Herramientas de la lengua
Acentos: Hiatos y acentos diacríticos
Why do you want to know this?
One of the reasons we use written accents in Spanish is because of “hiatos” and “palabras monosílabas.” You want to use accents to mark “hiatos” so you don’t make spelling mistakes and distract your readers. You want to use accents on “palabras monosílabas” so there is no confusion about what you mean to say. Keep reading and you will see why!
1. Hiatos
You may or may have not heard this word before but you already use “hiatos” when you talk!
What are “hiatos”? They have to do with syllables, weak vowels and strong vowels.
There are two types of vowels:
Strong vowels: A, E, O
Weak vowels: I, U
Strong vowels are never together in one syllable, but weak vowels attach themselves to a strong vowel or another weak one, stay in one syllable, and create a single sound. That is the rule!
Ex. Dia-rio, pau-sa
Every once in a while some words break the rule and vowels separate into two sounds. This can only happen if the weak vowels (I or U) become strong and break up with their pair! How do they become strong? By taking an accent!
Ex. Dí-a, Ra-úl, A-le-grí-a
If we don’t put a written accent, the vowels don’t become strong and separate, so we better make sure we do or the words would read funny or become confusing.
For example:
- Te-nia = a parasite
- Te-ní–a = I had
¡Practiquemos!
¡Hola! A continuación tienes un ejercicio. Trata de lograr al menos 80% ¡Suerte!
2. Acento diacrítico – Monosílabas
This term “acento diacrítico: refers to accents we place to indicate the difference in meaning between some word pairs which otherwise would be spelled exactly the same. We use them in single syllable words (monosílabas).
¡Practiquemos!
¡Hola! A continuación tienes un ejercicio. Trata de lograr al menos 80% ¡Suerte!
3. Acento diacrítico – Palabras interrogativas y exclamativas
We also use “acento diacrítico” in interrogation (direct or indirect questions) and exclamation words (exclamations).
¡Practiquemos!
¡Hola! A continuación tienes un ejercicio. Trata de lograr al menos 80% ¡Suerte!
This unit “Los acentos – Hiatos y acento diacrítico” was created by Alegría Ribadeneira by combining original material and pertinent sections from Spanish Grammar Manual by Enrique Yépez licensed CC BY-NC-SA.
