Syllable: It’s a unit of pronunciation with a vowel sound.

Accent (prosodic): It’s the highest stress made on a syllable

Diacritical mark: It’s the visible mark made on a vowel. It’s commonly known as written accent (Only one diacritical mark per word is correct in Spanish).

Note: In Spanish, all words have prosodic accent but not all words have diacritical mark or written accent.

 Some words have two prosodic accents, such as the words ended in “mente.” Because of these two accents, the words ended in “mente” are neither “agudas”, “graves”, “esdrújulas” nor “sobreesdrújulas.” They are special words.

Examples: activamente, cobardemente, efectivamente, religiosamente, repentinamente.

These rules are applicable only to the words with a single prosodic accent.

Paroxytones words (graves or llanas): They are the words with the stress on the second-to-last (penultimate) syllable. The written accent must be placed when the last letter of the word is NOT “n”, “s” or a “vowel”.

               Examples: árbol, lápiz, deuda, pionero, publico.

Important note:

In order to correctly pronounce any word that has no written accent, consider the following rules:

1. If the last letter of the word is either “n”, “s” or a “vowel”, the stress must be on the penultimate syllable.

               Examples: cosa, casa, ejemplo, gallina, volumen, entonces, certamen, injustamente, abiertamente

2. In the other cases, the stress must be on the last syllable.

               Examples: analizar, pared, arroz, virtud,

Syllable: It’s a unit of pronunciation with a vowel sound.

Accent (prosodic): It’s the highest stress made on a syllable

Diacritical mark: It’s the visible mark made on a vowel. It’s commonly known as written accent (Only one diacritical mark per word is correct in Spanish).

Note: In Spanish, all words have prosodic accent but not all words have diacritical mark or written accent.

 Some words have two prosodic accents, such as the words ended in “mente.” Because of these two accents, the words ended in “mente” are neither “agudas”, “graves”, “esdrújulas” nor “sobreesdrújulas.” They are special words.

Examples: activamente, cobardemente, efectivamente, religiosamente, repentinamente.

These rules are applicable only to the words with a single prosodic accent.

1. Oxytones words (Agudas): They are the words with the stress on the last syllable. The written accent must be placed when the last letter of the word is either “n”, “s” or a “vowel”.

               Examples: canción, interés, comió, Canadá, ayer, pared, publicó.

Important note:

In order to correctly pronounce any word that has no written accent, consider the following rules:

1. If the last letter of the word is either “n”, “s” or a “vowel”, the stress must be on the penultimate syllable.

               Examples: cosa, casa, ejemplo, gallina, volumen, entonces, certamen, injustamente, abiertamente

2. In the other cases, the stress must be on the last syllable.

               Examples: analizar, pared, arroz, virtud,

The verb “ser” corresponds to the English verb “to be”. Some of the most common uses are:

1. To describe people or things.

• Yo soy David (I’m David)
• María es hermosa (Maria is beautiful)
• Los gatos son blancos (The cats are white)
• Esa silla es muy pequeña (That chair is very small)

2. With nationalities or origin.

• Ella es coreana (She is Korean)
• Soy de Bogotá (I am from Bogota)
• Son cervezas de Alemania (They are German beers)

3. With religions

• Ella no es católica (She is not Catholic)
• Mi amigo es musulmán (My friend is Muslim)

4. With occupations or professions

• Arturo es profesor de química (Arthur is a teacher of Chemistry)
• Soy vendedor de seguros (I am an insurance seller)
• Somos estudiantes de idiomas (We are language students)

5. With dates and time

• La reunión es a las 5 p. m. (The meeting is at 5 p.m.)
• Hoy es miércoles (Today is Wednesday)
• El cumpleaños de Susana será el 15 de mayo (Susana’s birthday will be in May 15th)

6. With materials that things are made of

• La camisa blanca es de seda (The white shirt is made of silk.)
• La cadena es de oro puro (The chain is made of pure gold.)

7. With relationships

• Ella es mi madre (She is my mother)
• Carlos es mi jefe (Charles is my boss)
• Pedro y felipe son hermanos (Peter and Philip are brothers)
• Andrea fue mi mejor amiga (Andrea was my best friend)

8. With locations but ONLY of events

• La boda fue en la catedral central (The wedding was held at the Central Cathedral)
• La conferencia será en el centro de convenciones (The conference will be at the Convention Center)

9. To indicate possession

• El auto blanco es mío (The white car is mine)
• Esas joyas son de mi esposa (Those jewels are my wife’s)

10. When “ser” and “estar” are correctly possible, “ser” must be used to indicate something permanent and “estar” to indicate something temporary. (Note: This rule is applicable only when both verbs are possible).

• Soy feliz (I am happy) It implies a permanent or mostly state of happiness. Ex. Soy una persona feliz (I am a happy person)
• Estoy feliz (I am happy) It implies a temporary state of happiness. Ex. Estoy feliz hoy (I am happy today)
• Ella es muy irritable (She is irritable) (Almost always)
• Ella está muy irritable (She is very irritable) (at this moment)

The verb “estar” corresponds to the English verb “to be”. Some of the most common uses are:

 To specify locations of everything, except events.

• Los policías están en la esquina (Policemen are at the corner)
• El perro está echado en el sofá (The dog is lying down on the sofa)
• Estamos en el teatro (We are in the theater)

2. Conditions or emotions

• Ella está rara hoy (She is very strange today)
• Estamos muy agotados (We are exhausted)
• Mi hijo estuvo muy feliz en su primer día de clases (My son was very happy on his first day of classes)
• Mis abuelos están muy enfermos (My grandparents are very sick)
• ¡Mañana estarás mejor! (Tomorrow you will be better!)

3. With the gerund (verb+ing)

• Estoy hablando por teléfono (I am talking by phone)
• ¿Roberto está jugando fútbol? (Is Robert playing football?)
• Estamos evaluando tu propuesta (We are evaluating your proposal)

 When “ser” and “estar” are correctly possible, “ser” must be used to indicate something permanent and “estar” to indicate something temporary. (Note: This rule is applicable only when both verbs are possible).

• Él es listo (It means he is smart)
• Él está listo (It means he is ready to do something, or he is smart but only today as in “Él está listo hoy”)
• Son viejos (It means they are old)
• Están viejos (It means they look old despite they’re young)