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Spanish Accentuation — Accent Rules

Agudas, llanas, esdrújulas, diacritical accent and diphthongs

Spanish LanguagePrimary, Secondary
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Master Spanish accentuation rules: agudas (accent if ending in vowel, -n or -s), llanas (accent if NOT ending in vowel, -n or -s), esdrújulas (always accented), diacritical accent (tú/tu, sé/se, más/mas), diphthongs and hiatuses. 15 questions with real curriculum cases.

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Spanish Language · Primary, Secondary

🧠 Pedagogical Benefits

The Three-Category Rule

Aguda + ends in vowel/-n/-s → accent (café, canción, cortés). Llana + does NOT end in vowel/-n/-s → accent (árbol, fácil). Esdrújula → always accent (teléfono, música).

Diacritical Accent

Identical words with different meanings: tú (pronoun) / tu (possessive), sé (verb) / se (pronoun), más (adverb) / mas (conjunction). The exam covers all key pairs.

RAE 2010 Changes

Solo no longer takes an accent (old rule: sólo). Este/ese/aquel without accent even as pronouns. The exam reflects current rules, not old ones.

💡 Practical Example

"A Primary student didn't know if "árbol" needed an accent. With the rule: it's llana (stress on ÁR-bol), it ends in -l (not vowel, -n or -s) → needs accent. They never doubt again."

📝 Study Tips

Tricks and techniques to master this topic faster:

  1. 1

    Count syllables first, then identify where the stress falls (tonic syllable).

  2. 2

    Aguda: stress on LAST syllable. Llana: on SECOND-TO-LAST. Esdrújula: on THIRD-TO-LAST.

  3. 3

    Hiatus with stressed weak vowel → accent even if it looks like a diphthong: pa-ís, ma-íz, ba-úl.

  4. 4

    Question and exclamation words always take accent: qué, cuándo, dónde, cómo, quién.

🔬 Related topics you might find useful

If you are studying Spanish Accentuation — Accent Rules, these curriculum topics complement each other:

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