Stress

From Tomísimo

Stress, also know as emphasis, spoken emphasis, (énfasis or acento prosódico in Spanish), refers to which syllable of a word receives a higher or louder tone when spoken.

Types of stress

• aguda - last syllable gets the spoken stress - correr, pensé, caminarán
• grave or llana - second-to-last syllable get the stress - libro, carro, bicicleta
• estrújula - third-to-last syllable gets the stress - cómico, águila, máquina
• sobreesdrújula - fourth-to-last syllable gets the stress (not very common) - dándoselo

Rules

If you can remember how a word is pronounce after you hear it, you will always be able to spell it correctly by learning these two rules.

• If a word ends in a vowel, n or s' and the spoken emphasis is not on the second-to-last-syllable, the syllable with the stress receives a written accent mark.
• If a word ends in a consonant other than n or s, and the spoken emphasis is not on the last syllable, it receives a written accent mark where the emphasis is.

See also

• Accent