a tilde, on the Spanish letter Ñ indicates that the word used to be spelled with two Ns but now the tilde stands in for the second one.
Word Stress
The rules for Spanish word stress are fairly straightforward, but the terminology can be a bit confusing. Spanish words are divided into categories according to which syllable is stressed when speaking – and this is the tricky part – whether or not there is a written accent.
