AccentsPronounsGenderForming PluralArticlesSome Sound SpellingTyping Accents
Accents in Spanish
- If word ends in -n -s or a vowel, the stress falls on next-to-last syllable. If you remember that these – está, están, estás – are exceptions, than you remember the rule.
- Words with all the other endings have an accent on the last syllable.
- Question and exclamation words – cómo, dónde, qué – always have accents.
- Demonstrative pronouns have an accent as opposed to demonstrative adjectives. éste – este libro, éstas – estas blusas
- Certain words change their meaning when written with an accent.
cómo | how | como | like |
dé | give (command) | de | of, from |
él | he/him | el | the |
más | more | mas | but |
mí | me | mi | my |
sé | I know | se | 3rd person pronoun |
sí | yes | si | if |
sólo | only (adverb) | solo | alone |
té | tea | te | you |
tú | you | tu | your |
Pronouns in Spanish
Personal | Direct | Indirect | Reflexive | Unstressed Posessive | Stressed Possessive | After Preposition |
Yo | me | me | me | mi/mis | mío/a/os/as | mí |
Tú | te | te | te | tu/tus | tuyo/a/os/as | ti |
Él/Ella/Ud | lo/la | le | se | su/sus | suyo/a/os/as | él/ella/Ud |
Nosotros/as | nos | nos | nos | nuestro/a/os/as | nuestro/a/os/as | nosotros/as |
Vosotros/as | os | os | os | vuestro/a/os/as | vuestro/a/os/as | vosotros/as |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds | los/las | les | se | su/sus | suyo/a/os/as | ellos/ellas/Uds |
For details see Object Pronouns – Direct, Indirect and Reflexive.
Gender in Spanish
A | Referring to males and/or ending in -o | hombre, libro |
B | Referring to females and/or ending in -a -ción -tad-dad | mujer, mesa, nación, libertad, universidad |
C | Ones referring neither to males or females and having different endings can be of either gender | el lápiz, la clase, la tarde, la noche |
D | Many nouns change gender by changing the last vowel or by adding -a to the last consonant | el compañero, la compañera, un profesor, la profesora |
E | Many nouns have the same form and differ only by the article | el estudiante, la estudiante |
!!! | Some nouns ending in -e change gender by changing it to -a | el presidente, la presidenta |
!!! | El día is MASCULINE | el día |
!!! | Many words ending in -ma are MASCULINE | el problema, el sistema, el programa |
Forming Plural in Spanish
1) ending in vowel | vowel + s | el/un libro la/una mesa | los/unos libros las/unas mesas |
2) ending in consonant | consonant + es | un papel la universidad | unos papeles las universidades |
3) ending in consonant z | z -> ces | el lapiz | los lapices |
!!! to refer to a group consisting of both males and females masculine plural is used | . | el amigo la amiga | los amigos |
Articles in Spanish
SINGULAR | Masculine Nouns | Feminine Nouns |
Definite Articles | el hombre – the man el libro – the book | la mujer – the woman la mesa – the table |
Indefinite Articles | un hombre – a (one) man un libro – a (one) book | una mujer – a (one) woman una mesa – a (one) table |
PLURAL | Masculine Nouns | Feminine Nouns |
Definite Articles | los hombres – the men los libros – the books | las mujeras – the women las mesas – the tables |
Indefinite Articles | unos hombres – some men unos libros – some books | unas mujeras – some woman unas mesas – some table |
Some Sound Spelling
Hard C sound | ca que qui co cu | sacar, saque |
S/Z sound | za ce ci zo zu | cazar, cace |
Hard G sound | ga gue gui go gu | pagar, pague |
Soft G sound | ja ge gi jo ju | elija, elegir |
As you see, two vowels – e and i – are exceptional. To remember them, remember two words – que and quien.
Typing Accents
á | alt 160 | alt 0225 | ctrl ‘, a |
é | alt 130 | alt 0233 | ctrl ‘, e |
í | alt 161 | alt 0237 | ctrl ‘, i |
ó | alt162 | alt 0243 | ctrl ‘, o |
ú | alt 163 | alt 0250 | ctrl ‘, u |
ñ | alt 164 | alt 0241 | shift + ctrl+~, n |
Á | | alt 0193 | ctrl ‘, A |
É | alt 144 | alt 0201 | ctrl ‘, E |
Í | | alt 0205 | ctrl ‘, I |
Ó | | alt 0211 | ctrl ‘, O |
Ú | | alt 0218 | ctrl ‘, U |
Ñ | alt 165 | alt 0209 | shift + ctrl+~, N |
¿ | alt 168 | alt 0191 | alt+shift + ctrl + ? |
¡ | alt 173 | alt 0161 | alt+shift + ctrl + ! |
The first two options work with the Number Pad which is located on the right hand side of a keyboard. The last ones work only for MS Word.
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