Rules for Stress
In Spanish, words are spelled just like they sound. In order to take advantage of this simple and nearly perfect system of spelling, one must first know the rules for stress – that is, how to know which syllable is pronounced the loudest.
- Words ending in a vowel, -n, or -s are stressed on the next to the last (penultimate) syllable:
nada
na – dalimonada
li – mo – na – dazapatos
za – pa – tosorigen
o – ri – gencompro
com – proesta
es – taestas
es– tas - Words ending in any consonant except -n or -s are stressed on the last syllable:
doctor
doc – torciudad
ciu – dadcomer
co – mer - When rules #1 and #2 above are not followed, a written accent is used:
compró
com – próestá
es – táestás
es – tás - Written accents are also used to differentiate between words that are pronounced the same but have different meanings:
si – if
sí – yesmi – my
mí – meel – the
él – hetu – your
tú – you
Don’t think of these rules as burdensome. Rather, view them as your friends. They allow you to pronounce any Spanish word correctly.
